Efficacy of the Treatment of Elderly Trauma Patients Requiring Intensive Care

Purpose. To evaluate the efectiveness of intensive care for the elderly trauma patients aged 80 years and older. Methods. Trauma patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) through the emergency room (ER) at our hospital between January 2013 and December 2016 were analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups: patients aged 80 and older (group E) and <80 years old (group Y). Clinical courses and the total treatment costs were compared between the two groups. Data are shown as median (interquartile range). Results. A hundred and seven trauma patients were included in the study.Tere were 26 patients in group E and 81 patients in group Y.Tere was no signifcant diference in Injury Severity Score (ISS) (group E, 19 (13, 32); group Y, 17 (14, 25); p=0.708); however, the probability of survival (Ps) was signifcantly lower in group E (group E, 0.895 (0.757, 0.950); group Y, 0.955 (0.878, 0.986); p=0.004). Te duration of ICU stay (days) was signifcantly longer in group E (10 (5, 23)) than in group Y (4 (3, 9); p=0.001), and the total hospital stay (days) was longer in group E (33 (13, 57)) than in group Y (22 (12, 42); p=0.179). Te hospital mortality was higher in group E (11.5%) than in group Y (6.2%) without a signifcant diference (p=0.365). Te total treatment costs were signifcantly higher in group E ($23,558 (12,456, 42,790) with $1 = ¥110.57) than in group Y ($16,538 (7,412, 25,422); p=0.023). Conclusions. Elderly trauma patients require longer-term treatment including ICU stay and greater cost with higher hospital mortality compared with young trauma patients.