Citation

Roberts ARA, Falank CR, Ontengco JB, Carter EL, Hallen SAM. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/jgs.17637

PMID

34982468

Abstract

Traumatic injury in adults older than 65 is associated with high morbidity and mortality. There are conflicting data regarding the benefit of incorporating a geriatrician into routine care of trauma patients with some evidence showing that mandatory geriatric consultation does not change patients' mortality or hospital length of stay (LOS).1 Other research has demonstrated decreased rates of delirium,2 increased adherence to quality guidelines,3 improved functional recovery,4 and a significant impact on mortality rate.5

We initiated a quality improvement (QI) protocol at Maine Medical Center's (MMC) Level 1 trauma center in which all patients aged 75 years and older admitted to the trauma service received a geriatric consultation with a primary focus on falls, cognition, and polypharmacy. We evaluated the protocol's impact on clinical outcomes in older fall-related trauma patients when compared to a pre-implementation sample retrospectively...

Language: en