Abstract
Background
Most elderly people will live in low-middle-income countries and need to work. With the increase in the number of elderly people in the workforce, it can be predicted that occupational accidents (OAs) in elderly people will continue to constitute an important patient group for emergency departments (EDs). In this study, the descriptive characteristics of elderly individuals who were admitted to a high-capacity ED due to OAs and some features that could predict their prognosis were examined.
Materials & Methods
Patients aged 65 years and older who visited the ED due to OA between June 1, 2019, and June 30, 2023, were retrospectively investigated. The results such as demographic characteristics, trauma-related characteristics, injury severity scores (ISSs), outcome measures such as ED and hospital stay lengths, and mortality were revealed and compared.
Results
Within the scope of the study, 92 elderly people with OA were examined. The most common trauma mechanism involved incisions (n=34, 37%), and the upper extremities were most frequently injured (n=39, 42.4%). Those with thorax trauma, those injured by falls from a height, and those with a high ISS had longer ED and hospital stays (p=0.045, p=0.003, and p <0.001, respectively).
Conclusions
In elderlyindividuals, OAs most commonly injure the upper extremities. Injuries often occur through incisions. Among elderly people injured with OA, those with thoracic trauma fall heights, and those with a high ISS have a poor prognosis.