Forensic Traumatic Cases in the Geriatric Population

Abstract

Physiological and metabolic changes arising in elderliness may increase the risk of trauma. The causes of trauma and trauma severity may vary with age. We aimed to determine the causes of trauma, traumatic lesions, and permanent damage status in the geriatric population by analyzing forensic trauma cases. Materials and Method: Subjects were randomly selected from patients aged ≥65 years whose forensic evaluation was performed at the department of forensic medicine. The sample size was determined with Epi-Info version 7 software. SPSS Windows 20.0 software was used to analyze the data. Results: Of the patients, 68.9% were male and 31.1% were female, with a mean age of 72.8 ± 6.11 years. Among them, 53.8% and 46.2% were exposed to trauma due to non-accidental causes and an accident, respectively. Such accidental injuries most commonly occurred due to traffic accidents (78%) and falls (16.7%), whereas non-accidental injuries most commonly occurred due to intentional injuries (96.1%). Accidental and non-accidental injuries were most commonly seen in females and males, respectively. The injury severity score was higher for accidental injuries. Minor and major injuries were observed in 95.1% and 4.9% patients, respectively, according to the injury severity score. Of the major injuries, 42.9% were in the head and neck region. Conclusion: According to our results, non-accidental traumas in the geriatric population are similar to those in other age groups, whereas injuries due to falls increase in the former with a decrease in physiological reserves. Trauma severity appears to be more severe in accidental injuries.