Emergency surgery for traumatic brain injury in geriatric patients

Objectives: Verify the sociodemographic profile of an elderly victim of trauma due to a fall who is admitted to the ICU of a public reference hospital to determine whether there are relationships between his age, comorbidities, length of stay, complications and clinical results. A retrospective analytical study with a quantitative approach was carried out between April and October 2014 in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Hospital de Base do Distrito Federal, administered by the State Department of Health of the Federal District, DF. Using the TrakCare® computerized medical record, sociodemographic data were found on elderly people hospitalized between the fall of July 2012 and July 2014, including mechanisms of trauma, comorbidities, length of stay, use of invasive devices, vasoactive and sedative drugs, complications and clinical internships. Results: The sample was made up of 52 elderly people, the majority of whom were men and the injury was a fall in height. Lung infection, septic shock, use of blood products and acute renal failure were the main complications. Despite the high mortality observed in the study, the majority of elderly people survived the traumatic event. Male sex, traumatic brain injury (TBI), pulmonary septic shock and dialysis were the main causes of mortality. Conclusion: Falling in height, fractures and severe TBI were extremely common, and most patients had more than one complication during hospitalization. No significant difference was found between age and mortality.