The effects of age on accident severity and outcome in Irish road traffic accident patients

Road traffic accidents (RTA's) are the leading cause of fatal trauma in Ireland. Although older drivers are the safest group of drivers in the population, once involved in a crash they are more likely to sustain a severe injury or death. The experiences of Irish elderly RTA victims has not been previously documented. We studied older RTA patients admitted to two Irish trauma centres in 1995. Of 525 patients, 39 (7%) were aged over 65. We compared 38 patients aged 16-64 years for comparison and reviewed the notes in detail. Elderly patients were mostly pedestrians (23/38 - 61%) though 21% (8/38) were drivers with 8% (3/38) on public transport. Younger patients were mostly drivers (14/37 - 38%), cyclists (9/37 - 24%) or motorcyclists (7/37 - 19%). Older patients had a higher median Injury Severity Score, p < 0.05, were more likely to be female (p<0.01), involved in RTA's between 9am-5pm (p<0.05) and have pre-existing medical conditions (p<0.01). The following were significantly increased in older patients (p values): surgical (<0.01), medical (<0.01) and therapist workload (p<0.05), complications (<0.0001), length of stay (<0.01). Less elderly were discharged directly to home (p<0.001). Strategies to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with RTA in the elderly should emphasise a) older pedestrians during daytime hours, b) attention to safety in public transport. Treatment must ensure adequate medical and therapist input to anticipate higher complication rates.