Geriatric Trauma: A Radiologist's Guide to Imaging Trauma Patients Aged 65 Years and Older

Radiologists play an important role in evaluation of geriatric trauma patients. Geriatric patients have injury patterns that differ markedly from those seen in younger adults and are susceptible to serious injury from minor trauma. The spectrum of trauma in geriatric patients includes head and spine injury, chest and rib trauma, blunt abdominal injury, pelvic fractures, and extremity fractures. Clinical evaluation of geriatric trauma patients is difficult because of overall frailty, comorbid illness, and medication effects. Specific attention should be focused on the effects of medications in this population, including anticoagulants, steroids, and bisphosphonates. Radiologists should use age-appropriate algorithms for radiography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging of geriatric trauma patients and follow guidelines for intravenous contrast agent administration in elderly patients with impaired renal function. Because there is less concern about risk for cancer with use of ionizing radiation in this age group, CT is the primary imaging modality used in the setting of geriatric trauma. Clinical examples are provided from the authors' experience at a trauma center where geriatric patients who have sustained major and minor injuries are treated daily.