[Medico-social considerations on a hospital case-load of accidental injuries in the elderly]

The files of the Casualty Ward in a Florentine hospital for 1934-36, 1955-57 and 1976-78 were examined and 5030 cases of accidental injuries in the elderly were extracted for analysis. The subjects were grouped according to age, type and locality of the accident and morphology of the clinical picture. The results obtained from statistical analysis of the data demonstrate an increased percentage of accidents in the home, at work and in the street. Road accidents, the incidence of which varied in the different periods considered, were excluded. The outstanding feature is the notable increase in accidents of every type in the home, an environment traditionally considered safe or at least protected. Some medicolegal remarks on these results are presented with the aim of promoting a greater knowledge of the epidemiology of this phenomen as is essential if preventive measures are to be taken.