Road traffic injury-related disabilities in geriatric population

Background: The geriatric population, which constitutes ten percent of the world's population as of 2021, has been increasingly involved in traumatic conditions including road traffic injuries. In this article, geriatric cases transferred to a forensic medicine clinic in a tertiary care center for evaluation of road traffic injury-related disability were evaluated retrospectively. Objective: It is intended to explore the challenges and causes that arise after road traffic injuries in the older population, in the light of the literature, taking into account their unique health conditions and vulnerability. Methods: 271 cases aged 65 and over, who applied to the Department of Forensic Medicine at Hacettepe University for determination of the disability rate due to road traffic injuries between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2021, were included in the study. Age, gender, initial injuries, sequels, and disability rates of the cases have been investigated. Results: Of the cases, 138 (50.9%) were male and 133 (49.1%) were female. Pedestrians consist almost half of the cases. The most common trauma site was extremities, and the most common fractured bone was femur. Disability secondary to a psychiatric diagnosis was observed in only 1.8% of the cases. Mean disability rate was 28.45% (±21.30). Conclusions: Apart from road and vehicle-related precautions to protect geriatric individuals from road traffic injuries at the pre-traumatic stage, the importance of orthopedic treatment and post-treatment rehabilitation is clear. Also, vulnerability and conditions with high prevalence in the geriatric population should be kept in mind to minimize financial losses in these patients.