BAD BUGS AND THE ELDERLY TRAUMA PATIENT:AN INDICATOR OF MORTALITY?

摘要

Elderly trauma patients have increased morbidity and mortality when compared to their younger counterparts. It has been shown that patients with prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stays become more susceptible to life-threatening infections (pneumonia and bacteremia) secondary to pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, MRSA, Candida spp., Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Acinetobacter baumannii. We propose that elderly trauma patents who survive long ICU stays have a lower incidence of these infections compared to their counterparts who do not survive a similar ICU stay. The absence of infection with these pathogens may help us to determine earlier a patient's likelihood for survival and thereby enable us to better counsel families regarding end of life decisions.