Many trauma patients have associated orthopaedic injuries at admission. The existing literature regarding orthopaedic trauma often focuses on single injuries, but there is a paucity of information that gives an overview of this group of patients. Our aim was to describe the differences in characteristics between polytrauma patients ≥ 65 and < 65 years of age suffering orthopaedic injuries. Patients registered in the Norwegian Trauma Registry (NTR) with an injury severity score (ISS) > 15 and orthopaedic injuries, who were admitted to Haukeland University Hospital in 2016–2018, were included. Data retrieved from the patients’ hospital records and NTR were analysed. The patients were divided into two groups based on age. The study comprised 175 patients, of which 128 (73%) and 47 (27%) were aged < 65 (Group 1) and ≥ 65 years (Group 2), respectively. The ISS and the new injury severity score (NISS) were similar in both groups. The dominating injury mechanism was traffic-related and thoracic injury was the most common location of main injury in both groups. The groups suffered a similar number of orthopaedic injuries. A significantly higher proportion of Group 1 underwent operative treatment for their orthopaedic injuries than in Group 2 (74% vs. 53%). The mortality in Group 2 was significantly higher than that in Group 1 (15% vs. 3%). In Group 2 most deaths were related to traffic injuries (71%). High energy falls and traffic-related incidents caused the same number of deaths in Group 1. In Group 1 abdominal injuries resulted in most deaths, while head injuries was the primary reason for deaths in Group 2. Although the ISS and NISS were similar, mortality was significantly higher among patients aged ≥ 65 years compared to patients < 65 years of age. The younger age group underwent more frequently surgery for orthopaedic injuries than the elderly. There may be multiple reasons for this difference, but our study does not have sufficient data to draw any conclusions. Future studies may provide a deeper understanding of what causes treatment variation between age groups, which would hopefully help to further develop strategies to improve outcome for the elderly polytrauma patient.

中文翻译：

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≥ 65 岁和 < 65 岁严重创伤后骨科损伤患者的特征差异

许多创伤患者在入院时有相关的骨科损伤。现有关于骨科创伤的文献通常侧重于单一损伤，但缺乏对这组患者进行概述的信息。我们的目的是描述 ≥ 65 岁和 < 65 岁遭受骨科损伤的多发伤患者之间的特征差异。包括在挪威创伤登记处 (NTR) 登记的损伤严重程度评分 (ISS) > 15 和骨科损伤的患者，这些患者于 2016-2018 年入住 Haukeland 大学医院。分析了从患者的医院记录和 NTR 中检索到的数据。根据年龄将患者分为两组。该研究包括 175 名患者，其中 128 名（73%）和 47 名（27%）年龄 < 65（第 1 组）和 ≥ 65 岁（第 2 组），分别。两组的 ISS 和新的损伤严重程度评分 (NISS) 相似。主要的损伤机制是交通相关，胸部损伤是两组最常见的主要损伤部位。这些群体遭受了相似数量的骨科损伤。第 1 组因骨科损伤接受手术治疗的比例显着高于第 2 组（74% 对 53%）。第 2 组的死亡率明显高于第 1 组（15% 对 3%）。在第 2 组中，大多数死亡与交通伤害有关（71%）。高能量坠落和交通事故导致第 1 组的死亡人数相同。第 1 组中腹部受伤导致大多数死亡，而头部受伤是第 2 组死亡的主要原因。虽然 ISS 和 NISS 相似，但 与小于 65 岁的患者相比，≥ 65 岁患者的死亡率明显更高。与老年人相比，年轻组因骨科损伤而接受手术的频率更高。这种差异可能有多种原因，但我们的研究没有足够的数据得出任何结论。未来的研究可能会更深入地了解导致不同年龄组治疗差异的原因，这将有望有助于进一步制定改善老年多发伤患者预后的策略。