Trauma and transfusion in the geriatric patient

Purpose of review The percentage of people over the age of 65 is growing rapidly and anesthesiologists must develop a medical understanding that is comprehensive to meet the unique medical needs of this population. The changing physiology of an elderly population makes them extremely vulnerable to trauma and the administration of blood products. Although most of these cases involve orthopedic attention, it is not less dangerous as a blunt trauma case. Recent findings This article addresses some of the main concerns for the anesthesiologists of providing a hemostatic resuscitation in the geriatric population. Should blood that is new lead to better outcomes than blood that was collected more than 14 days from the injury? What role does patient frailty have in trauma and transfusion outcomes? Is the massive transfusion protocol safe for the geriatric population? As this subset of the population grows, the number of patients on anticoagulation therapy will grow. Knowledge of the bone marrow plays an important role in geriatric trauma. How does head trauma in the elderly differ from the younger patient? Summary The information in this article is by no means comprehensive. Nongeriatric trauma protocols are far from being validated. Applying these protocols to the geriatric protocols must be investigated in terms of safety and benefits. Correspondence to Corey Scott Scher, Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology, New York University School of Medicine, Bellevue Hospital, 560 First Ave, New York City, NY 10016, USA. Tel: +1 646 753 2791; fax: +1 212 787 2721; e-mail: coreyscher@gmail.com;Corey.Scher@nyumc.org Copyright © 2018 YEAR Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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