36826 Geriatric Brain Traumas

Course overview

Roughly 40 percent of geriatric patients fail to follow up with a primary care physician after an ED visit for fall-related head trauma. Furthermore, a significant portion of those who do follow up receive no fall-risk assessment or preventive interventions, highlighting an urgent need for improved care coordination. Evaluating an older adult with a head injury in the emergency department requires careful assessment due to the increased risk of complications such as intracranial hemorrhage. There also is heightened concern for older patients taking anticoagulants or blood thinners who sustain a head injury because of the risk of delayed intracranial hemorrhage. Although geriatric trauma models are evolving to meet the demand of an aging trauma population, medical support for trauma services is commonly delivered by general physicians, many of whom lack experience and training in this field. This program discusses geriatric brain traumas, with topics including elements of the older adult cohort and the risk and impact of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), the outcomes and effects of TBIs on older adults, and the impact of dysphagia on older adults with TBI and the utilization of speech language pathologists in treatment plans.