Week 4 Flashcards
what are types of bone diseases in geriatricts?
- Osteoporosis (women > men)
- Osteoarthritis
- Scoliosis
- Kyphosis
WHat are considerations of geriatricts and the CNS with trauma?
Cognitive impairment
• Cause trauma
• Subtle sign & symptoms
More susceptible to shearing forces, axonal injuries, subdural/epidural hematoma
• ↓ elasticity of the bridging veins lining the meninges
• ↓ number of neurones and functions
• Brain Mass↓
• ↑ Relative intracranial space
Reduced pain perception
• ↓ intensity and quality of pain
What happens with skin and ageing?
Skin loses structural support of elastin fibres and atrophy of all skin layers
• Skin becomes more fragile
• Delayed wound healing
• ↑Risk for full-thickness injury
- Difficulty maintaining body temperature
- Trauma’s lethal triad?
what are some common antigoagulants and antiplatelet medications old people might be on?
- Aspirin
- Clopidogrel (Plavix)
- Warfarin
- Apixaban (Eliquis)
- Dabigatran (Pradaxa)
- Rivaroxaban (Xarelto)
what are some special considerations with geriatircts and their co-morbidities?
- > 50% have underlying HTN*
- > 30% have heart disease*
- VSS could be falsely reassuring
- Polypharmacy, PPM could confuse vital signs
what should you consider with the geriatric airway?
- Partial plates, dentures could become foreign bodies if dislodged
- Intact dentures could be crucial to good seal (during assisted ventilation)
- Speech characteristics (e.g. garbled sound) might indicate FBAO
- Pre-existing conditions might affects airway (e.g. COPD)
- Bone disorders may alter normal alignment of head and neck
what should you consider with the geriatric breathing?
- Less pulmonary reserve
* Might requires oxygen to avoid hypoxia (in major trauma) - Muscle fatigue will occur more quickly
* Frequent RSA? - Positioning
* Spinal immobilisation might affects ventilation
what should you consider with the geriatric circulation?
- Vulnerable to shock
- Early signs could be subtle
- Age-related and medication-related delay in compensatory response, false security
- Altered conscious state due to poor perfusion
- Large volume of fluid given too fast aren’t well tolerated by elderly
What is the best predictor for future falls in elderly?
> 2 falls within 12/12 is the best predictor of future fall risk
what can the pain of a rib fracture cause in elderly?
- Hypoventilation, reluctant to cough
- Atelectasis, retained bronchial secretions
- Pneumonia and respiratory failure
what is most common fracture in geriatrics?
Hip and NOF
What is the second most fracture in geriatrics?
Collies - wrtist
What is the presentation of burns with elderly?
more likely to be deeper and wider surface area
what is primary and secondary head injuries?
- Primary – initial focal injuries, such as contusion or haemorrhage
- Secondary – poor cerebral circulation, hypoxia or oedema
What kind of spinal injuries are common with elderly?
- C1 or C2 #
- Even from simple fall
- High cervical # are more common in elderly
