Abstract:

Aim: This study was designed to examine the applications of geriatric patients aged 80 and over to an emergency service for trauma and non-traumatic reasons and to evaluate the relationship between those findings and the restrictions applied due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: A total of 111 patients over the age of 80, including 49 patients who were directed from the emergency room to thoracic surgery due to thoracic trauma and 62 patients who were directed to thoracic surgery for non-traumatic reasons, were included in the study between March 2020 and March 2021. Results: During the pandemic period in question, it was found that female patients were admitted to the emergency department due to trauma statistically significantly more often while male patients were more often admitted to the emergency department for non-traumatic reasons (p=0.021). It was furthermore found that 22 (44.9%) of the 49 patients who presented with trauma were hospitalized while 10 (16.1%) of the 62 patients who presented for non-traumatic reasons were hospitalized (p=0.001). Conclusion: We know that the course of disease of many patients, and especially patients with malignancies, continues to progress with the frequent occurrence of chronic diseases or diseases with asymptomatic and progressive characteristics in the geriatric population. At the same time, pandemic restrictions may cause difficulties in reaching the hospital. For this reason, we advise that the geriatric population, and especially older geriatric patients, not delay hospital visits in the face of any other pandemic-related restrictions that may be applied in the future, and the general public should also be made aware of this issue. Otherwise, the social inactivity imposed as a result of such pandemic-related restrictions may increase the mortality rate among geriatric patients due to chronic diseases or neoplasias far beyond the mortality rate that occurs as a result of the pandemic itself.

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