Trauma em idosos: caracterização de atendimentos realizados pelo Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência

Abstract

This study aimed to characterize the service provided to elderly citizens and trauma patients performed by the Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência (Known by its acronym, SAMU) - the national system of emergency medical services in Brazil. The specific objectives were the following: To indentify the main trauma mechanisms which affect the elderly; to outline trauma in elderly populations according to the administrative regions of the city; and to define the mortality rate in elderly individuals who suffer trauma. This project is a retrospective cross-sectional study. The area chosen to be studied was that of the city of Juiz de Fora, which comprises the macroregion of the Intermunicipal Health Consortium of the Southeast Region (CISDESTE, its acronym in Portuguese), with which SAMU-JF is integrated. The data was extracted from the electronic database of CISDESTE and, selected by the criteria of inclusion, those elderly individuals aged 60 or older, serviced by SAMU between February 2014 and December 2018, due to trauma; also through the criteria of exclusion: Elderly individuals rescued by SAMU, whose service forms were incomplete. In order to perform the exploratory analysis of the data, univariate and bivariate analysis were carried out. From a total of 6633 forms analyzed, 75 (1,20%) were excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria. A predominance of females should be highlighted, with a total of 3939 patients (63,2%) and an average age of 75,7 years. There was a prevalence of an age group between 60 and 79 years, with 3939 cases (63,2%), and the area of the city with the largest number of victims was Downtown, with 2033 cases (32,9%). In relation to trauma mechanisms, falls from one's own height and falls from higher than one's own height made up 4967 (79,7%) cases. Females, those aged between 80 and 89 were more prone to falls, while males were more frequently affected by traffic accidents.It was noted that the incidence of trauma in elderly patients rescued by SAMU-JF showed an increase, reaching the value of 20,6% in 2018. According to the characterization of the service provided to seniors victims of trauma, the highest incidence was of falls and traffic accidents, female patients aged 60 to 79 years of age, and downtown Juiz de Fora had the highest number of incidents. Finally, there is a need for the involvement of society as a whole, such as stakeholders, healthcare professionals, education institutions, security and communication agencies so that the specific needs of senior citizen may be addressed, while bearing in mind their needs and frailties, as well as preventive measures to be taken, such as those involving traffic education, accident prevention, raising awareness to the importance of human life (regardless of age), health care for the elderly, and so on can become a priority.