[Education] UMEM Educational Pearl: Geriatrics

[amalmattu at comcast.net]

I'm re-sending this with the reference. 
sorry! 
Amal 

Title: rib fractures in elderly patients 
Author: Amal Mattu 
[Click to email author] 


Rib fractures are associated with significant morbidity and mortality in the elderly, and the risk increases dramatically with each successive rib fractured. An elderly patient with 3 rib fractures has a mortality of 20% and risk of pneumonia is 31%. As a general rule, you should really think twice about discharging home any elderly patients with rib fractures. 

[credit to Dr. Joe Martinez for bringing forth this information] References 


Bulger EM, Arneson MA, Mock CN , et al. Rib fractures in the elderly. J Trauma 2000;48:1040-1046. 
_______________________________________________ 
Univ. of MD Emergency Medicine Education Listserv 
VIEW PEARLS ONLINE: http://umem.org/res_pearls_browse_cat.php 
_______________________________________________ 
You are receiving this email because you, or someone on your behalf, has subscribed to the University of Maryland Emergency Medicine Academic Listserv. You can always unsubscribe at: http://umemlists.org/mailman/listinfo/education_umemlists.org If you have any problems you may contact us by email or phone at www.umem.org. 
_______________________________________________ 
Disclaimer: The information in this writing is the opinion of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official opinion of the University of Maryland School of Medicine or the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. 

For Health Care Practitioners: This writing is provided only for medical education purposes. Although the authors have made every effort to provide the most up-to-date evidence-based medical information, this writing should not necessarily be considered the standard of care and may not reflect individual practices in other geographic locations. 

For the Public: This writing is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Your physician or other qualified health care provider should be contacted with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it based on information from this writing. Relying on information provided in this writing is done at your own risk. In the event of a medical emergency, contact your physician or call 9-1-1 immediately. 


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.umem.org/pipermail/education_lists.umem.org/attachments/20110321/b34de0f1/attachment.html>