Triage of the injured older adult: A narrative review of nationwide hospital practices

Affiliations

¹ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: aryang@arizona.edu.
² Division of Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 1100 Walnut Street, 19107, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Electronic address: mel008@jefferson.edu.
³ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: botaibi@arizona.edu.
⁴ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: kgj@arizona.edu.
⁵ Division of Trauma, Acute Care, and Critical Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, 70112, Louisiana, USA. Electronic address: hroberts1@tulane.edu.
⁶ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: mahankalisingh@arizona.edu.
⁷ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: ccolosim@arizona.edu.
⁸ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: lmagnotti@arizona.edu.
⁹ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: bjoseph@arizona.edu.
¹⁰ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: tanyaanand@arizona.edu.

PMID: 40987141
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2025.116615

Review

Triage of the injured older adult: A narrative review of nationwide hospital practices

Audrey R Yang et al. Am J Surg. 2025.

. 2025 Sep 16:249:116615.

doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2025.116615. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: aryang@arizona.edu.
² Division of Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 1100 Walnut Street, 19107, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Electronic address: mel008@jefferson.edu.
³ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: botaibi@arizona.edu.
⁴ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: kgj@arizona.edu.
⁵ Division of Trauma, Acute Care, and Critical Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, 70112, Louisiana, USA. Electronic address: hroberts1@tulane.edu.
⁶ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: mahankalisingh@arizona.edu.
⁷ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: ccolosim@arizona.edu.
⁸ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: lmagnotti@arizona.edu.
⁹ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: bjoseph@arizona.edu.
¹⁰ Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 5411, PO Box 245063, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. Electronic address: tanyaanand@arizona.edu.

PMID: 40987141
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2025.116615

Abstract

Despite published Best Practice Guidelines, a standardized triaging system for older adult trauma patients is not nationally implemented. We conducted a narrative review and consolidated the literature on nationwide triage practices for injured older adults to identify effective components. Search terms included "geriatric hospital triage," "geriatric trauma triage," "elderly trauma triage," and "older adult trauma triage." We included studies conducted in the United States published from 2014 to 2024, which yielded 31 articles. Identified triaging criteria such as anticoagulation, certain comorbidities, fall mechanism, head trauma, and mental status led to improved patient outcomes, such as significantly reduced hospital length of stay and decreased odds of mortality. The parameters for defining and triaging injured older adults are not uniform; however, they could serve as adequate risk stratification or prognostic tools. Effective components of institutional practices comprise a comprehensive triaging system for these patients. Future guidelines should incorporate a consensus of age and physiological criteria of older adults.

Keywords: Geriatric trauma triage; Older adult trauma triage; Trauma triage criteria.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Triage of the injured older adult: A narrative review of nationwide hospital practices

Affiliations

Triage of the injured older adult: A narrative review of nationwide hospital practices

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources