Table 2.
Injury descriptor comparison of older vs. younger individuals with blunt head trauma.
| Characteristicsa | Younger: age <65 (n = 391) |
Older: age ≥65 (n = 109) |
Statisticb | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanism of injury | ||||
| Pedestrian struck | 46 (11.8) | 4 (3.7) | 79.4018 | <0.001 |
| Motor vehicle-traffic | 105 (26.9) | 21 (19.3) | ||
| Fall | 100 (25.6) | 76 (69.7) | ||
| Assault | 83 (21.3) | 3 (2.8) | ||
| Struck by/against | 21 (5.2) | 3 (2.8) | ||
| Pedal cycle | 36 (9.2) | 2 (1.7) | ||
| Intoxicated on drugs/alcohol | 94 (24.0) | 12 (11.0) | 8.6652 | 0.002 |
| Abnormal CT findings | 65 (16.6) | 27 (24.8) | 3.7677 | 0.068 |
| Symptoms at time of presentation | ||||
| GCS < 15 at presentation | 61 (15.6) | 12 (11.0) | 1.4414 | 0.283 |
| Post-traumatic amnesia | 221 (56.5) | 52 (47.7) | 3.0436 | 0.226 |
| Deficits in short-term memory | 54 (13.8) | 14 (12.8) | 0.9925 | 0.511 |
| Focal neurological deficits | 33 (8.4) | 5 (4.6) | 2.0996 | 0.392 |
| Headache | 329 (84.1) | 76 (69.7) | 12.1865 | 0.002 |
| Vomiting since injury | 43 (11.0) | 9 (8.3) | 0.6870 | 0.481 |
| GOAT total score, median (IQR) | 99 (94–100) | 99 (92–100) | 0.109 | 0.7408 |
| Met VA/DoD criteria | 302 (77.2) | 63 (57.8) | 16.3428 | <0.001 |
| Head AIS score | ||||
| Minor | 311 (79.5) | 79 (72.5) | 3.9128 | 0.267 |
| Moderate | 13 (3.3) | 4 (3.7) | ||
| Serious | 20 (5.1) | 5 (4.6) | ||
| Severe, critical, or maximal | 47 (12.1) | 21 (19.2) | ||
a
No. (%) unless listed otherwise;
b
Fisher’s exact for proportions and Kruskal-Wallis for continuous variables; GCS: Glasgow Coma Scale; GOAT: Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test; VA/DoD: Veterans Administration/Department of Defense; AIS: Abbreviated Injury Scale.