High risk trauma in older adults in Hong Kong: A multicentre study Janice H.H. Yeung a , Annice Ling Mui Chang b , Wendy Ho c , Fung Ling So d , Colin A. Graham e, * , Beatrice Cheng f , N.K. Cheung a , H.F. Ho b , W.K. Yuen g , C.W. Kam d , Timothy H. Rainer e a Trauma & Emergency Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China b Accident & Emergency Department, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China c Accident & Emergency Department, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China d Accident & Emergency Department, Tuen Mun Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China e Accident & Emergency Medicine Academic Unit, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China f Hospital Authority Head Office, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China g Department of Surgery, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China Accepted 18 March 2008 Injury, Int. J. Care Injured (2008) 39, 1034—1041 www.elsevier.com/locate/injury KEYWORDS Elderly; Older adults; Hong Kong; Trauma; Major trauma; Emergency departments; Injury; Outcome; Co-morbidity; Aetiology Summary Background: Trauma is the eighth leading cause of death in Hong Kong. In 2002, 18.5% of the population of Hong Kong was aged 55 years or above, which increased to 22.1% in 2006. The increasing older population in Hong Kong presents a challenge to the health care system yet there is little local data on older trauma patients. The objectives of this study are firstly to describe the epidemiology of high risk trauma in older patients in Hong Kong, and secondly to identify predictors of trauma mortality. Method: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from a centralised trauma database; data collected from 2002 to 2004 from four trauma centres in Hong Kong. Results: Between 2002 and 2004, the four trauma centres had a total of 2,124,175 emergency department attendances of which 376,021 (17.7%) were trauma patients, * Corresponding author at: Accident & Emergency Medicine Academic Unit, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Trauma & Emergency Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China. Tel.: +852 2632 1033; fax: +852 2648 1469. E-mail address: cagraham@cuhk.edu.hk (C.A. Graham). 0020–1383/$ — see front matter # 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2008.03.017