older age

QuickStats: Percentage of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)–Related Deaths,* by Underlying Cause and Age Group — United States, 2013

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QuickStats: Percentage of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)–Related Deaths,* by Underlying Cause and Age Group — United States, 2013.

The causes of injury that result in TBI-related deaths vary by age group. In 2013, 77% of the TBI-related deaths among infants aged <1 year were from causes other than transportation, firearms, or falls, and primarily resulted from assault and maltreatment. Transportation accounted for 53% of the TBI-related deaths among children aged 1–14 years. Firearm-related injuries accounted for 50% and 52% of the TBI-related deaths for persons aged 15–24 and 25–64 years, respectively. Most of the firearm-related TBI deaths in these two age groups were suicides (62% and 83%, respectively). The majority (61%) of TBI-related deaths for those aged ≥65 years resulted from falls.

The Far-Reaching Effects of a Fall – NYTimes.com

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Statistics among older people are indeed daunting. Dr. Laurence Z. Rubenstein, chairman of geriatrics at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, reports that those 65 and older constitute about 13 percent of the population but account for three-fourths of all deaths caused by falls. About 40 percent in this age group fall at least once a year; one in 40 of them ends up in the hospital, after which only half are still alive a year later.

via The Far-Reaching Effects of a Fall – NYTimes.com.

Neurotoxicity with Antimicrobials in the Elderly: A Review – Clinical Therapeutics

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Yikes!

Neurotoxicity with Antimicrobials in the Elderly: A Review – Clinical Therapeutics.

Findings

Various antimicrobial classes are implicated with neurotoxicity. The classes with the most reported cases include fluoroquinolones, macrolides, sulfonamides, nitrofurans, and β-lactams. A higher risk of developing various symptoms of neurotoxicity was found in the elderly with use of piperacillin and tazobactam, cephalosporins, carbapenems, aminoglycosides, trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole, nitrofurantoin, linezolid, and possibly the fluoroquinolones. Potential mechanisms of neurotoxicity differ between the agents. The etiology of neurotoxicity with some agents is not fully elucidated. Incidence may increase with reported risk factors, renal dysfunction, or drug interactions.