[Analysis of clinical characteristics and treatment strategies for elderly patients in oral emergency].
Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics and treatment status in elderly patients with oral emergencies, and to provide a reference for improving emergency care level for this population. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on the patients aged 80 years and above in the Department of Oral Emergency in Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology from January 2022 to December 2024. Gender, age, systemic conditions, disease types and treatment strategies were statistically analyzed. Results: A total of 3 470 patients were enrolled, including 1 403 males (1 403/3 470) and 2, 067 females (2 067/3 470), with a male-to-female ratio of 0.68∶1. The age range was 80 to 101 years, with median age of 84 years. Elderly patients had a wide variety of diseases involving multiple disciplines, in which acute toothache [38.3%(1 330/3 470)], maxillofacial trauma [10.14%(352/3 470)], infectious diseases [10.06%(349/3 470)], hemorrhage [9.00%(312/3 470)], and temporomandibular joint emergencies [6.43%(223/3 470)] were the most prevalent. Comorbid systemic diseases were present in 63% of patients, showing an increasing trend with advancing age. Hypertension [43.8%(1 519/3 470)], cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases [27.6%(958/3 470)], and diabetes mellitus [16.9%(588/3 470)] were the most common comorbidities. Emergencies were effectively managed in 69.6% (2 414/3 470) patients. 30.4% (1 056/3 470) patients had no effective resolution, mostly due to the need for scheduled treatment under electrocardiographic monitoring or surgical tooth extraction. Whether electrocardiographic monitoring was needed varied between the two groups with different age characteristics. Conclusions: Elderly patients with oral emergencies have a diverse range of diseases involving multiple disciplines, and the risk of treatment complications is relatively high due to their complex comorbid systemic conditions. Clinicians should formulate individualized treatment plans based on patients' systemic status in clinical treatment.