Too old to live. Too young to die. Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in the elderly.

The elderly individual who sustains multiple injuries is one of the ultimate challenges for the trauma team. To deliver optimum care, the provider must be knowledgeable about acute resuscitation, critical care, rehabilitation, and gerontologic medicine. As more people enter their eighth decade of life and greater numbers of trauma victims survive, more critical care beds will be filled with elderly patients with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Practitioners of critical care are obliged to learn how best to care for this challenging group.