Citation

Kobayashi K, Imagama S, Inagaki Y, Suzuki Y, Ando K, Nishida Y, Nagao Y, Ishiguro N. Nagoya J. Med. Sci. 2017; 79(3): 291-298.

Affiliation

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Nagoya University School of Medicine)

DOI

10.18999/nagjms.79.3.291

PMID

28878434

PMCID

PMC5577015

Abstract

Aging of the patient population has led to increased occurrence of accidental falls in acute care settings. The aim of this study is to survey the annual occurrence of falls in a university hospital, and to examine procedures to prevent fall. A total of 49,059 inpatients were admitted to our hospital from April 2015 to March 2016. A fall assessment scale was developed to estimate the risk of fall at admission. Data on falls were obtained from the hospital incident reporting system. There were fall-related incidents in 826 patients (1.7%). Most falls occurred in hospital rooms (67%). Adverse events occurred in 101 patients who fell (12%) and were significantly more frequent in patients aged ≥80 years old and in those wearing slippers. The incidence of falls was also significantly higher in patients in the highest risk group. These results support the validity of the risk assessment scale for predicting accidental falls in an acute treatment setting. The findings also clarify the demographic and environmental factors and consequences associated with fall. These results of the study could provide important information for designing effective interventions to prevent fall in elderly patients.

Language: en

Keywords

elderly patients; fall; fall assessment sheet; hospitalization; risk management