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Falls in hospitalized geriatric psychiatry patients: high incidence, but only a few fractures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2017

Dennis Oepen ,
Tim Fleiner ,
Andrés Oliva y Hausmann ,
Susanne Zank ,
Wiebren Zijlstra  and
Peter Haeussermann
Dennis Oepen
Affiliation:
Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Science, University of Cologne, Chair of Rehabilitative Gerontology, Germany Seniorenhaus GmbH der Cellitinnen zur Heiligen Maria, Cellitinnen Bonn, Germany
Tim Fleiner*
Affiliation:
Department of Geriatric Psychiatry and -psychotherapy, LVR-Klinik Köln, Germany Institute of Movement and Sport Gerontology, German Sport University Cologne, Germany
Andrés Oliva y Hausmann
Affiliation:
Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Science, University of Cologne, Chair of Rehabilitative Gerontology, Germany
Susanne Zank
Affiliation:
Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Science, University of Cologne, Chair of Rehabilitative Gerontology, Germany
Wiebren Zijlstra
Affiliation:
Institute of Movement and Sport Gerontology, German Sport University Cologne, Germany
Peter Haeussermann
Affiliation:
Department of Geriatric Psychiatry and -psychotherapy, LVR-Klinik Köln, Germany
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Tim Fleiner, German Sport University Cologne, Institute of Movement and Sport Gerontology, Am Sportpark Muengersdorf 6, 50933 Köln, Germany. Phone: +49 221 4982 6136. Email: T.Fleiner@dshs-koeln.de.
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Abstract

Fall rates from 3.2 to 17.1 falls per 1,000 hospital days in geriatric psychiatry facilities have been reported to date. Up to 5% of the falls result in severe injuries, but data concerning medical consequences are scare. This brief report presents a retrospective analysis of one year fall protocols from a geriatric psychiatry department focusing on consequences of falls. Fall-induced injuries were rated in four categories: no injuries, mild injuries (contusions, hematomas, abrasions), moderate injuries (lacerations, dislocations), and severe injuries (fractures, cerebral hemorrhages). In total, 510 falls were registered during the study period, indicating a fall rate of 17.7 falls per 1,000 hospital days. Overall, 375 falls (73.5%) resulted in no injuries, 67 (13.1%) resulted in mild injuries, 59 (11.6%) resulted in moderate injuries, and only 9 (1.8%) falls led to severe injuries (fractures and cerebral hemorrhages). These results indicate a quite high fall rate in our sample of hospitalized geriatric psychiatry patients with only a relatively small number of severe injuries resulting from the falls. These results raise the question about the use of physical restraints and the use of bedrails in geriatric patients to prevent falls as the medical implications of falls may be less problematic than previously thought.

Keywords

fall-ratefall-induced injuryolder peoplehospital caregeriatric psychiatry
Type
Brief Report
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , January 2018 , pp. 161 - 165
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2017 

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Footnotes

*

both authors contributed equally.

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