A new approach for identifying patients at high risk for falls in emergency department

Results.– Two hundred and twenty falls were recorded in total in 155 patients. The following diseases correlated with an increased risk of falling during an inpatient hospital stay: Urinary incontinenceP<0.0001ParkinsondiseaseP<0.0001Cognitive impairment P<0.0001 The following medication correlated with an increased risk of falling: benzodiazepine P<0.002 high potency antipsychotics P<0.001 low potency antipsychotics P<0.0001 atypical antipsychotics P<0.0001 81% of falls occurred in the patient’s rooms. Patients in single rooms had more falls than patients in rooms with two or more beds (P<0.001). Discussion and conclusions.– While there was no link between orthopedic or internal diseases and a risk of falling, neurodegenerative diseases did correlate with an increased risk of falling. Benzodiazepines and all examined antipsychotic groups correlated with an increased risk of falling in elderly hospital patients. Accommodation in a single room was concomitant with a significantly higher risk of falling.