TY - JOUR
T1 - Unexplained falls are frequent in patients with fall-related injury admitted to orthopaedic wards
T2 - The UFO study (unexplained falls in older patients)
AU - Mussi, Chiara
AU - Galizi, Gianluigi
AU - Abete, Pasquale
AU - Morrione, Alessandro
AU - Maraviglia, Alice
AU - Noro, Gabriele
AU - Cavagnaro, Paolo
AU - Ghirelli, Loredana
AU - Tava, Giovanni
AU - Franco, Rengo
AU - Masotti, Giulio
AU - Salvioli, Gianfranco
AU - Marchionni, Niccolò
AU - Ungar, Andrea
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - To evaluate the incidence of unexplained falls in elderly patients affected by fall-related fractures admitted to orthopaedic wards, we recruited 246 consecutive patients older than 65 (mean age 82 ± 7 years, range 65-101). Falls were defined "accidental" (fall explained by a definite accidental cause), "medical" (fall caused directly by a specific medical disease), "dementia-related" (fall in patients affected by moderate-severe dementia), and "unexplained" (nonaccidental falls, not related to a clear medical or drug-induced cause or with no apparent cause). According to the anamnestic features of the event, older patients had a lower tendency to remember the fall. Patients with accidental fall remember more often the event. Unexplained falls were frequent in both groups of age. Accidental falls were more frequent in younger patients, while dementia-related falls were more common in the older ones. Patients with unexplained falls showed a higher number of depressive symptoms. In a multivariate analysis a higher GDS and syncopal spells were independent predictors of unexplained falls. In conclusion, more than one third of all falls in patients hospitalized in orthopaedic wards were unexplained, particularly in patients with depressive symptoms and syncopal spells. The identification of fall causes must be evaluated in older patients with a fall-related injury.
AB - To evaluate the incidence of unexplained falls in elderly patients affected by fall-related fractures admitted to orthopaedic wards, we recruited 246 consecutive patients older than 65 (mean age 82 ± 7 years, range 65-101). Falls were defined "accidental" (fall explained by a definite accidental cause), "medical" (fall caused directly by a specific medical disease), "dementia-related" (fall in patients affected by moderate-severe dementia), and "unexplained" (nonaccidental falls, not related to a clear medical or drug-induced cause or with no apparent cause). According to the anamnestic features of the event, older patients had a lower tendency to remember the fall. Patients with accidental fall remember more often the event. Unexplained falls were frequent in both groups of age. Accidental falls were more frequent in younger patients, while dementia-related falls were more common in the older ones. Patients with unexplained falls showed a higher number of depressive symptoms. In a multivariate analysis a higher GDS and syncopal spells were independent predictors of unexplained falls. In conclusion, more than one third of all falls in patients hospitalized in orthopaedic wards were unexplained, particularly in patients with depressive symptoms and syncopal spells. The identification of fall causes must be evaluated in older patients with a fall-related injury.
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U2 - 10.1155/2013/928603
DO - 10.1155/2013/928603
M3 - Article
C2 - 23533394
AN - SCOPUS:84875541455
VL - 2013
JO - Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research
JF - Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research
SN - 1687-7063
M1 - 928603
ER -