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Risk factors for falling in a psychogeriatric unit
1Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, 345 Blackstone Boulevard, Providence, RI 02906, USA.
International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
|September 6, 2001
Summary
Female gender, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), mood stabilizers, cardiac arrhythmias, Parkinson's syndrome, and dementias are key risk factors for falls in psychiatric inpatients. ECT was also linked to longer hospital stays.
Area of Science:
- Geriatric Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Falls are a significant concern in psychogeriatric inpatient settings, posing risks to patient safety and potentially increasing length of stay.
- Identifying specific risk factors is crucial for developing targeted fall prevention strategies in this vulnerable population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify independent risk factors associated with falls among patients admitted to a psychogeriatric inpatient unit.
- To analyze the relationship between identified risk factors and hospital stay duration.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study design.
- Involved 1834 adult patients admitted to a psychogeriatric inpatient unit between 1992 and 1995.
- Logistic regression analysis was employed to determine independent risk factors for falls.
Main Results:
- A fall rate of 9.5% was observed, with 175 falls recorded.
- Six variables independently associated with increased fall risk were identified: female gender, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), mood stabilizers, cardiac arrhythmias, Parkinson's syndrome, and dementias.
- Falls and ECT were significantly associated with longer hospital stays, even after adjusting for confounders.
Conclusions:
- The study confirms previous findings on fall risk factors in psychiatric settings.
- Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is identified as a potential modifiable risk factor for falls in hospitalized psychiatric patients.
- These findings underscore the need for enhanced fall prevention protocols for patients with identified risk factors, particularly those undergoing ECT.