Beyond fall risk assessment: A case-control study in an Urban Medical Center

Area of Science:

• Healthcare research
• Patient safety
• Clinical nursing

Background:

• In the United States, 700,000 to 1 million inpatient falls occur annually.
• These falls increase healthcare costs by over $19 billion per year.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify characteristics of patients who fall compared to those who do not.
• To discover predictors for future fall risk assessment.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study using retrospective analysis of electronic health records.
• Included 160 patients who fell and 160 matched controls who did not fall.
• Utilized the Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool.

Main Results:

• Patients not receiving lorazepam within 12 hours of fall risk assessment were less likely to fall.
• A statistical relationship was found between toileting at the time of fall and patient age.

Conclusions:

• Nursing assessment is critical for identifying patients at risk of falling, even those with low-to-moderate scores.
• Administration of lorazepam should prompt fall precautions regardless of the patient's scored fall risk.