Chronic kidney disease and polypharmacy as risk factors for recurrent falls in a nursing home population

It is known that nursing home patients who have sustained a previous fall are at a higher average risk for recurrent falls. Therefore, these patients require closer attention and monitoring for fall prevention.

We conducted a retrospective review in our Level 1 Trauma Center, who sustained a ground-level fall in a nursing home from January 2017 to December 2018. Inclusion criteria involved patients aged 65 or older, admitted from nursing homes. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with recurrent fall.

A total of 445 patients were identified. Among them, 47 (10.6%) patients sustained recurrent falls, The median age was 83.3 years old and. The recurrent fall group was more likely to have chronic kidney disease (CKD) (27.1% vs. 13.1%, p = 0.02) and diabetes (47.9% vs. 31%, p = 0.02). The median number of medications taken by a patient was 8.78. Overall, 176 (39.5%) patients sustained any injury, and 25 (5.6%) patients died within the study period. The presence of CKD (odds ratio [OR], 2.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15-4.76, p = 0.02) and polypharmacy (number of medications of 9 or above) (OR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.12-3.82, p = 0.02) were independent risk factors for recurrent falls.

CKD and polypharmacy were associated with a risk of recurrent falls among nursing home patients. The incidence of falls has a multifactorial etiology, and it is important to identify such risk factors to better prevent the morbidities and mortalities associated with fall-related injuries.