To assess fall risk in the elderly OPD patients using conventional fall risk tool and Kinesis QTUG device: A...

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Biomechanics
• Medical Devices

Background:

• Falls are a significant health concern for the elderly, often stemming from multiple factors.
• Early identification and management of fall risk factors are crucial for prevention.
• Assessing fall risk accurately is vital for implementing effective interventions in geriatric care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the agreement between a digital sensor-based device, Kinesis Quantitative Timed Up and Go (QTUG), and a conventional Fall Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT).
• To determine the concordance of fall-risk assessment in the elderly Indian population using these two distinct methodologies.

Main Methods:

• The study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Western India.
• Fall risk was assessed using both the conventional FRAT score and the digital sensor-based Kinesis QTUG device.
• Agreement between the two assessment tools was statistically analyzed using unweighted kappa.

Main Results:

• The study included 147 elderly individuals with a mean age of 68.54 years; 53.3% were female.
• The Kinesis QTUG device identified 59.56% of elderly patients as high fall risk, contrasting with FRAT's 1.36%.
• A poor agreement was observed between the Kinesis QTUG and FRAT, indicated by an unweighted kappa value of 0.634.

Conclusions:

• The prevalence of falls in the elderly population within the study year was 40%.
• There is a significant lack of agreement between the Kinesis QTUG device and the FRAT score in estimating fall risk.
• These findings suggest a need for further validation and potential recalibration of fall risk assessment tools in diverse elderly populations.