BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patients with stroke are at a high risk for falling. We assessed the fall incidence and risk factors for patients hospitalized as the result of an acute stroke. METHODS: We studied a cohort of 720 stroke patients from 23 hospitals in The Netherlands. The data were abstracted from the medical and nursing records. RESULTS: We studied 346 women and 374 men with a median age of 75 years; 77% of the patients had had a cerebral infarct, 17% had had a hemorrhage, and 6% had had an undefined stroke. We recorded 104 patients (14%) who fell at least once; there were a total of 173 falls. The incidence of falls was 8.9/1000 patients per day. The daily incidence was 6.2/1000 patients for first falls and 17.9/1000 patients for second falls. Heart disease (relative risk [RR], 1.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0 to 2.4), mental decline (RR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.0 to 2.4), and urinary incontinence (RR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.3 to 4.1) were incremental risk factors for first falls, whereas the use of major psychotropic drugs lowered the fall risk (RR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3 to 0.8). The fall RR for patients with one previous fall was 2.2 (95% CI, 1.5 to 3.2), adjusted for the other risk factors. Most falls occurred during the day. Approximately 25% of the falls caused slight-to-severe injury, whereas three falls (2%) led to hip fractures. CONCLUSIONS: Stroke patients have at risk of falling. The identification of patients at risk may be a first step toward the implementation of fall-prevention measures for these patients.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Patients with stroke are at a high risk for falling. We assessed the fall incidence and risk factors for patients hospitalized as the result of an acute stroke. METHODS: We studied a cohort of 720 strokepatients from 23 hospitals in The Netherlands. The data were abstracted from the medical and nursing records. RESULTS: We studied 346 women and 374 men with a median age of 75 years; 77% of the patients had had a cerebral infarct, 17% had had a hemorrhage, and 6% had had an undefined stroke. We recorded 104 patients (14%) who fell at least once; there were a total of 173 falls. The incidence of falls was 8.9/1000 patients per day. The daily incidence was 6.2/1000 patients for first falls and 17.9/1000 patients for second falls. Heart disease (relative risk [RR], 1.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0 to 2.4), mental decline (RR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.0 to 2.4), and urinary incontinence (RR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.3 to 4.1) were incremental risk factors for first falls, whereas the use of major psychotropic drugs lowered the fall risk (RR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3 to 0.8). The fall RR for patients with one previous fall was 2.2 (95% CI, 1.5 to 3.2), adjusted for the other risk factors. Most falls occurred during the day. Approximately 25% of the falls caused slight-to-severe injury, whereas three falls (2%) led to hip fractures. CONCLUSIONS:Strokepatients have at risk of falling. The identification of patients at risk may be a first step toward the implementation of fall-prevention measures for these patients.
Authors: Manish N Shah; Ivan T Stoev; Dominic E Sanford; Feng Gao; Paul Santiago; David P Jaques; Ralph G Dacey Journal: J Neurosurg Date: 2013-04-26 Impact factor: 5.115
Authors: Jacques C L Neyens; Béatrice P J Dijcks; Jolanda C M van Haastregt; Luc P de Witte; Wim J A van den Heuvel; Harry F J M Crebolder; Jos M G A Schols Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2006-03-21 Impact factor: 3.295