Session 3 Tuesday , June 25 between 10 : 00 and 12 : 00 L - Falls and falls prevention ; Aging P 3 - L - 152 Analysis Of 857 Cases With In - Hospital Falls

Background and aim: To reveal the risks of in-hospital falls and to work out countermeasures against them. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 857 in-hospital falls which have been reported to risk-management department, out of 617275 patients who were hospitalized in our hospital from April 1, 2009 to June 30, 2011. The following factors were considered; (A) age, (B) main department, the primary disease, (C) the time zone in which the fall occurred, (D) presence or absence of psychotoropic drugs, (E) situation. We also investigated the complications of falling. Results: In-hospital falls occurred in 0.14% of all the in-patients. (A) The patients in their 70s were most likely to fall. (B) The falls happened most frequently in the department of neurology. (C) The largest number of falling occurred between midnight and 8 a.m., (D) 444 patients out of 861 were taking psychotropic drugs such as sleep pills and sedatives. (E) Most falling took place during moving between the bed and another place, often lavatory. Most complications of falling were mild injury such as bruise and there was no death. However ?@intracranial hemorrhage occurred in 3 patients, and 11 patients suffered from bone fracture. Conclusion: Old age, neurological diseases and psychotropic drugs may increase the risk of falls. The understanding of risks for in-hospital falls is important to protect patients against unexpected accidents in the hospital.