Inpatient Falls in a Hospital Rehabilitation Department - Abstract
Background: A Rehabilitation program encourages mobility, which may create a risky environment. Identifying high-risk inpatients prone to fall is a major component of prevention programs.
Objectives: To study the various circumstances which lead to patient falls in rehabilitation department.
Material and methods: Eighty fall cases, 38 men and 17 women, registered between 2008 and 2012. Group 1 (participants) included 41 patients who fell once and group 2 (control) included 14 patients who fell twice or more. All patients needed rehabilitation and hospital stay after the acute phase. The nursing staff was required to report all falls occurring in the hospital. The data examined were: the illness or injury for which the patients were hospitalized for rehabilitation; hour of day the fall occurred; existence of illness or previous injury which may have influenced the occurrence of the fall; the action which caused the fall; location in the hospital where the fall occurred; the injury caused by the fall, if any.
Results: All the patients who fell more than once had cerebral lesion (Fisher’s exact test, p=0.004 2-sided). In patients of group 1, the event usually occurred when transferring from one place to another (Chi Square Test, p=0.038 1-sided), and at group 2, the event mainly occurred due to slipping while walking or standing (Chi Square Test, p=0.005 2-sided).
Conclusions: Falls were most frequents in stroke patients. Fall during transfer was more frequent among patients who fell once. Slipping while walking or standing happened more among the patients who fell twice or more.