1. Falls in the General Hospital: Association With Delirium, Advanced Age, and Specific Surgical Procedures
- Author
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Susan M. Kilroy, Mary Lussier-Cushing, Erin P. Kelleher, Laura Sumner, Barbara E. Lakatos, Theodore A. Stern, Jennifer Repper-DeLisi, Leslie DeLisle, Constance Cruz, Virginia Capasso, and Monique T. Mitchell
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Cross-sectional study ,Hospitals, General ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,Diagnosis, Differential ,Injury Severity Score ,Postoperative Complications ,Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) ,Quality of life ,Risk Factors ,Organic mental disorders ,mental disorders ,Secondary Prevention ,medicine ,Humans ,Risk factor ,Psychiatry ,Applied Psychology ,Aged ,Retrospective Studies ,Aged, 80 and over ,business.industry ,Age Factors ,Delirium ,Retrospective cohort study ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Massachusetts ,Emergency medicine ,Wounds and Injuries ,Accidental Falls ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,business ,Fall prevention - Abstract
Background Falls and delirium in general-hospital inpatients are related to increases in morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Patients fall despite safeguards and programs to reduce falling. Objective The authors sought to determine the prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed delirium in patients who fell during their hospital stay. Method The authors performed a retrospective electronic chart review of 252 patients who fell during their hospital stay. Falls were categorized by their severity (i.e., minor, moderate, and major). Demographic information, patient outcomes, and diagnostic criteria for delirium (per DSM–IV) were collected on the day of admission, the day of the fall, and the 2 days preceding the patient's fall. Results Falls in the general hospital were associated with delirium (both diagnosed and undiagnosed), advanced age, and specific surgical procedures. Conclusion Improving the recognition of undiagnosed delirium may lead to sustainable and successful fall prevention programs. Detection of impairments in mental status can assist staff to create individualized patient care plans. Knowledge about which patients are at risk for injury from delirium and falls can lead to improvements in patient safety, functioning, and quality of life.
- Published
- 2009
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