Abstract：
OBJECTIVE: The incidence of falls in elderly patients in the hospital environment is three times higher than that in the community. The aim was to determine the characteristics of patients who suffered in-hospital falls and their complications.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study with patients older than 64 years of age, admitted between 2018 and 2020 to four clinics in Colombia who presented a fall during their stay. Clinical data, reasons for the fall, complications and use of drugs with a known risk for causing falls and with an anticholinergic load were reviewed.
RESULTS: A total of 249 patients were included. The mean age was 77.5 ± 7.4 years, and there was a predominance of males (63.9%). The patients were hospitalized mainly for community-acquired pneumonia (12.4%) and heart failure (10.4%). Falls occurred most frequently in hospitalization wards (77.1%) and emergency departments (20.9%). Falls were related to standing alone (34.4%) and on the way to the bathroom (28.9%), with 40.6% (n = 102) of falls resulting in trauma, especially to the head (27.7%); the incidence of fractures was low (3.2%). Ninety-two percent of patients had polypharmacy (≥5 drugs), 88.0% received psychotropic drugs, and 37.3% received drugs with an anticholinergic load ≥3 points.
CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalized adults over 65 years of age suffered falls, mainly in hospitalization wards and emergency departments, especially during the process of solitary ambulation. Most had received psychotropic drugs and medications with a high anticholinergic load. These results suggest that it is necessary to improve risk prevention strategies for falls in this population.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study with patients older than 64 years of age, admitted between 2018 and 2020 to four clinics in Colombia who presented a fall during their stay. Clinical data, reasons for the fall, complications and use of drugs with a known risk for causing falls and with an anticholinergic load were reviewed.
RESULTS: A total of 249 patients were included. The mean age was 77.5 ± 7.4 years, and there was a predominance of males (63.9%). The patients were hospitalized mainly for community-acquired pneumonia (12.4%) and heart failure (10.4%). Falls occurred most frequently in hospitalization wards (77.1%) and emergency departments (20.9%). Falls were related to standing alone (34.4%) and on the way to the bathroom (28.9%), with 40.6% (n = 102) of falls resulting in trauma, especially to the head (27.7%); the incidence of fractures was low (3.2%). Ninety-two percent of patients had polypharmacy (≥5 drugs), 88.0% received psychotropic drugs, and 37.3% received drugs with an anticholinergic load ≥3 points.
CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalized adults over 65 years of age suffered falls, mainly in hospitalization wards and emergency departments, especially during the process of solitary ambulation. Most had received psychotropic drugs and medications with a high anticholinergic load. These results suggest that it is necessary to improve risk prevention strategies for falls in this population.
摘要：
目的：医院环境中老年患者跌倒的发生率是社区的三倍。目的是确定住院跌倒患者的特征及其并发症。
方法：这是一项针对64岁以上患者的横断面研究，在2018年至2020年期间被哥伦比亚的四家诊所收治，他们在逗留期间出现了摔倒。临床数据,跌倒的原因,我们回顾了已知有引发跌倒风险和抗胆碱能负荷的药物的并发症和使用情况.
结果：共纳入249例患者。平均年龄为77.5±7.4岁，男性占主导地位(63.9%)。患者主要因社区获得性肺炎（12.4%）和心力衰竭（10.4%）住院。跌倒最常见的是住院病房（77.1％）和急诊科（20.9％）。跌倒与独自站立（34.4％）和去洗手间的途中（28.9％）有关，40.6%(n=102)的跌倒导致创伤，尤其是头部（27.7％）；骨折的发生率很低（3.2％）。92%的患者有多重用药（≥5种药物），88.0%接受精神药物治疗,37.3%接受抗胆碱能负荷≥3分的药物治疗。
结论：65岁以上的住院成年人跌倒，主要在住院病房和急诊科，尤其是在单独行走的过程中。大多数人接受了精神药物和具有高抗胆碱能负荷的药物。这些结果表明，有必要改善该人群跌倒的风险预防策略。
方法：这是一项针对64岁以上患者的横断面研究，在2018年至2020年期间被哥伦比亚的四家诊所收治，他们在逗留期间出现了摔倒。临床数据,跌倒的原因,我们回顾了已知有引发跌倒风险和抗胆碱能负荷的药物的并发症和使用情况.
结果：共纳入249例患者。平均年龄为77.5±7.4岁，男性占主导地位(63.9%)。患者主要因社区获得性肺炎（12.4%）和心力衰竭（10.4%）住院。跌倒最常见的是住院病房（77.1％）和急诊科（20.9％）。跌倒与独自站立（34.4％）和去洗手间的途中（28.9％）有关，40.6%(n=102)的跌倒导致创伤，尤其是头部（27.7％）；骨折的发生率很低（3.2％）。92%的患者有多重用药（≥5种药物），88.0%接受精神药物治疗,37.3%接受抗胆碱能负荷≥3分的药物治疗。
结论：65岁以上的住院成年人跌倒，主要在住院病房和急诊科，尤其是在单独行走的过程中。大多数人接受了精神药物和具有高抗胆碱能负荷的药物。这些结果表明，有必要改善该人群跌倒的风险预防策略。
