FRIDAY, June 18 , 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Patient education is one of the most important ways to reduce the risk of patient falls in hospitals, according to a new study.
"Patient education should be a priority. Patients need to be reminded that they're on a number of medications, in an unfamiliar environment, and being put through a routine of tests, procedures, and bed rest, all of which can make them weaker and more susceptible to falling," study co-author Melissa J. Krauss, research coordinator in infectious diseases at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said in a prepared statement.
Other recommendations include ensuring that canes, walkers and other assistive devices are available in hospital rooms of patients who need them, and that there is assistance and more regularly scheduled bathroom trips for patients at high risk of falling.
Krauss and her colleagues analyzed 200 patient falls that occurred over 13 weeks. They interviewed patients, nurses and family members after the falls and collected information from nurses' reports and records.
Patients were injured in 42 percent of the falls. Eight percent of the falls resulted in such serious injuries as head traumas or fractures, while other falls led to cuts, scrapes, bruises and other minor injuries.
"When we compared people who did not sustain an injury to those who did, we found that patients who were involved in an elimination fall -- a fall related to the need to use the toilet -- were more likely to sustain an injury," Krauss said.
These elimination falls can occur in the bathroom, on the way to or from the bed to the bathroom, or on portable toilets placed beside patients' beds. The study found that patients who fell using bedside commodes were at especially high risk of serious injury.
The study was published in the June 16 issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
More information
The U.S. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control has information about falls in nursing homes.
