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. 2015:159:A7729.

[Falling from a height: Psychiatric comorbidity and complications]

[Article in Dutch]
Emile A Clous  1 , Kees J Ponsen, Pieter Boele van Hensbroek, Jan S K Luitse, Miranda Olff, J Carel Goslings
Affiliations
  • PMID: 26306478

[Falling from a height: Psychiatric comorbidity and complications]

[Article in Dutch]
Emile A Clous et al. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2015.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate whether a mental disorder increases the occurrence of complications in patients after 'a fall from a height'.

Design: Retrospective descriptive study.

Methods: Data on all patients admitted following a 'fall from a height' in the period 2004-2012 was retrieved from the trauma registry of the Academic Medical Center (AMC) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This was combined with data from the National Surgical Complications Registry (LHCR). A chart review was conducted to determine the presence of mental disorders in these patients. Corrected risk ratio for the risk of complications in patients with a psychological disorder was calculated using the Mantel-Haenszel method.

Results: A total of 507 patients presented to the emergency department at the AMC following a fall from a height; 147 patients (29%) experienced 1 or more complications and 131 patients (25.8%) had a mental disorder. Complications arose in 60 patients with a mental disorder (45.8%) and in 87 patients (23.1%) without a mental disorder. The corrected risk ratio showed that a mental disorder is a statistically significant independent predictor of complications (risk ratio: 1.58; 95% confidence interval: 1.21-2.06).

Conclusion: The risk of complications following a fall from a height in patients with a mental disorder is one and a half times higher than in patients without a mental disorder. This mental disorder is a significant independent predictor of a medical complication following a fall from a height.

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