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. 2020 Jul 29;20(1):1186.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-09268-2.

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of fall-related injuries: a retrospective study

Ahammed Mekkodathil  1 , Ayman El-Menyar  2   3 , Ahad Kanbar  4 , Suhail Hakim  4 , Khalid Ahmed  4 , Tariq Siddiqui  4 , Hassan Al-Thani  5
Affiliations

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of fall-related injuries: a retrospective study

Ahammed Mekkodathil et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Fall-related injuries are important public health problem worldwide. We aimed to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of fall-related injuries in a level 1 trauma center.

Method: A retrospective analysis of Qatar Trauma Registry data was conducted on patients admitted for fall-related injuries between 2010 and 2017. Comparative analyses of data by gender, age-groups and height of falls were performed to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients, and in-hospital outcomes.

Results: A total of 4040 patients with fall-related injuries were identified in the study duration which corresponds to the rate of 2.34 per 10,000 population. Although the rate of fall-related injuries decreased over the years, the average number of patients per year remained high accounting for 32% of the hospitalized patients with moderate to severe injuries. Most of the injuries affected the head (36%) followed by spines (29%) and chest (23%). Males were predominant (89%), more likely to fall at workplace, fall from a greater height and have polytrauma than females. The working age-group (20-59 years) constituted the majority of injured (73%) and were more likely to fall at workplace, and to fall from higher heights compared to the older adults who sustained more fall at home. Overall in-hospital mortality was 3%. Outcomes including longer hospital length of stay and mortality were generally correlated with the height of fall except for the fall at home.

Conclusion: Fall-related injuries remain as significant burden even in a level 1 trauma center. Variations in the pattern of injuries by age, gender and height of fall provide important information for targeted preventive measures.

Keywords: Fall; Height; Injury; Qatar; Trauma.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

References

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