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. 2021 Jan 30;18(3):1239.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18031239.

Risk Factors for Fall-Related Serious Injury among Korean Adults: A Cross-Sectional Retrospective Analysis

Moon-Sook Kim  1 , Hyun-Myung Jung  1 , Hyo-Yeon Lee  2 , Jinhyun Kim  3
Affiliations

Risk Factors for Fall-Related Serious Injury among Korean Adults: A Cross-Sectional Retrospective Analysis

Moon-Sook Kim et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors of serious fall-related injuries by analyzing the differences between two fall groups: one with serious fall-related injuries and one without such injuries. Applying a retrospective, descriptive investigation study design, we analyzed the degree of fall-related injury and the risk factors related to serious falls by conducting a complete survey of the medical records of fall patients reported throughout one full year, 2017, at a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea. Among the patients with reported falls, 188 sustained no injury (63.1%), 72 sustained minor injury (24.2%), and 38 patients sustained serious injury (12.8%). The serious fall-related injuries included eight lacerations requiring suture (2.7%), 23 fractures (7.7%), five brain injuries (1.7%), and two deaths (0.7%). Analysis results indicated that taking anticoagulants/antiplatelet drugs (p = 0.016) and having a fall history (p = 0.038) were statistically significant in the differences between the group with serious injury related to falls and the group without serious injury. Logistic regression revealed that taking anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs was the factor most significantly correlated with serious injuries related to falls (OR = 2.299, p = 0.022). Results show that it is necessary to develop a patient-tailored fall prevention activity program.

Keywords: falls; inpatients; length of stay; risk assessment; serious injury.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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