Serious Fall Injuries

A new clinical decision rule could help physicians determine which older ED patients who experienced a fall will require imaging, according to a study published in CMAJ.

For healthy older patients, an aspirin a day does not reduce fracture risk and might increase the risk for serious falls, according to researchers.

Falls Prevention Awareness Week, which runs through Sept. 24, is an opportune time for physicians to talk to all patients about falls, which cost the U.S. at least $50 billion in health care costs annually, an expert said.

More than 2.4 million ED visits and 700,000 hospitalizations among adults aged 65 years and older were caused by injuries from falls, motor vehicle accidents, opioid overdoses and self-harm in 2018, according to data in MMWR.

Adults with diabetes are at greater risk for experiencing traumatic fall events leading to fractures compared with healthy controls; identifying modifiable risk factors, such as medication use, may improve patient outcomes, data show.

Certain injury patterns in fall patients who present to the ED can indicate physical abuse of older adults, according to research published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

An intervention implemented in primary care settings reduced serious fall injuries among older adults but was not as effective as expected, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.