Risk factors associated with in-hospital falls reported to the Patient Safety Commitee of a teaching hospital.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the use of fall-risk-increasing drugs among patients with falls reported to the Patient Safety Office of a hospital, and to identify the factors associated with high risk for fall.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study, carried out in a teaching hospital. The study population was the universe of fall reports received by the Patient Safety Office. The dependent variable was a high risk for falls. The Medication Fall Risk Score was used to measure fall risk. Descriptive, univariate and multivariate analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Of the 125 fall reports in the study, 38 (30.4%) were in 2014, 26 (20.8%) in 2015, and 61 (48.8%) in 2016. Half of the patients (63; 50.4%) were classified as high fall risk and 74 (59.2%) had two or more risk factors for the event. The most frequently used drug classes were opioids (25%), anxiolytics (19.7%), beta-blockers (9.9%), angiotensin II antagonists (7%) and vascular-selective calcium channel blockers (7%). After the adjusted analysis, the factors associated with falls were amputation (odds ratio: 14.17), female sex (odds ratio: 2.98) and severe pain (odds ratio: 5.47).

CONCLUSION

Medications are an important contributor to in-hospital falls, and the Medication Fall Risk Score can help identify patients at a high risk for falls.