Document Detail


Medication use as a risk factor for inpatient falls in an acute care hospital: a case-crossover study.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20573090     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
AIMS: The present study aimed to evaluate the associations between medication use and falls and to identify high risk medications that acted as a trigger for the onset of falls in an acute care hospital setting.
METHODS: We applied a case-crossover design wherein cases served as their own controls and comparisons were made within each participant. The 3-day period (days 0 to -2) and the 3-day periods (days -6 to -8, days -9 to -11 and days -12 to -14) before the fall event were defined as the case period and the control periods, respectively. Exposures to medications were compared between the case and control periods. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the onset of falls with respect to medication use were computed using conditional logistic regression analyses.
RESULTS: A total of 349 inpatients who fell during their hospitalization were recorded on incident report forms between March 2003 and August 2005. The initial use of antihypertensive, antiparkinsonian, anti-anxiety and hypnotic agents as medication classes was significantly associated with an increased risk of falls, and these ORs (95% CI) were 8.42 (3.12, 22.72), 4.18 (1.75, 10.02), 3.25 (1.62, 6.50) and 2.44 (1.32, 4.51), respectively. The initial use of candesartan, etizolam, biperiden and zopiclone was also identified as a potential risk factor for falls.
CONCLUSIONS: Medical professionals should be aware of the possibility that starting a new medication such as an antihypertensive agent, including candesartan, and antiparkinsonian, anti-anxiety and hypnotic agents, may act as a trigger for the onset of a fall.
Authors:
Hideki Shuto; Osamu Imakyure; Junichi Matsumoto; Takashi Egawa; Ying Jiang; Masaaki Hirakawa; Yasufumi Kataoka; Takashi Yanagawa
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  British journal of clinical pharmacology     Volume:  69     ISSN:  1365-2125     ISO Abbreviation:  Br J Clin Pharmacol     Publication Date:  2010 May 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-06-24     Completed Date:  2011-03-28     Revised Date:  2011-07-28    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7503323     Medline TA:  Br J Clin Pharmacol     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  535-42     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmaceutical Care and Health Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Fukuoka University, 8-19-1 Nanakuma, Jonan-ku, Fukuoka 814-0180, Japan. shuto@fukuoka-u.ac.jp
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Accidental Falls / statistics & numerical data*
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Critical Care
Cross-Over Studies
Female
Hospitalization / statistics & numerical data*
Humans
Inpatients / statistics & numerical data*
Male
Middle Aged
Pharmaceutical Preparations / adverse effects*
Risk Factors
Young Adult
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Pharmaceutical Preparations
Comments/Corrections

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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