TY - JOUR
T1 - Preoperative falls and their association with functional dependence and quality of life
AU - Kronzer, Vanessa L.
AU - Tang, Rose D.
AU - Schelble, Allison P.
AU - Ben Abdallah, Arbi
AU - Wildes, Troy S.
AU - Mckinnon, Sherry L.
AU - Sadiq, Furqaan
AU - Lin, Nan
AU - Helsten, Daniel L.
AU - Sharma, Anshuman
AU - Stark, Susan L.
AU - Avidan, Michael S.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences grant UL1TR000448 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, along with grant 1UH2AG050312-01 from the National Institute on Aging, of the National Institutes of Health (NIH; Bethesda, Maryland). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official view of the NIH. It was also supported by grant BJHF#7937'77 from the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation and the Washington University Department of Anesthesiology (St. Louis, Missouri). The funding sources provided infrastructure and financial support but had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; or decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Inc. Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.
PY - 2016/8/1
Y1 - 2016/8/1
N2 - Background: No study has rigorously explored the characteristics of surgical patients with recent preoperative falls. Our objective was to describe the essential features of preoperative falls and determine whether they are associated with preoperative functional dependence and poor quality of life. Methods: This was an observational study involving 15,060 surveys from adult patients undergoing elective surgery. The surveys were collected between January 2014 and August 2015, with a response rate of 92%. Results: In the 6 months before surgery, 26% (99% CI, 25 to 27%) of patients fell at least once, and 12% (99% CI, 11 to 13%) fell at least twice. The proportion of patients who fell was highest among patients presenting for neurosurgery (41%; 99% CI, 36 to 45%). At least one fall-related injury occurred in 58% (99% CI, 56 to 60%) of those who fell. Falls were common in all age groups, but surprisingly, they did not increase monotonically with age. Middle-aged patients (45 to 64 yr) had the highest proportion of fallers (28%), recurrent fallers (13%), and severe fall-related injuries (27%) compared to younger (18 to 44 yr) and older (65+ yr) patients (P < 0.001 for each). A fall within 6 months was independently associated with preoperative functional dependence (odds ratio, 1.94; 99% CI, 1.68 to 2.24) and poor physical quality of life (odds ratio, 2.18; 99% CI, 1.88 to 2.52). Conclusions: Preoperative falls might be common and are possibly often injurious in the presurgical population, across all ages. A history of falls could enhance the assessment of preoperative functional dependence and quality of life.
AB - Background: No study has rigorously explored the characteristics of surgical patients with recent preoperative falls. Our objective was to describe the essential features of preoperative falls and determine whether they are associated with preoperative functional dependence and poor quality of life. Methods: This was an observational study involving 15,060 surveys from adult patients undergoing elective surgery. The surveys were collected between January 2014 and August 2015, with a response rate of 92%. Results: In the 6 months before surgery, 26% (99% CI, 25 to 27%) of patients fell at least once, and 12% (99% CI, 11 to 13%) fell at least twice. The proportion of patients who fell was highest among patients presenting for neurosurgery (41%; 99% CI, 36 to 45%). At least one fall-related injury occurred in 58% (99% CI, 56 to 60%) of those who fell. Falls were common in all age groups, but surprisingly, they did not increase monotonically with age. Middle-aged patients (45 to 64 yr) had the highest proportion of fallers (28%), recurrent fallers (13%), and severe fall-related injuries (27%) compared to younger (18 to 44 yr) and older (65+ yr) patients (P < 0.001 for each). A fall within 6 months was independently associated with preoperative functional dependence (odds ratio, 1.94; 99% CI, 1.68 to 2.24) and poor physical quality of life (odds ratio, 2.18; 99% CI, 1.88 to 2.52). Conclusions: Preoperative falls might be common and are possibly often injurious in the presurgical population, across all ages. A history of falls could enhance the assessment of preoperative functional dependence and quality of life.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84976580260&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/ALN.0000000000001167
DO - 10.1097/ALN.0000000000001167
M3 - Article
C2 - 27362869
AN - SCOPUS:84976580260
VL - 125
SP - 322
EP - 332
JO - Anesthesiology
JF - Anesthesiology
SN - 0003-3022
IS - 2
ER -