Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of fall-related injuries: a retrospective study

Abstract

Background: Fall-related injuries are important public health problem worldwide. We aimed to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of fall-related injuries in a level 1 trauma center. Method: A retrospective analysis of Qatar Trauma Registry data was conducted on patients admitted for fall-related injuries between 2010 and 2017. Comparative analyses of data by gender, age-groups and height of falls were performed to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients, and in-hospital outcomes. Results: A total of 4040 patients with fall-related injuries were identified in the study duration which corresponds to the rate of 2.34 per 10,000 population. Although the rate of fall-related injuries decreased over the years, the average number of patients per year remained high accounting for 32% of the hospitalized patients with moderate to severe injuries. Most of the injuries affected the head (36%) followed by spines (29%) and chest (23%). Males were predominant (89%), more likely to fall at workplace, fall from a greater height and have polytrauma than females. The working age-group (20-59 years) constituted the majority of injured (73%) and were more likely to fall at workplace, and to fall from higher heights compared to the older adults who sustained more fall at home. Overall in-hospital mortality was 3%. Outcomes including longer hospital length of stay and mortality were generally correlated with the height of fall except for the fall at home. Conclusion: Fall-related injuries remain as significant burden even in a level 1 trauma center. Variations in the pattern of injuries by age, gender and height of fall provide important information for targeted preventive measures.

Patterns, Management, and Outcome of Traumatic Femur Fracture: Exploring the Experience of the Only Level 1 Trauma Center in Qatar

“…The AIS describes the severity of injuries at different body regions; the score ranges from 1 to 6. AIS scores of three most severely injured body regions were squared and added together to estimate the ISS, which provided an overall score for polytrauma (ISS 1–8 is minor injury, 9–15 is moderate, 16–24 is serious, 50–74 is critical, and 75 is non-survivable) [ 18 ]. The trauma registry prospectively records the fall data (fall from height and fall of heavy objects) using codes by International classification of diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10), which classified unintentional falls into 20 subcategories (W00-W19) [ 19 ].…”

Single Impact Injury of Vertebral Endplates Without Structural Disruption, Initiates Disc Degeneration Through Piezo1 Mediated Inflammation and Metabolism Dysfunction

“… 6 It has been reported that IDD is associated with an aberrant cell-mediated response to structural failure, such as endplate fracture or vertebral burst fracture. 7 , 8 However, whether a single impact injury of the endplate without structural disruption, which is commonly seen in the clinic, 9 is sufficient to initiate IDD is still controversial.…”

The Relationship Between Falling Distance and Trauma Severity Among Fall Injury Survivors Who Were Transported to a Trauma Center

“…Our study showed that, among survivors of fall injuries, falling distance was associated with the number of lower-limb fractures, the severity of spinal vertebral fractures, and the duration of ICU and hospital stays. Mekkodathil et al reported in their study of 4,040 patients with fall injury that 29% of patients with fall injury had a spinal injury, and the spine was one of the most common injury sites in fall injury [ 13 ]. These findings indicated that falls especially from high places resulted in vertebral fracture severity, more lower-limb fractures, and longer ICU and hospital stays.…”