Determining the relative risk of hospitalisation and surgery of fall injury patients

Dinesh R Pai; Hengameh M Hosseini; Stephen R Rosito

doi:10.1080/20476965.2021.1966323

Determining the relative risk of hospitalisation and surgery of fall injury patients

Health Syst (Basingstoke). 2021 Aug 17;11(4):288-302. doi: 10.1080/20476965.2021.1966323. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Dinesh R Pai¹, Hengameh M Hosseini², Stephen R Rosito³

Affiliations

¹ Project and Supply Chain Management, Penn State Harrisburg, School of Business Administration, Middletown, PA, USA.
² University of Scranton, Heath administration and Human Resources instead of Penn state school of public affairs.
³ Health Administration, Penn State Harrisburg, School of Public Affairs, Middletown, PA, USA.

Abstract

Falls are one of the most common cause of nonfatal and fatal injuries in the U.S. costing over an estimated $54 billion annually. A significant percentage of patients presenting to hospital emergency departments (ED) for falls are hospitalised. This paper analyzes a regional hospital data pertaining to adults presenting to the ED because of falls. We use patient demographics and medical conditions to help identify patients at risk for immediate undesirable outcomes after a fall. Furthermore, we determine the relative risk of patient hospitalisation and surgery and their characteristics. Our results indicate that older patient's, patients arriving by ambulance, patients with higher severity levels and patients with pre-existing comorbidities were at a higher relative risk of hospitalisation and surgery. Furthermore, patients with medical conditions pertaining to femur and tibia fractures, pelvis, renal failure, ambulatory dysfunction, and cellulitis, among others, and non-Hispanic whites were at a much higher relative risk of hospitalisation and surgery.

Keywords: Hospital; emergency department; fall injury; falls; logistic regression.