More Than Two Million Seniors Treated For Falls In Hospital Emergency Departments

Main Category: Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 09 Oct 2009 - 4:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Hospital emergency departments treated more than 2 million seniors for broken bones, head wounds, cuts and other injuries caused by falls in 2006 at a cost to hospitals of approximately $7 billion for emergency and subsequent inpatient care, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries among Americans aged 65 and older. The cost for medical treatment, which is paid mainly by Medicare, is expected to increase as the number of older Americans grows.

The federal agency's analysis of hospital emergency department data for patients age 65 and above treated for injuries caused by falls shows that:

-- One in 10 emergency department visits by seniors were for injuries related to falls. Emergency department visits related to injurious falls increases with age. Indeed, one in ten men and one in seven women over the age of 85 have an emergency department visit for an injurious fall.

-- Of the seniors who went to emergency department due to falls, 41 percent had fractures, primarily of an upper extremity or a hip. Other common injuries resulting from falls included open wounds (21 percent of visits for falls), sprains and strains (10 percent), injuries to internal organs (5 percent), and joint dislocations (1.5 percent).

-- About 63 percent of the patients who had injuries to an internal organ and 51 percent of people with fractures were hospitalized.

-- About 41 percent of patients with fractures and 33 percent of those who sustained internal organ injuries were transferred to a nursing home or other type of long-term care facility.

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

• Additional
• References
• Citations