EM Didactic - By Rishal Rahman - June 19, 2017
"Definition
An event that leads to a conscious subject unintentionally coming to rest on ground or a lower level, not as a result of a overwhelming hazards or a major intrinsic event. e.g. – not due to trauma, seizure or syncope. A recurrent fall is defined as 2 or more falls occurring within 6 months, which need extensive evaluation for etiology...
Take home
- During all the stages of working up, ask yourself - what could have precipitated this fall? Spend more time on history (next of kin, nursing home, paramedics)
- Have a low threshold for admitting elderly with unexplained events
- Keep the thought process broad with all differentials and causes in mind
- Some times you may not be able to get that answer, that's okay – make sure you are not missing any thing gross."