R.E.B.E.L.EM - July 3, 2017 - By Pescatore R
Post Peer Reviewed By: Anand Swaminathan and Salim Rezaie
"Background:
Falls are the most common cause of traumatic mortality in geriatric patients. Each year, about 1/3 of community-dwelling adults over the age of 65 suffer standing-level falls. Over age 80, the incidence rises to nearly half (Carpenter 2014). Of the patients admitted to the hospital for injuries resulting from a fall, 33% will be dead within the year (Masud 2001). The emergency physician is tasked with the rapid evaluation and management of these patients, as well as the simultaneous responsibility of identifying those patients at risk for recurrent fall and intervening on modifiable risk factors. The American Geriatrics Society, Centers for Disease Control, and American College of Emergency Physicians all recommend that acute care providers screen for the risk of recurrent fall..."