Navigation Links
Study finds no link between elderly patient activity and hospital falls
Date:10/28/2011

GALVESTON -- In 2008, as part of a larger initiative aimed at reducing preventable hospital errors and lowering costs, Medicare stopped reimbursing for the treatment of injuries related to in-hospital falls.

Geriatricians were quick to point out that this measure could have an unintended negative consequence. In trying to keep elderly patients from falling, they said, it was possible that hospitals might discourage patients from moving about at all. And for the elderly, even a few days of immobility can produce what's called "hospital-associated deconditioning": a loss of muscle mass, aerobic capacity, and sense of balance that reduces a patient's ability to function after he or she is discharged from the hospital.

But while it might seem obvious that elderly patients who move around more would be more likely to fall, a new study from University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers suggests otherwise. Analyzing the mobility patterns of elderly patients fitted with small electronic devices that counted every step they took, the scientists determined that patients who suffered in-hospital falls actually moved around no more than patients who did not fall.

"We matched 10 patients who had fallen with 25 who had not fallen based on age, gender, reason for admission, illness severity, and mobility status before admission," said UTMB assistant professor Steven Fisher, lead author of a paper on the study now online in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. "All of these people had worn step activity monitors during their stay in the hospital, and when we analyzed the data from these devices we found no statistical difference in the amount of walking between the groups."

According to Fisher, the study's results suggest reducing elderly patients' mobility doesn't just risk hospital deconditioning -- it also may do little toward the prevention of falls.

"Hospital falls are a complex issue, with a number of
'/>"/>

Contact: Jim Kelly
jpkelly@utmb.edu
409-772-8791
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2

Related medicine news :

1. UT study looks at manual wheelchair use, exercise and calorie burning
2. Study finds specific gene linked to cold sore susceptibility
3. Poorer Countries Have Higher Rates of Stroke, Study Finds
4. NYUCN receives $299 thousand from NCSBN to study patient safety in nursing homes
5. Too Much Drinking May Raise Lung Cancer Risk: Study
6. X-Ray Screening Doesnt Prevent Lung Cancer Deaths: Study
7. HPV Vaccine Might Help Prevent Anal Cancers: Study
8. Links to Mental Illness Seen in Fetal Brains: Study
9. Religious, spiritual support benefits men and women facing chronic illness, MU study finds
10. Study identifies genetic basis of human metabolic individuality
11. Study indicates nanoparticles could help pain-relieving osteoarthritis drugs last longer
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:6/19/2013)... 19, 2013 Arem Wellness was developed ... metabolism expert, Dr. Ridha Arem, who is determined to ... achieve this goal, Arem Wellness provides a monthly newsletter, ... mind-body program as well as an exceptional supplement line ... understands the crucial role diet and nutrition have not ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... (PRWEB) June 19, 2013 GoTunes Inc. ... a free music and fitness app for creating and ... discover new Spotify songs that match your exercise pace, ... exercise, and add songs to your favorite playlists. You ... curated by the GoTunes staff. , Get the free ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... to the head; a swift jarring to the body and ... It’s understandable, but what else may follow a concussion injury? ... According to mayoclinic.com , usual symptoms that accompany ... other symptoms may follow, sometimes not for days or weeks ... dizziness, feeling like you’re in a fog, light or noise ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... Weight gain and obesity have been ... including heart disease, kidney failure and high blood pressure. ... and unnecessary fat, have many people searching for fast ... diets to not only allow patients to succeed ... aim to reduce the risk for many weight-related health ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... June 19, 2013 To survive when your plane ... Vietnam veteran Captain W.S. “Bud” Orr, the most important item in ... host Sharon Kleyne on the Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water ... Vietnam, he always placed extra water ahead of guns or even ... on survival kits that pilots could carry on planes in Vietnam. ...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:Arem Wellness Announces a Recipe Contest 2Health News:Arem Wellness Announces a Recipe Contest 3Health News:The GoTunes Iphone App Creates a Streaming Workout Music Community Via Spotify 2Health News:Concussions Can Lead to Much More Than a Headache, According to MMTR Health Inc. Founder, Terry Moore, Neuromuscular and Cardiovascular Physiologist 2Health News:hCGTreatments / Diet Doc hCG Diets & Weight Loss Plans Offers New Fast Weight Loss Programs for Patients Suffering with Health Care Concerns 2Health News:hCGTreatments / Diet Doc hCG Diets & Weight Loss Plans Offers New Fast Weight Loss Programs for Patients Suffering with Health Care Concerns 3Health News:Vietnam Navy Pilot Reveals to Radio Host Sharon Kleyne That He Carried Extra Water Not a Gun in Survival Kit 2
... Concerted efforts by the University of Utah researchers in the ... an implanted device// that would transmit the nerve impulses from ... on a belt and then to the bionic arm. This ... a real one. ,Sensors placed in the artificial ...
... and China's first facial transplant patient would have to wait ... surgery has been a success. He is showing signs of ... ,Li Guoxing, bear attack victim underwent a partial ... a hospital in north-western China on the 14th of April. ...
... brain can explain why men and women experience pain ... of certain pain-relief drugs, reveals a new study conducted ... Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN). ,Although the ... highlight that similar differences occur in humans as well. ...
... Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor accused of infecting hundreds ... next month.// , ,The sources in the Bulgarian foreign ministry ... ,The retrial follows the December verdict of Libya's ... say they were tortured into confessing. , ,The allegation ...
... emergence of bird flu in Ethiopia has been dismissed by ... that were tested for the presence of the H5N1 virus. ... a panel discussion organized on Thursday that no outbreak of ... daily surveillance conducted in several parts of the country. ...
... Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary, Pramod Mahajan is currently critical ... April) morning at his residence.// Pramod is currently being ... is said to be critical. , ,Mr.Mahajan, a known ... chest. The bullets were fired at close range and went ...
Cached Medicine News:Health News:Gender Difference In Pain Experience Explained By Brain Diversity 2Health News:Review of Pramod Mahajan's Injuries 2
(Date:6/19/2013)... ZIONA, Israel , June 19, 2013 ... results from a phase I study in volunteers, and ... Parkinson,s patients, of ND0612, were presented at the 2013 ... is a proprietary levodopa/carbidopa liquid drug formula under development ... that would maintain constant levodopa plasma concentrations. ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... 19, 2013   Life Technologies Corporation ... agreement granting Suzhou Ribo Life Sciences (Ribo) the ... in China using Life,s ... siRNA molecules in combination with Invivofectamine® Rx to ... diseases with high unmet medical need in the ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... Juni 2013 Specialty Coating ... Entwicklung von SCS microRESIST™, einer antimikrobiellen ... Beschichtung mit Parylene gelungen ist. SCS ... Parylene mit antimikrobiellen Eigenschaften und erlaubt ... auf beschichteten medizinischen Geräten. ...
Breaking Medicine Technology:NeuroDerm Announces Presentation of Data from Studies Evaluating ND0612, an Investigational Levodopa Continuous Administration Drug, in Healthy Volunteers and in Patients with Advanced Parkinson's Disease 2NeuroDerm Announces Presentation of Data from Studies Evaluating ND0612, an Investigational Levodopa Continuous Administration Drug, in Healthy Volunteers and in Patients with Advanced Parkinson's Disease 3NeuroDerm Announces Presentation of Data from Studies Evaluating ND0612, an Investigational Levodopa Continuous Administration Drug, in Healthy Volunteers and in Patients with Advanced Parkinson's Disease 4NeuroDerm Announces Presentation of Data from Studies Evaluating ND0612, an Investigational Levodopa Continuous Administration Drug, in Healthy Volunteers and in Patients with Advanced Parkinson's Disease 5NeuroDerm Announces Presentation of Data from Studies Evaluating ND0612, an Investigational Levodopa Continuous Administration Drug, in Healthy Volunteers and in Patients with Advanced Parkinson's Disease 6Life Technologies Signs Licensing Agreement with Suzhou Ribo Life Sciences for Development of siRNA Therapeutics in China 2Life Technologies Signs Licensing Agreement with Suzhou Ribo Life Sciences for Development of siRNA Therapeutics in China 3Life Technologies Signs Licensing Agreement with Suzhou Ribo Life Sciences for Development of siRNA Therapeutics in China 4Specialty Coating Systems gibt die Einführung einer neuen antimikrobiellen Parylene-Technologie bekannt 2
... THE WOODLANDS, Texas , Jan. 25 In response ... York Times article, " Radiation Offers New Cures and Ways to ... patients and the general public understand that the benefits received from radiation therapy ... disease with help from the US Oncology physician network, and their loved ones, ...
... , , , MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. ... enrollment of its pivotal US study for the ArterX Vascular ... patients who were scheduled to receive a synthetic vascular graft ... applications involved the placement of arteriovenous dialysis access grafts, carotid ...
Cached Medicine Technology:Benefits from Radiation Therapy Outweigh Risks for Cancer Patients 2Benefits from Radiation Therapy Outweigh Risks for Cancer Patients 3Tenaxis Medical, Inc. Announces Completion of the Enrollment Phase of Their Pivotal Study 2