Specialized Care Resources for Diagnosis and Management of Patients Who Have Suffered Falls: Results of a National Survey in Geriatric Units

INTRODUCTION

Clinical guidelines recommend comprehensive multifactorial assessment and intervention to prevent falls and fractures in older populations.

METHODS

A descriptive study was conducted by the Falls Study Group of the Spanish Geriatric Medicine Society (SEMEG) to outline which types of healthcare-specific resources were assigned for fall assessment in Spanish geriatric departments. A self-reported seven-item questionnaire was delivered from February 2019 to February 2020. Where geriatric medicine departments were not available, we tried to contact geriatricians working in those areas.

RESULTS

Information was obtained regarding 91 participant centers from 15 autonomous communities, 35.1% being from Catalonia and 20.8% from Madrid. A total of 21.6% reported a multidisciplinary falls unit, half of them in geriatric day hospitals. Half of them reported fall assessment as part of a general geriatric assessment in general geriatric outpatient clinics (49.5%) and, in 74.7% of cases, the assessment was based on functional tests. A total of 18.7% reported the use of biomechanical tools, such as posturography, gait-rides or accelerometers, for gait and balance analysis, and 5.5% used dual X-ray absorptiometry. A total of 34% reported research activity focused on falls or related areas. Regarding intervention strategies, 59% reported in-hospital exercise programs focused on gait and balance improvement and 79% were aware of community programs or the pathways to refer patients to these resources.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides a necessary starting point for a future deep analysis. Although this study was carried out in Spain, it highlights the need to improve public health in the field of fall prevention, as well as the need, when implementing public health measures, to verify that these measures are implemented homogeneously throughout the territory. Therefore, although this analysis was at the local level, it could be useful for other countries to reproduce the model.

Appropriateness of medication prescribing in nursing homes: A collaboration project between pharmacy and geriatric departments

PURPOSE

To evaluate the appropriateness of medication prescribing and to analyze interventions carried out in polymedicated elderly patients in nursing homes (NHs).

METHODS

Prospective study of potentially inappropriate medication prescribing in polymedicated older adults living in NHs, implemented via a collaborative project between NHs and the geriatric and pharmacy departments of a university hospital. The pharmacist reviewed patients' active medical prescriptions and prepared an individualized report with proposals aimed at therapeutic optimization that was sent for evaluation to the geriatrician in charge of the NH. The drug-related problems (DRPs) were classified according to the Third Consensus of Granada and the potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIPs) were identified by explicit criteria (STOPP/START, BEERS, LESS-CHRON), implicit criteria (MAI) and CheckTheMeds® software. It was measured the degree of acceptance of the interventions carried out, and the economic impact was calculated from the direct costs of the discontinued drugs.

RESULTS

Of the 210 patients reviewed by the pharmacy department, 105 patients from 10 NHs were analyzed. A total of 510 prescriptions with possible DRPs were identified (38.5% of all prescribed drugs). According to STOPP/START/BEERS or LESS-CHRON criteria, 41.2% were PIPs. The main DRPs identified were: unfavorable risk-benefit ratio, inappropriate dose/regimen, inappropriate treatment duration, probability of adverse events, medication not indicated, and duplicate therapy. Interventions were proposed for 81.5% of the DRPs detected, of which 73.3% were accepted. This resulted in a 23.1% reduction in the number of drugs prescribed per patient and an economic saving of €16,218 per 6-month period.

CONCLUSION

The appropriateness of medication prescribing in polymedicated older adults living in NHs by the pharmacist has made it possible to reduce DRPs and PIPs and to save costs thanks to the high degree of acceptance by geriatricians.

[An opportunity to identify and prevent frailty through falls intervention.]

Falls are one of the classic giant geriatric syndromes with a multifactorial etiopathogenesis and closely related to frailty, being this relationship bidirectional. The Consensus Document on the Prevention of Frailty and Falls approved by the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System in 2014 provides recommendations for the screening of frailty and falls in all older adults in order to develop a management plan in high risk older adults so to prevent disability. This review describes the intrinsic relationship between frailty and falls, falls assessment and screening instruments to use and detect frailty and finally gives evidence-based recommendations to reduce falls impact.