141 Fall-Risk Increasing Drugs use in Elderly with Fall-Related Fractures

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Elderly populations are at the highest risk of fatal falls and fracture is one of the fall-related injuries which results in high morbidity and mortality. A group of drugs have been identified as the fall risk increasing drugs (FRIDs) and listed as one of the modifiable extrinsic risk factors for falls. This study aimed to determine the use of FRIDs in fall-related fractures among elderly patients. Method Patients aged 65 years and above admitted to a tertiary teaching hospital due to falls were included. Falls were identified through a case-mix system using the ICD-10 codes of W01 and W18 (fall at the same level). Patient medical records were reviewed retrospectively and drugs use before the falls were analysed. Results Among the patients included (n=124), majority of them had fall-related fractures (83.1%) and hip fractures were among the highest type of fractures (67%). The older old (≥ 80 years) had recorded a significant higher incidence of hip fractures compared to the younger individuals (p=0.009). About 75% of the patients with fall-related fractures had recorded use of at least one FRID before the admission. The younger individuals had significantly higher use of FRIDs compared to the older old, particularly the anti-hypertensive drugs (p=0.017). Most of them (>80%) still received FRIDs at discharge and deprescribing was commenced in less than one quarter of the patients. Furthermore, 32.6% of them had either an addition of new FRIDs or increased of the FRIDs dose at discharge. Conclusion In conclusion, fracture was the major reason of admissions among the elderly with falls. The older old recorded higher incidence of fall-related hip fractures. There was high usage of FRIDs before and after fall-related fractures. Deprescribing was not widely practiced in the elderly after the fall incidence.