Abstract
Objective: Falls are one of the most common direct causes of fractures which are major causes of morbidity and mortality in osteoporosis patient. There are many factors related to falls, by interfering of fall prevention education on the patients with osteoporosis, our study is to investigate whether fall prevention education can reduce the falling rate on the osteoporosis patients treated with zoledronic acid. Methods: A total of 178 eligible female patients who first visited our osteoporosis department during January 2016 to June 2017 were invited to participate in this study, and all participants were randomly divided into an observation group (92 cases) and an intervention group (86 cases). All patients were administrated zoledronic acid once and received a questionnaire survey about factors related to falls at the beginning and a year later. The patients in the observation group only received regular orders of adopting a healthy lifestyle while those in the intervention group received fall prevention assessment and education, and a telephone follow-up and reinforced fall prevention education a month after discharge. A year later, relevant data regarding the falls of each patient of both groups during the year and the data of the questionnaire survey were collected for intergroup comparison. Results: The difference of the improvement of fall risk factors between the two groups is statistically significant (P < 0.05), except the factor of diabetes without treatment. In the intervention group, 5.8% fell at least once, and 19.6% of the patients in the observation group reported the same during the year. Comparing the cases of falls of the two groups, the difference shows statistical significance (P = 0.006). Conclusion: For an osteoporosis patient treated with zoledronic acid, fall prevention education is an effective method to reduce the risk of falling, which would result in a lower risk of fractures and a better prognosis.
Highlights
Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease featuring low bone mass and microstructural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to an increased risk of fragile fractures that have high rates of fatality and disability and severely affect a patient’s quality of life [1]
There are many factors related to falls, by interfering of fall prevention education on the patients with osteoporosis, our study is to investigate whether fall prevention education can reduce the falling rate on the osteoporosis patients treated with zoledronic acid
For an osteoporosis patient treated with zoledronic acid, fall prevention education is an effective method to reduce the risk of falling, which would result in a lower risk of fractures
Summary
Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease featuring low bone mass and microstructural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to an increased risk of fragile fractures that have high rates of fatality and disability and severely affect a patient’s quality of life [1]. An osteoporosis patient is exposed to the risk of falling associated with such internal factors as age, and balance problems and underlying diseases caused by osteoporosis, as well as many external factors, like slippery footwear, a dangerous living environment, and intense exercise [3]. The intervention that focuses on environmental modification, balancing enchantment, and education on fall prevention is highly required [5]. This justifies the need to provide osteoporosis patients with fall prevention education along with medication. This study aims at reducing the risk of falling posed to osteoporosis patients based on effective fall prevention education along with zoledronic acid treatment
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