Influence of medications and psychotic symptoms on fall risk in acute psychiatric inpatients

Abstract

Objective: In this study, we investigated the incidence rate and risk factors related to falls among acute psychiatric inpatients in a regional hospital. Methods: We included 521 patients who were admitted to the acute psychiatric ward in Taoyuan Armed Forces General Hospital from January 2015 to January 2016 and analyzed their medical records within a 1-year period. We compared differences between the fall and nonfall groups in demographic characteristics, psychiatric diagnoses, medication use, psychotic symptoms, and Timed Up and Go scores. Chi-square tests were used for comparison of categorical variables and t-test was used for continuous variables. Results: A total of 521 patients with an average age of 38.9 years were included in our study; 167 (32.1%) patients were female. Among the inpatients in our study, 3.07% were fallers. Patients with female gender, older age, psychotic symptoms, and use of more types of medication, especially mood stabilizers, laxatives, and other classes of medications, were significantly more likely to experience falls (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Determining the risk factors for falls in an acute psychiatric ward is useful for clinical care. As we identified patients in a high-risk group, fall prevention can be performed to help them to avoid possible injury. However, further studies are needed to determine more quantitative measures to evaluate or predict the risk of falls in acute psychiatric units.