Med Mal News

A new study conducted by Yale researchers finds that the prognosis for elderly fall victims is strongly tied to their pre-fall physical health. “The Course of Disability Before and After a Serious Fall Injury,” Thomas M. Gill, MD1, et al., JAMA Intern Med. 2013; 173(19):1780-1786. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.9063. The study's authors followed 754 non-disabled people, all over the age of 70 and living independently at the study's start, for about 14 years. During that time, 130 of the participants experienced a fall that was serious enough to require hospitalization. Sixty-two percent of these injuries were hip fractures. Each of the participants who fell had been was grouped into an overall health category pre-fall: 1) No disability (16 participants); 2) Mild disability (23 participants); 3) Moderate disability (34 participants); 4) Progressive disability (23 participants); and 5) Severe disability (23 participants). After their falls, only those in first two groups had rapid recoveries; those in the last two categories were likely to make no substantive recovery, whether rapid or gradual. The study's results suggest that, for those already in bad physical condition before their falls, it may be better to concentrate efforts less on rehabilitation and more on making the patient as comfortable as is possible.