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de Medicina y Cirugía
REPERT MED CIR. 2024;33(3):245-253
The study was conducted as an observational, analytical
cross-sectional study by surveying hospitalized patients
at the Clinic for Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology of
the University Clinical Center of Vojvodina between the
beginning of December 2022 and the end of January 2023.
The clinic has a capacity of 70 beds and provides care for
patients with degenerative musculoskeletal conditions, as
well as traumatized patients. A total of 106 patients, with
diagnoses of Gonarthrosis and Coxarthrosis, both male and
female, 50 to 94 years old, participated in the research.
The fall risk assessment was performed upon admission to
the Clinic for Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, while
MATERIALS AND METHODS
while decreased muscle strength and weakened reexes
have a negative impact on reactivity.
6
In older people, falls
are recognized as the leading cause of injuries and hospital
admissions worldwide, most commonly due to fall-related
injuries.
7
Annually, one-third of older people (65 years and
older) experience a fall at least once, with 20% of these
falls resulting in injuries. The high prevalence of injuries
imposes an additional nancial burden on the entire
healthcare system.
8
Fall risk factors in older people
Fall risk factors in older people can be divided into two
groups: intrinsic factors and environmental factors. Among
intrinsic factors, in addition to older age and gender, many
diseases and physical dysfunctions have a signicant
impact, such as muscle weakness, gait and balance problems,
visual impairments, postural hypotension, and a signicant
number of chronic conditions (osteoporosis, hypertension,
diabetes, stroke, cognitive impairment, epilepsy, dementia
etc). The use of medications for the treatment of mental
disorders, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, as well as
non-steroidal anti-inammatory drugs, is also associated
with an increased fall risk. Environmental factors most
commonly relate to living in an unsafe environment.
7
Orthopedic patients are at a signicantly increased fall risk
due to musculoskeletal disorders, mobility impairments, and
prolonged immobility
9,10
,
and delirium is not uncommon
among these patients during hospitalization.
11,12
Fall risk factors and the onset of delirium in older
people
Delirium is characterized by an acute and uctuating
impairment of consciousness, accompanied by disturbances
in attention, cognition, and perception. Postoperative
delirium is a serious complication for older patients as
it is associated with functional impairment, prolonged
hospitalization, and institutionalization. Early recognition,
diagnosis, and treatment of delirium can reduce the length of
hospital stays, in-hospital morbidity, and healthcare costs.
13
The prevalence of delirium during hospitalization in these
patients is as high as 60%. Older orthopedic patients are at
an increased risk of developing delirium, especially after
a surgical procedure. Several predisposing factors for the
development of delirium in hospitalized patients have been
identied. These factors commonly include the patient’s age,
cognitive impairment, depression, severe illness, conrmed
infection, sedative use, sleep disturbances, hospitalization-
related fractures, signicant physical function impairment,
and preadmission institutionalization.
14
A number of risk
factors that signicantly increase the likelihood of delirium
following orthopedic interventions have been identied.
They include preoperative aective dysfunction, general
anesthesia, intraoperative hypercapnia and hypotension,
a surgery duration longer than 3 hours, postoperative
pain, postoperative sleep disturbances, and the length of
hospitalization itself. Notably, orthopedic pathology related
to the hip joint has the highest incidence of postoperative
delirium.
15
In patients who have undergone hip joint replacement,
impaired joint function and muscle weakness can increase
the fall risk. These patients may also experience a fear of
falling during activities of daily living (ADL).
16
Fear of falling
The fear of falling is dened as a persistent concern
about falling and can lead to self-restriction in performing
daily activities. Fear is a predominant risk factor for falls in
older individuals, regardless of their history or frequency
of falls.
17
Recurrent falls, along with fear, can result in
serious psychological trauma known as post-fall syndrome,
where older adults refuse to move due to the fear of further
falls and injuries.
18
Even 65% of older patients who have
not experienced a fall and 92% of those who have report
experiencing a fear of falling. Fear of falling after a surgical
procedure diminishes self-ecacy and one’s perception of
one’s own abilities.
17
In hospital settings, various guidelines
are used for fall prevention, which involve systematic
identication of patients at high fall risk and a clinical
assessment to select an appropriate fall prevention strategy.
However, there are signicant dierences among guidelines,
which create confusion regarding the correct approach
to fall prevention. Unclear fall prevention guidelines can
burden healthcare delivery and potentially increase the risk
for patients.
19
Aim of the study
Based on everything stated, we have concluded that there
is a need to assess the fall risk in hospitalized orthopedic
patients upon admission to the hospital, as well as the
frequency of delirium in patients after surgical procedures.
Our aims were to: (i) Assess the fall risk level among
hospitalized patients prior to hip or knee surgery; and (ii)
Evaluate the incidence of postoperative delirium among
patients undergoing hip or knee surgery.