Mitra Biswadev, Cameron Peter A, Gabbe Belinda J
Emergency and Trauma Centre, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Med J Aust. 2007 Jan 1;186(1):31-4. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2007.tb00785.x.
To describe the epidemiology of falls from ladders in a state-wide population.
Retrospective review of data from the the Victorian State Trauma Registry and the Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset on patients presenting to public hospital emergency departments (EDs) with injuries due to a fall while climbing a ladder, from 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2005.
Overall trends in the incidence of ladder-related ED presentations, and in cases of major trauma, trends according to age, and trends according to activity at the time of the fall.
4553 patients presented to EDs after falls from ladders in Victoria during the study period; 160 patients had injuries classified as major trauma. There has been a significant rise in the number of presentations to EDs following falls from ladders in Victoria, with a marked increase in the number of cases involving patients aged over 50 years and those climbing ladders outside of paid working conditions. Deaths occurred predominantly in the elderly after falls from heights above 1 metre.
Despite knowledge of the dangers of falls from ladders, there has been a significant increase in the number of patients presenting to hospitals after ladder falls. Middle-aged to elderly patients undertaking unpaid work account for this increase. A targeted public health initiative is required to curb this trend.
描述全州范围内从梯子上跌落的流行病学情况。
对2001年7月1日至2005年6月30日期间因爬梯子时跌落受伤而前往公立医院急诊科（ED）就诊的患者，来自维多利亚州创伤登记处和维多利亚州急诊最低数据集的数据进行回顾性分析。
与梯子相关的急诊科就诊发生率的总体趋势、重大创伤病例情况、按年龄划分的趋势以及跌落时活动情况的趋势。
在研究期间，维多利亚州有4553名患者因从梯子上跌落而到急诊科就诊；160名患者的损伤被归类为重大创伤。维多利亚州因从梯子上跌落而到急诊科就诊的人数显著增加，涉及50岁以上患者以及在非有偿工作条件下爬梯子的患者数量明显增多。死亡主要发生在从1米以上高度跌落的老年人中。
尽管了解从梯子上跌落的危险性，但从梯子上跌落后来医院就诊的患者数量仍显著增加。从事无薪工作的中年至老年患者导致了这一增长。需要一项有针对性的公共卫生举措来遏制这一趋势。
