School of Health Sciences and Social Work, University of Portsmouth, James Watson Building (West), 2 King Richard 1st Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 2FR, UK.
Age Ageing. 2013 Sep;42(5):633-40. doi: 10.1093/ageing/aft067. Epub 2013 Jul 17.
falls disproportionately affect older people, who are at increased risk of falls and injury. This pilot study investigates shock-absorbing flooring for fall-related injuries in wards for frail older people.
we conducted a non-blinded cluster randomised trial in eight hospitals in England between April 2010 and August 2011. Each site allocated one bay as the 'study area', which was randomised via computer to intervention (8.3-mm thick Tarkett Omnisports EXCEL) or control (2-mm standard in situ flooring). Sites had an intervention period of 1 year. Anybody admitted to the study area was eligible. The primary outcome was the fall-related injury rate. Secondary outcomes were injury severity, fall rate and adverse events.
during the intervention period, 226 participants were recruited to each group (219 and 223 were analysed in the intervention and control group, respectively). Of 35 falls (31 fallers) in the intervention group, 22.9% were injurious, compared with 42.4% of 33 falls (22 fallers) in the control group [injury incident rate ratio (IRR) = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.18-1.91]. There were no moderate or major injuries in the intervention group and six in the control group. The fall IRR was 1.07 (95% CI = 0.64-1.81). Staff at intervention sites raised concerns about pushing equipment, documenting one pulled back.
future research should assess shock-absorbing flooring with better 'push/pull' properties and explore increased faller risk. We estimate a future trial will need 33,480-52,840 person bed-days per arm.
老年人跌倒的发生率不成比例地增加，他们跌倒和受伤的风险增加。这项试点研究调查了在脆弱老年人病房中使用减震地板来预防与跌倒相关的伤害。
我们在 2010 年 4 月至 2011 年 8 月期间在英格兰的 8 家医院进行了一项非盲集群随机试验。每个地点将一个病房分配为“研究区域”，通过计算机将该区域随机分配到干预组（8.3 毫米厚的 Tarkett Omnisports EXCEL）或对照组（2 毫米标准原位地板）。各地点的干预期为 1 年。任何入住研究区域的人都有资格参加。主要结果是与跌倒相关的伤害发生率。次要结果是伤害严重程度、跌倒率和不良事件。
在干预期间，每组招募了 226 名参与者（分别有 219 名和 223 名参与者被纳入干预组和对照组进行分析）。在干预组的 35 次跌倒（31 名跌倒者）中，22.9%为伤害性跌倒，而在对照组的 33 次跌倒（22 名跌倒者）中，42.4%为伤害性跌倒[伤害发生率比（IRR）=0.58，95%CI=0.18-1.91]。干预组无中度或重度伤害，对照组有 6 例。跌倒的 IRR 为 1.07（95%CI=0.64-1.81）。干预地点的工作人员对推动设备表示担忧，记录到一起向后拉动设备的情况。
未来的研究应评估具有更好“推/拉”性能的减震地板，并探索增加跌倒者的风险。我们估计未来的试验需要每臂 33480-52840 人床位天。
