Older Persons Health Specialist Service, Canterbury District Health Board; and Christchurch School of Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2017 Jul 1;18(7):588-591. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2017.01.012. Epub 2017 Mar 6.
To compare fall rates and injuries from falls on low-impact flooring (LIF) compared with a standard vinyl flooring.
Prospective, observational, nonrandomized controlled study.
Subacute Older Persons Health ward (N = 20 beds).
Older inpatients.
Three different types of LIF.
All falls in the ward were prospectively monitored using incident reporting, noting location and consequences of each fall. Fall rates (per 1000 bed days) and injuries, were compared between bedroom falls on LIF against those occurring on standard vinyl flooring (controls).
Over 31 months, there were 278 bedroom falls (from 178 fallers). The bedroom fall rate (falls per 1000 bed days occupied) did not differ between the LIF and control groups (median 15 [IQR 8-18] versus 17 [IQR 9-23], respectively; P = .47). However, fall-related injuries were significantly less frequent when they occurred on LIFs (22% of falls versus 34% of falls on control flooring; P = .02). Fractures occurred in 0.7% of falls in the LIF cohort versus 2.3% in the control cohort. Rolling resistance when moving heavier equipment, such as beds or hoists, was an issue for staff on LIF.
LIF significantly reduced fall-related injuries compared with a standard vinyl flooring, whereas they did not alter the overall risk of falling.
比较低冲击地板（LIF）与标准乙烯基地板的跌倒率和跌倒损伤。
前瞻性、观察性、非随机对照研究。
亚急性老年人健康病房（N=20 张床）。
老年住院患者。
三种不同类型的 LIF。
通过事件报告，前瞻性监测病房内所有跌倒事件，记录每次跌倒的位置和后果。比较 LIF 卧室跌倒与标准乙烯基地板（对照组）跌倒的跌倒率（每 1000 个卧床日的跌倒率）和损伤情况。
在 31 个月期间，共有 278 例卧室跌倒（发生在 178 例跌倒者中）。LIF 和对照组的卧室跌倒率（每 1000 个卧床日占用的跌倒率）没有差异（中位数 15[IQR 8-18] 与 17[IQR 9-23]，P=0.47）。然而，当跌倒发生在 LIF 上时，跌倒相关损伤明显较少（LIF 组的跌倒中有 22%发生损伤，而对照组的跌倒中有 34%发生损伤；P=0.02）。在 LIF 组中，骨折发生率为 0.7%，而在对照组中为 2.3%。当移动较重的设备（如床或吊具）时，LIF 对工作人员的滚动阻力是一个问题。
与标准乙烯基地板相比，LIF 显著降低了跌倒相关损伤，而跌倒总体风险并未改变。
