TITLE:
Falls in the Elderly at Angre University Hospital
AUTHORS:
Lauret Kouassi, Gilles Renaud Kouamé, N’Guessan Michel Konan, Aïchata Bamba, Salifou Koné, Ubrich Venceslas Acko, Gnadou Stéphane Keny Yapa, Kadidiata Hamed Touré, Famoussa Koné, Jean Kévin Acho, Kobenan Kouman Landry Gboko, Yao Omer Binan
KEYWORDS:
Falls, Elderly, University Hospital, Ivory Coast
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Internal Medicine,
Vol.15 No.2,
April
25,
2025
ABSTRACT: Background: Falls in older people can have serious consequences for their well-being and life expectancy. However, the information available remains insufficient in our context. Objective: The overall aim is to contribute to a better understanding of falls in the elderly. Material and Method: This is a retrospective, descriptive study of the records of patients aged 65 and over who consulted a geriatric unit in Côte d’Ivoire. It focused on patients who had reported at least one fall in the 12 months preceding their consultation, regardless of where the fall occurred. Results: Prevalence was 14%, with an average age of 75.4 years and a sex ratio of 0.5. Balance and walking disorders were the main pathological cause of falls (50%). Most patients (87%) lived in the city and were faced with inadequate lighting (37%) and inappropriate footwear (95.4%). The main drug treatments followed were antihypertensive drugs (25%), followed by anticoagulants (13.9%). Falls occurred while walking (35.2%) and standing (23.1%), and were repeated in 49.1%. The traumatic consequences were mainly limb pain (27.8%) and arthralgia (22.2%) were the most common and also, 65.7% could not recover without assistance. Depression was found in 9.3% of patients. The trend was marked by a mortality rate of 5.5% of cases. Conclusion: Falls are frequent, caused by problems with balance and walking, and by environmental factors. They can have serious traumatic consequences and major psychological repercussions.