Characteristics of intentional fall injuries in the ED

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• 作者：Jae Hoon Choi ; MD^a ; Sun Hyu Kim ; MD^a ; ^{stachy1@paran.com" class="auth_mail} ; Sun Pyo Kim ; MD^b ; Koo Young Jung ; MD^c ; Ji Yeong Ryu ; MD^d ; Sang Cheon Choi ; MD^e ; In Cheol Park ; MD^f
• 刊名：The American Journal of Emergency Medicine
• 出版年：June 2014
• 年：2014
• 卷：32
• 期：6
• 页码：529-534
• 全文大小：236 K

文摘

This study was conducted to examine the characteristics of intentional fall injuries and the factors associated with their prognosis.

Methods

The study included 8992 patients with unintentional falls from a height (nonintentional group) and 144 patients with intentional falls from a height (intentional group). General and clinical characteristics were compared between the 2 groups. Intentional fall cases were divided into severe and nonsevere groups, and the factors associated with severe injury were evaluated by comparing these groups.

Results

The most common age group was younger than 14 years in the nonintentional group and between 30 and 44 years old in the intentional group. For the nonintentional group, 65% of the patients were male, and 48% were male in the intentional group. Fall heights of more than 4 m were most common in the intentional group. Discharge was the most common result in the nonintentional group; however, death before arrival at the emergency department (ED) or during ED treatment occurred in 54.9% of patients in the intentional group. In the severe injury group within the intentional group, patients were older, and the height of the fall was higher. Factors associated with severe injury in the intentional group included being a high school graduate rather than a college graduate and greater fall height.

Conclusion

The risk of severe injury increased with fall height in the intentional group, and a high school level of education rather than a college level of education was associated with more severe injury.