Fall, Fracture and Frailty

This project aims to improve the global outcome for an aging individual after a traumatic fall, through identifying conditions contributing to a fall and promoting recovery and rehabilitation. Through better understanding 'falling phenotype', the ultimate aim is to prevent future complications, as well as new falls and fractures in the growing older population.

Background: The knowledge of risk factors for falls and fractures amongst older individuals are enormous, still identification of fallers and prevention of falls is not part of Swedish standard of care. Some risk factors are more or less overlooked, such as alcohol consumption, orthostatic reactions, as are increased risks related to common medications such as certain antidepressants, opioids and sedatives. Although functional activity and frailty scores have been suggested to be potential predictors of adverse events, length of hospital stay and mortality, the use of standardized questionnaires has not been implemented in routine care in Sweden. Furthermore, outcomes after fragility fractures, a well known consequence of falls among older individuals, are continuously poor, although palpable improvements have been reached regarding surgical treatment. Are there other factors that are equally or more decisive for the global outcome from the patient's point of view? Material \& Methods: In this prospective observational cohort study, all in-patients treated due to a fall-related trauma (fracture, dislocation or contusion) at the Department of Orthopaedics, Skane University Hospital Malmö, aged 65 years or older will be invited to participate during a 1-year study period. In all participants, a standard package of blood samples, temperature, measurement of orthostatic blood pressure and grip strength, grading of frailty and activity will be routinely obtained.