Abstract
We sought to identify the incidence, injury patterns, and financial burden of ladder fall injuries to provide a reference for reinforcing guidelines on the prevention of such injuries. We enrolled the patients who were injured in a ladder-related fall and required intensive care between April 2012 and March 2014 at Okayama University Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Okayama City: 9 patients injured in 7 stepladder falls and 2 straight ladder falls. The median patient age was 69 years, and 8 were males. Six falls occurred in non-occupational settings. Head injuries predominated, and the injury severity score ranged from 2 to 35 (mean = 21 ± 12). At the time of discharge from the intensive care unit, one patient had died and 5 patients had some neurological disabilities. The case fatality rate was 11%. The total cost of care during the review period was ¥16,705,794, with a mean cost of ¥1,856,199 per patient Ladder fall injuries are associated with a high rate of neurological sequelae and pose a financial burden on the health insurance system. A prevention education campaign targeting at older-aged males in non-occupational settings may be a worthwhile health service investment in this community.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 275-278 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Acta medica Okayama |
Volume | 69 |
Issue number | 5 |
Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Keywords
- Accident prevention
- Accidental falls
- Hospital costs
- Injuries
- Ladder
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)