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" US scientists have identified a number of factors that contribute to in-hospital falls among patients undergoing hip or knee replacement surgery. A research team at Hospital for Special Surgery analysed data on patients of all ages who underwent hip or knee replacement surgery between 1998 and 2007. They then compared patients who fell while in hospital with those who did not in order to identify any common characteristics. They found that falls occurred in 0.85 per cent of patients and were more common in men, older people, minority groups, and patients who were undergoing revision surgery. Patients with heart failure, clotting or bleeding disorders, liver disease, neurologic disease, fluid abnormalities and recent weight loss also had a heightened risk of falling. Falls were associated with longer hospital stays and subsequent discharge to other healthcare facilities, rather than patients&amp;#039; own homes. Anaesthesiologist and lead researcher Dr Stavros Memtsoudis, whose findings are published in the Journal of Arthroplasty, said: &amp;#039;This study helps doctors know which patients to look out for. &amp;#039;While it may be unreasonable to put a helper into every room to help patients go to the bathroom, it would certainly be feasible to identify a smaller group of patients at-risk and focus efforts on them.&amp;#039; At least 50,000 hip replacements and 70,000 knee replacements are carried out each year in Britain. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a21800/study-identifies-risk-factors-for-hospital-falls/>