Giving fewer sleeping pills and selectively restraining
some residents could produce far fewer resident falls, according to a new
report out of Sweden.
Sleeping pills with benzodiazepines (sedatives) made
study subjects 2.9 times more likely to fall, antipsychotic drugs
(neuroleptics) made them 1.9 times more likely, and sleeping pills and
antidepressants made them 1.4 times more likely to fall, scientists led by the
Karolinska Institutet learned. They analyzed 2,343 reported falls and fractures
at 21 nursing home units over a four-year period.
While urging caution and medical necessity in using
restraints, researchers said the devices put study subjects significantly below
a base 1.0 falls risk. Bed rails dropped the risk to 0.5, while, individuals in
wheelchairs (who had been assessed as a fall risk) registered 0.7.
"Our results suggests that freedom-restricting
actions cannot eliminate falls totally, but they might be protective when used
selectively with fewer sedatives, especially benzodiazepines," said
researcher Edit Fonad in this month's issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.