Recurrent falls are associated with increased length of stay in elderly psychiatric inpatients

Objectives To identify factors which may contribute to prolonged length of stay in an elderly psychiatric inpatient setting. Design Retrospective case note study. Methods A list of all patients over the age of 65 discharged from a private psychiatric hospital over a three-year period excluding those with a lengt h of stay of over 365 days was obtained (n = 1147). A random sample of 150 patients was selected from the study population. A case note study was then performed looking at a number of variables which have been postulated to a ffect length of stay. The resulting data was analysed using multivariate st atistics. Results There was no statistically significant association found between ba seline factors (including age, gender, cognitive impairment, marital status , order of admission and preadmission living arrangement) and length of sta y. Having recurrent falls whilst an inpatient was associated with prolonged hospital stay (p = 0.0006). Conclusion Experiencing recurrent falls whilst an inpatient is associated w ith prolonged length of stay. Recurrent falls in the elderly may be associa ted with both physical illness and the use of psychotropic medications. A p rospective study examining factors contributing to falls would be important in decreasing fall risk and reducing length of stay. Copyright (C) 2001 Jo hn Wiley & Sons, Ltd.