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Medical Science Monitor : International... Jan 2024BACKGROUND Rationing of nursing care (RONC) has been associated with poor patient outcomes and is a growing concern in healthcare. The aim of this systematic study was...
BACKGROUND Rationing of nursing care (RONC) has been associated with poor patient outcomes and is a growing concern in healthcare. The aim of this systematic study was to investigate the connection between patient safety and the RONC. MATERIAL AND METHODS A thorough search of electronic databases was done to find research that examined the relationship between restricting nurse services and patient safety. The systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Two reviewers (M.L. and A.P.) independently screened the titles and abstracts, and full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. Data were extracted, and a quality assessment was performed using appropriate techniques. RESULTS A total of 15 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies included in the review demonstrated a correlation between rationing of nursing care and patient safety. The results of these studies revealed that there is an inverse relationship between rationing of nursing care and patient safety. The review found that when nursing care is rationed, there is a higher incidence of falls, medication errors, pressure ulcers, infections, and readmissions. In addition, the review identified that the work characteristics of nurses, such as workload, staffing levels, and experience, were associated with RONC. CONCLUSIONS RONC has a negative impact on patient safety outcomes. It is essential for healthcare organizations to implement effective strategies to prevent the RONC. Improving staffing levels, workload management, and communication amo0ng healthcare providers are some of the strategies that can support this.
Topics: Humans; Health Care Rationing; Patient Safety; Accidental Falls; Communication; Databases, Factual
PubMed: 38196186
DOI: 10.12659/MSM.942031 -
Current Nutrition Reports Mar 2024Falls are a major global public health issue and the second cause of unintentional injury death. Nutrition may be an important factor for falls prevention in adults, but... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Falls are a major global public health issue and the second cause of unintentional injury death. Nutrition may be an important factor for falls prevention in adults, but most previous studies examined the associations between single nutrients and falls. The use of dietary patterns is an alternative method to measure whole diet and its relationship with health outcomes. Therefore, we aimed to systematically review all evidence relating to dietary pattern impacts on falls and/or falls risk in adults.
RECENT FINDINGS
This systematic review was registered on the PROSPERO (CRD42020171987). Four databases (Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL Complete) were used for searching potential articles on 18th December 2021 and updated the search on 10th July 2023. We included any quantitative study reporting associations between dietary patterns and falls and/or falls risk in healthy adults ≥ 18 years and publishing in English as full text and peer-reviewed. Of 2866 potential articles, five studies (two cross-sectional, three cohorts) were included for the evidence synthesis. The risk of bias was low in cohort studies. Dietary patterns were derived using both "a priori" or "empirical" approaches, and self-report questionnaires used for falls/falls risk in most studies. Associations between dietary patterns and falls/falls risk were inconsistent results by sex and study design. The effect of dietary patterns on reducing falls/falls risk is not clear in the included studies, so this association needs to be confirmed in future research.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Dietary Patterns; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet; Accidental Falls; Research Design
PubMed: 38194079
DOI: 10.1007/s13668-023-00516-6 -
Enfermeria Clinica (English Edition) 2024To estimate the effectiveness of fall prevention programs in people aged 65 years and older involving nursing professionals. (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Effectiveness of nursing interventions in the prevention of falls in older adults in the community and in health care settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis of RCT.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the effectiveness of fall prevention programs in people aged 65 years and older involving nursing professionals.
METHODS
We included available full-text randomized clinical trials on nurse-led prevention of falls in the community in people over 65 years of age and reporting the incidence of such falls. An extensive search was performed in 14 databases covering the period 2016-2018 for publications in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. The quality of the papers was assessed independently and blindly by reviewers working in pairs using the risk of bias dominios of the Cochrane Collaboration. The hazard ratio was used as a measure of the effect size of the incidence of falls. A random-effects model was assumed for statistical analyses. The influence of moderator variables of the studies on the effect sizes was performed using ANOVAs and its 95% CI for each moderator category.
RESULTS
A total of 31 randomized clinical trials were selected with 25,551 participants. The most frequent type of intervention was education (57.1%), followed by multifactorial models (37.1%). The probability of falling was significantly reduced by 13% in the intervention groups compared to the control groups (RR+=0.87). Multifactorial (RR+=0.89) and education-based (RR=+0.84) interventions significantly reduced the probability of falls by 11% and 16%, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
Discarding publication bias prevention programs carried out by nurses produce a significant 10% reduction in falls. Education-based and multifactorial interventions are the most effective when conducted by nurses.
Topics: Humans; Aged; Exercise; Accidents, Home; Accidental Falls; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 38185371
DOI: 10.1016/j.enfcle.2024.01.001 -
The Cochrane Database of Systematic... Jan 2024Around one-third of older adults aged 65 years or older who live in the community fall each year. Interventions to prevent falls can be designed to target the whole...
BACKGROUND
Around one-third of older adults aged 65 years or older who live in the community fall each year. Interventions to prevent falls can be designed to target the whole community, rather than selected individuals. These population-level interventions may be facilitated by different healthcare, social care, and community-level agencies. They aim to tackle the determinants that lead to risk of falling in older people, and include components such as community-wide polices for vitamin D supplementation for older adults, reducing fall hazards in the community or people's homes, or providing public health information or implementation of public health programmes that reduce fall risk (e.g. low-cost or free gym membership for older adults to encourage increased physical activity).
OBJECTIVES
To review and synthesise the current evidence on the effects of population-based interventions for preventing falls and fall-related injuries in older people. We defined population-based interventions as community-wide initiatives to change the underlying societal, cultural, or environmental conditions increasing the risk of falling.
SEARCH METHODS
We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, three other databases, and two trials registers in December 2020, and conducted a top-up search of CENTRAL, MEDLINE, and Embase in January 2023.
SELECTION CRITERIA
We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), cluster RCTs, trials with stepped-wedge designs, and controlled non-randomised studies evaluating population-level interventions for preventing falls and fall-related injuries in adults ≥ 60 years of age. Population-based interventions target entire communities. We excluded studies only targeting people at high risk of falling or with specific comorbidities, or residents living in institutionalised settings.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane, and used GRADE to assess the certainty of the evidence. We prioritised seven outcomes: rate of falls, number of fallers, number of people experiencing one or more fall-related injuries, number of people experiencing one or more fall-related fracture, number of people requiring hospital admission for one or more falls, adverse events, and economic analysis of interventions. Other outcomes of interest were: number of people experiencing one or more falls requiring medical attention, health-related quality of life, fall-related mortality, and concerns about falling.
MAIN RESULTS
We included nine studies: two cluster RCTs and seven non-randomised trials (of which five were controlled before-and-after studies (CBAs), and two were controlled interrupted time series (CITS)). The numbers of older adults in intervention and control regions ranged from 1200 to 137,000 older residents in seven studies. The other two studies reported only total population size rather than numbers of older adults (67,300 and 172,500 residents). Most studies used hospital record systems to collect outcome data, but three only used questionnaire data in a random sample of residents; one study used both methods of data collection. The studies lasted between 14 months and eight years. We used Prevention of Falls Network Europe (ProFaNE) taxonomy to classify the types of interventions. All studies evaluated multicomponent falls prevention interventions. One study (n = 4542) also included a medication and nutrition intervention. We did not pool data owing to lack of consistency in study designs. Medication or nutrition Older people in the intervention area were offered free-of-charge daily supplements of calcium carbonate and vitamin D. Although female residents exposed to this falls prevention programme had fewer fall-related hospital admissions (with no evidence of a difference for male residents) compared to a control area, we were unsure of this finding because the certainty of evidence was very low. This cluster RCT included high and unclear risks of bias in several domains, and we could not determine levels of imprecision in the effect estimate reported by study authors. Because this evidence is of very low certainty, we have not included quantitative results here. This study reported none of our other review outcomes. Multicomponent interventions Types of interventions included components of exercise, environment modification (home; community; public spaces), staff training, and knowledge and education. Studies included some or all of these components in their programme design. The effectiveness of multicomponent falls prevention interventions for all reported outcomes is uncertain. The two cluster RCTs included high or unclear risk of bias, and we had no reasons to upgrade the certainty of evidence from the non-randomised trial designs (which started as low-certainty evidence). We also noted possible imprecision in some effect estimates and inconsistent findings between studies. Given the very low-certainty evidence for all outcomes, we have not reported quantitative findings here. One cluster RCT reported lower rates of falls in the intervention area than the control area, with fewer people in the intervention area having one or more falls and fall-related injuries, but with little or no difference in the number of people having one or more fall-related fractures. In another cluster RCT (a multi-arm study), study authors reported no evidence of a difference in the number of female or male residents with falls leading to hospital admission after either a multicomponent intervention ("environmental and health programme") or a combination of this programme and the calcium and vitamin D programme (above). One CBA reported no difference in rate of falls between intervention and control group areas, and another CBA reported no difference in rate of falls inside or outside the home. Two CBAs found no evidence of a difference in the number of fallers, and another CBA found no evidence of a difference in fall-related injuries. One CITS found no evidence of a difference in the number of people having one or more fall-related fractures. No studies reported adverse events.
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Given the very low-certainty evidence, we are unsure whether population-based multicomponent or nutrition and medication interventions are effective at reducing falls and fall-related injuries in older adults. Methodologically robust cluster RCTs with sufficiently large communities and numbers of clusters are needed. Establishing a rate of sampling for population-based studies would help in determining the size of communities to include. Interventions should be described in detail to allow investigation of effectiveness of individual components of multicomponent interventions; using the ProFaNE taxonomy for this would improve consistency between studies.
Topics: Aged; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Accidental Falls; Cholecalciferol; Controlled Before-After Studies; Dietary Supplements; Fractures, Bone
PubMed: 38180112
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD013789.pub2 -
PloS One 2023The incidence of falling has always been high among the elderly, and it was easy to cause injuries to the elderly and seriously affect their quality of life. There were... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
The incidence of falling has always been high among the elderly, and it was easy to cause injuries to the elderly and seriously affect their quality of life. There were many studies have been conducted on risk factors affecting the fall of the elderly, but the results widely, retirement institutions as a gathering place for the elderly, there was currently no comprehensive analysis of the factors related to elderly falls in pension institutions. This study aimed to explore the influencing factors of falls among older adults in Chinese nursing homes.
METHODS
Chinese and English databases were searched for literature published from database inception to 5 April 2023 on the influencing factors of falls among older adults in Chinese nursing homes. Two reviewers independently screened articles, extracted data, and assessed the quality of the included studies. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software.
RESULTS
Eleven studies involving 3503 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled estimate of falls among older adults in Chinese nursing homes was 32% [95% confidence interval (95%CI) (24.0%, 39.0%)]. The main influencing factors for falls among older adults in Chinese nursing homes were age (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.53), gender (OR = 5.50), visual impairment (OR = 2.30), sedative-hypnotics (OR = 2.36), fear of falling (OR = 2.95), hypertension (OR = 3.72), static balance (OR = 2.02), three or more chronic diseases (OR = 5.63), cognitive status (OR = 2.64), walking aid use (OR = 1.98), fall-related chronic diseases (OR = 2.48), self-awareness of abilities (OR = 2.43), and frequent reminders for fall prevention (OR = 0.10).
CONCLUSION
Falls among older adults in Chinese nursing homes were common, and there were many influencing factors. Timely screening and intervention should be implemented to reduce the adverse consequences of falls on older adults.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
Registration number: CRD42023421099.
Topics: Humans; Aged; Accidental Falls; Retirement; Quality of Life; Fear; Chronic Disease; China
PubMed: 38150433
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296348 -
Expert Review of Medical Devices 2024Wearable devices and telemedicine are increasingly used to track health-related parameters across patient populations. Since gait and postural control deficits... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Wearable devices and telemedicine are increasingly used to track health-related parameters across patient populations. Since gait and postural control deficits contribute to mobility deficits in persons with movement disorders and multiple sclerosis, we thought it interesting to evaluate devices in telemedicine for gait and posture monitoring in such patients.
METHODS
For this systematic review, we searched the electronic databases MEDLINE (PubMed), SCOPUS, Cochrane Library, and SPORTDiscus. Of the 452 records retrieved, 12 met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Data about (1) study characteristics and clinical aspects, (2) technical, and (3) telemonitoring and teleconsulting were retrieved, The studies were quality assessed.
RESULTS
All studies involved patients with Parkinson's disease; most used triaxial accelerometers for general assessment ( = 4), assessment of motor fluctuation ( = 3), falls ( = 2), and turning ( = 3). Sensor placement and count varied widely across studies. Nine used lab-validated algorithms for data analysis. Only one discussed synchronous patient feedback and asynchronous teleconsultation.
CONCLUSIONS
Wearable devices enable real-world patient monitoring and suggest biomarkers for symptoms and behaviors related to underlying gait disorders. thus enriching clinical assessment and personalized treatment plans. As digital healthcare evolves, further research is needed to enhance device accuracy, assess user acceptability, and integrate these tools into telemedicine infrastructure.
PROSPERO REGISTRATION
CRD42022355460.
Topics: Humans; Gait; Posture; Wearable Electronic Devices; Parkinson Disease; Telemedicine; Multiple Sclerosis
PubMed: 38124300
DOI: 10.1080/17434440.2023.2298342 -
BMC Geriatrics Dec 2023Faced with the lack of physical activity caused by mandatory home isolation during special periods and patients' inconvenience in carrying out professionally supervised... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Faced with the lack of physical activity caused by mandatory home isolation during special periods and patients' inconvenience in carrying out professionally supervised exercise, many home-based exercise programs have been developed. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effects of home-based exercise on measures of motor symptoms, quality of life and functional performance in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.
METHODS
We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis, and searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane library, and Web of Science from their inception date to April 1, 2023. The quality of the literature was assessed using PEDro's quality scale. The data was pooled using R software. Results are presented as pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI).
RESULTS
A total of 20 studies involving 1885 PD patients were included. Meta-analysis results showed that home-based exercise had a small effect in relieving overall motor symptoms in PD patients (SMD = -0.29 [-0.45, -0.13]; P < 0.0001), improving quality of life (SMD = 0.20 [0.08, 0.32]; P < 0.0001), walking speed (SMD = 0.26 [0.05, 0.48]; P = 0.005), balance ability (SMD = 0.23 [0.10, 0.36]; P < 0.0001), finger dexterity (SMD = 0.28 [0.10, 0.46]; P = 0.003) and decreasing fear of falling (SMD = -0.29 [-0.49, -0.08]; P = 0.001). However, home-based exercise did not significantly relieve the overall motor symptoms of PD patients when the training period was less than 8 weeks and the total number of sessions was less than 30.
CONCLUSION
During times of limited physical activity due to pandemics such as COVID-19, home-based exercise is an alternative to maintain and improve motor symptoms in PD patients. In addition, for the minimum dose of home-based exercise, we recommend that the exercise period is no less than 8 weeks and the total number of sessions is no less than 30 times.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022329780.
Topics: Humans; Quality of Life; Parkinson Disease; Accidental Falls; Fingers; Fear; Motor Skills; Exercise; Exercise Therapy; Physical Functional Performance
PubMed: 38114897
DOI: 10.1186/s12877-023-04595-6 -
Age and Ageing Dec 2023There is strong evidence that exercise reduces falls in older people living in the community, but its effectiveness in residential aged care is less clear. This... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
There is strong evidence that exercise reduces falls in older people living in the community, but its effectiveness in residential aged care is less clear. This systematic review examines the effectiveness of exercise for falls prevention in residential aged care, meta-analysing outcomes measured immediately after exercise or after post-intervention follow-up.
METHODS
Systematic review and meta-analysis, including randomised controlled trials from a Cochrane review and additional trials, published to December 2022. Trials of exercise as a single intervention compared to usual care, reporting data suitable for meta-analysis of rate or risk of falls, were included. Meta-analyses were conducted according to Cochrane Collaboration methods and quality of evidence rated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach.
RESULTS
12 trials from the Cochrane review plus 7 new trials were included. At the end of the intervention period, exercise probably reduces the number of falls (13 trials, rate ratio [RaR] = 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.49-0.95), but after post-intervention follow-up exercise had little or no effect (8 trials, RaR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.80-1.28). The effect on the risk of falling was similar (end of intervention risk ratio (RR) = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.72-0.98, 12 trials; post-intervention follow-up RR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.92-1.20, 8 trials). There were no significant subgroup differences according to cognitive impairment.
CONCLUSIONS
Exercise is recommended as a fall prevention strategy for older people living in aged care who are willing and able to participate (moderate certainty evidence), but exercise has little or no lasting effect on falls after the end of a programme (high certainty evidence).
Topics: Aged; Humans; Exercise; Accidental Falls
PubMed: 38109410
DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afad217 -
Annals of Medicine and Surgery (2012) Dec 2023The risk of falls in people living with HIV (PLHIVs) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) has received little attention in the literature. The aim of the meta-analysis is to... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
The risk of falls in people living with HIV (PLHIVs) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) has received little attention in the literature. The aim of the meta-analysis is to quantify the association between fall risk and various categories of drugs used in ART.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were systematically searched from inception to January 2023. Any observational study or controlled trial that reported on the relationship of at least one antiretroviral drug with falls in PLHIVs was included. Data on the frequency of single fallers, multiple fallers (≥2 falls), and non-fallers were extracted and studied for each drug and drug category. The pooled results were reported as an odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI).
RESULTS
A total of five observational studies (51 675 participants) were included out of 414 articles obtained through a literature review. Stavudine use was found to be associated with an increased risk of single falls in PLHIVs (OR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.08-2.66, =0.02). However, efavirenz (OR: 0.82, 95% CI=0.76-0.89, <0.001) and zidovudine (OR: 0.82, 95% CI=0.77-0.92, <0.001) were found protective against the single falls. Didanosine had no significant association with fall risk (OR: 1.23, 95% CI: 0.78-1.93, =0.37). Likewise, protease inhibitors, integrase inhibitors, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors were discovered to have no significant association with fall risk.
CONCLUSION
Most drug categories of ART have no significant association with the risk of falls in PLHIVs. However, certain drugs, such as didanosine and stavudine, which have the inherent effect of causing balance deficits and neuropathy, should be used cautiously.
PubMed: 38098550
DOI: 10.1097/MS9.0000000000001411 -
Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open 2023Clavicle fracture (CF) is the tenth most prevalent fracture, accounting for an annual incidence of 37/10,000. This systematic review highlights the factors contributing...
BACKGROUND
Clavicle fracture (CF) is the tenth most prevalent fracture, accounting for an annual incidence of 37/10,000. This systematic review highlights the factors contributing to the nonunion union of the clavicular fracture.
METHOD
A systematic search was conducted using three web-based databases up to August 12, 2022, for conducting qualitative analysis. Articles were screened for relevance, and only studies that met inclusion criteria based on PECOS; P (patients): participants diagnosed with clavicular fracture; E (exposure): nonunion, C (control): not applicable; O (outcomes): factors contributing to nonunion or delayed union; S (studies): trials and observational studies. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the quality of the cohort studies. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the bias in randomized control trials.
RESULTS
Ten studies were selected after the final literature search. Two thousand seven hundred and sixty-six adult participants who were radiologically and clinically diagnosed with nonunion clavicular fracture were included to pool the qualitative results. Fall was the most dominant cause of clavicular fracture, followed by road traffic collisions. Open reduction was widely used to treat nonunion correction. The qualitative results suggested a prominent correlation of nonunion with advancing age, female gender, high energy trauma, high Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Score, smoking, fracture displacement, clavicular shortening, the callus on radiography, and fracture movement. The mid-shaft fracture was the most dominant type of fracture in the included studies; highly associated with nonunion in comparison to medial or lateral CF. The previous history of operation was an independent factor contributing to nonunion.
CONCLUSION
The results of this systematic review suggested the predictors contributing to nonunion in the CF. Demographic factors such as advancing age with female gender are at higher risk of developing clavicular nonunion. Smoking was the most dominantly highlighted environmental factor contributing to nonunion. Diaphyseal or midshaft fracture was the most common site for nonunion. Therefore, we suggested that patients with the predictors mentioned above require special attention to prevent nonunion of the CFs. More studies should be conducted on this subject to assess the factors that pose a risk associated with the nonunion of the bone for better clinical management and outcomes of the fracture.
PubMed: 38020862
DOI: 10.1136/tsaco-2023-001188