Abstract

Background
Falls are a major cause of emergency room visits. Injury secondary to falls is a largely preventable public health problem. This study helps to better understand the epidemiology of falls from height, then develops prevention strategies. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 192 patients admitted to the emergency department of Konyang university hospital with a history of falls from January 2004 to December 2004. Collected data included the patient’s age, gender, height of fall and method, outcome of management, Injury Severity Score(ISS). Results: According to the characteristics of height of fall, the ISS was higher when the patient fell from height of 2 meters or more(13.79±12.17) than not(8.13±9.25)(p<0.05). There were positive correlation between mean age and ISS(p<0.001, r=0.7). To gender, ISS was higher in the male group(12.73±11.78) than the female group(8.48±10.00)(p<0.05). Conclusion: Falls often results from multiple concurrent problems including environmental and behavioral factors. This study suggests that we need to improve the occupational environment, especially above 2meters, for decreasing injuries of fall from heights. Also we consider the prevention of children from injuries of fall from heights.

• Keywords: Height of fall, Injury severity score, Correlation