Abstract
【Purpose】The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the need for oral care assistance and falls during hospitalization in patients who admitted to an acute general ward.
【Methods】 A single-center retrospective cohort study. Between April and September in 2018, 6,009 patients who were admitted to our hospital (acute general ward), excluding inpatients with completely bedridden patients were included. The data were from Form 1 and H files, which are part of the DPC (Diagnosis Procedure Combination). Fall assessment data were used to assess the risk of falling. Albumin and hemoglobin levels at admission were used to assess nutritional status and anemia. Logistic regression analysis was used for statistical analysis. The necessity of oral care was used as an exposure factor, and age, gender, nutritional status, anemia, ADL on admission, and clinical severity were successively entered as covariates for explanatory variables.
【Results】139 patients (2.3%) had a falls. The odds ratio of the need for oral care assistance for falls in univariate analysis was 3.84 (95%CI: 2.73-5.39, p<0.001). When adjusted for age, gender, nutritional status, and presence of anemia, the odds ratio was 2.59 (95%CI: 1.62-4.14, p<0.001). The odds ratio was 2.31 (95%CI: 1.20-4.44, p=0.012) when adjusted for falls assessment, ADL on admission, and clinical severity, and the same was true for validation using the Bootstrap method. Sensitivity analysis also confirmed that the odds ratio for necessity of oral care for falls was also high.
【Conclusions】 The need for oral care assistance on admission was associated with falls during hospitalization even after adjusting for age, gender, nutritional status, presence of anemia, falls assessment, and ADL and clinical severity on admission. Among patients admitted to an acute general hospital ward, those who required oral care assistance on admission were at higher risk of falling.
