Frailty and falls Flashcards
What is frailty?
A clinical state of vulnerability with inherent risks for adverse clinical outcomes
Often have poor functional reserve
What is poor functional reserve
small insults results in large, steep, sudden declines in function/cognition
What are symptoms and signs of frailty?
- Delirium
- Acute/sub-acute decline in mobility
- Unable to manage at home
- Frequent contact with services
- Not eating/drinking
- Sleep disorders & sensory deficits e.g. vision issues, peripheral neuropathy
- Falls
- Incontinence
- Pressure ulcers
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Weight loss
What are the 4 classifications of frailty?
Robustness
Pre-frailty
Frailty
Disability
How is a fall defined?
A fall is a sudden, unintentional change in position which causes an individual to land at a lower level on an object or the ground, not because of a sudden onset of paralysis, epileptic seizure or overwhelming external force.
Whar are intrinsic risk factors for falls?
- Vision
- Vestibular function
- Blood pressure
- Muscle strength
- Sensation
- Central processing
- Heart rate
- Joint stability
- Proprioception
- Balance
- Medication
- Gait deficit
- Hearing impairment
- Foot problems e.g. corns, calluses, bunions
- Dizziness
- Postural/orthostatic hypotension: drop in BP when getting up from lying or sitting
- Inner ear problems
- HR issues: bradycardia, tachycardia, atrial fibrillation
- Dehydration
What are extrinsic risk factors for falls?
- Inappropriate walking aids
- Inappropriate footwear
- Poor lighting
- Clothing
- Floor covering
- Low furniture
What areas should be assessed in frailty and falls
Gait
Balance
LL strength
Rockwood scoring system (7-9 indicates severe frailty)
Cognition
NICE also suggests in the community Electronic Frailty Index (eFI)
What assessments might be used for falls and frailty?
Timed up and go test
180 degree turn test
Gait speed test
2-minute walk test
Functional reach test
Unipedal stance test
4 square step test
Clock drawing test
5-minute sit to stand test
How is the functional reach test performed?
In standing stand close but not touching wall, and arm closer to wall at 90 degrees flexion. Record initial point of 3rd digit, measure difference between start and end.
- Modified version for those that can’t stand
- Yard stick taped to wall, and make final position.
What does the result of a functional reach test mean?
25cm/greater = low fall risk
15-25cm = 2x greater fall risk
15cm or less = risk of falling is 4x greater than normal
Unwilling to reach: risk of falling is 8x greater than normal
How is the unipedal stance test performed?
- Need stopwatch
- Time how long can stand on one leg
- One foot eyes open and closed
- Time how long can maintain
- Good test-retest reliability and interrater reliability found by Franchignoni et al 1998
What are average times for ages open and eyes closed?
- 20-49 28.8s open eyes, 20.7 closed
- 50-59 24.2 open, 6.1 closed
- 60-69 27.1 open, 2.0 closed
- 70-79 18.2 open, 1.0 closed
How is the 4 square step test performed?
May have demonstration and practice trial
- Meant to perform twice
- Patient steps over 4 canes that are placed in plus sign
- Told to complete as quickly as possible
- Square 1 facing square 2, square four to the right of the patient
- Time from when foot touches square 2 and last foot reaches square 1
- Go clockwise then anitclockwise
- pt unable to side step can turn
- Fail if lose balance or touch cane
What are the cut off score for 4 step test?
Older adult / geriatric: >15s (increased risk of falls)