[Acceptability and compliance with the use of hip protectors in elderly patients with dementia admitted to a psychogeriatric unit].
OBJECTIVE
To detect the percentage of patients with dementia admitted to a psychogeriatric department, who have a high risk of falls, and to evaluate acceptance and compliance with hip protectors during their stay in hospital and 2 weeks and 3 months after discharge.


METHODS
We performed a hospital-based prospective cohort study. Risk of falling was evaluated on the basis of immediate bipedal standing instability or abnormal semi-tandem posture, a get-up-and-go test time of more than 20 seconds, or clinical judgement. Compliance during hospital stay was evaluated through nursing records and compliance outside hospital by telephone interviews at 15 days and 3 months after discharge.


RESULTS
A total of 115 patients consecutively admitted to the psychogeriatric department of the Santa Creu Hospital in Vic were assessed. Sixty patients (52.2%) were excluded from the study, the main reason being dependence on another person for walking. Of the 55 patients included, 44 (80.0%) had a high risk of falls and were candidates for hip protectors. In-hospital compliance was 80.5% (95% CI: 65.1-91.2). The most common cause of non-compliance was removal of the hip protector by the patient. Compliance after discharge was 64.5% (95% CI: 45.4-80.8) at 2 weeks and 57.1% (95% CI: 28.9-82.4) at 3 months.


CONCLUSIONS
A high risk of falling was found in a large percentage of patients with dementia who were not dependent on others for walking. Compliance was not a problem in the use of hip protectors in a high-risk population in the hospital-admission setting but was weaker in the community setting.
Bajo
Lorena
L
Unidad de Psicogeriatría, Hospital de la Santa Creu, Vic, Barcelona, Spain.
Arnau
Anna
A
Espaulella
Joan
J
Dalmau
Núria
N
Barneto
Matilde
M
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000150:complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006757:Hospital Units; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011482:Protective Devices; D011570:Psychiatry