title: [Severe injuries from falls on the same level].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Assess characteristics of trauma patients who sustained falls from their own height, more specifically focusing on presence of severe injuries, diagnosis and treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective study including all adult blunt trauma patients admitted in the emergency room in a period of 9 months. Lesions with AIS (Abbreviated Injury Scale)>3 were considered "severe". Variables were compared between victims of fall from their own height (group I) and other blunt trauma mechanisms (group II). Student's t, chi square and Fisher exact tests were used for statistical analysis, considering p<0.05 as significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 1993 trauma patients included, 305 (15%) were victims of falls from their own height. In group I, mean age was 52.2 ± 20.8 years and 64.8% were male. Injuries in the head segment were the most frequently observed (62.2%), followed by injuries in the extremities (22.3%), thorax (1.3%) and abdomen (0.7%). Severe injuries (AIS>3) were more frequent in the head (8.9%), followed by extremities (4.9%). In group I, craniotomies were needed in 2.3%. By comparing groups, we observed that victims of falls from their own height had significantly higher mean age, higher mean systolic blood pressure, and higher head AIS mean, as well as lower ISS mean, thorax AIS mean, abdomen AIS mean and extremities AIS mean.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Importance of the trauma mechanism in victims of falls from own height should be emphasized due to a considerable possibility of occult severe injuries, mainly in the cephalic segment.
authors.affiliation: Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP.
authors.forename: José Gustavo
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Parreira
authors.forename: André Mazzini Ferreira
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Vianna
authors.forename: Gabriel Silva
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.forename: Walter Zavem
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Karakhanian
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Calil
authors.forename: Jaqueline A Giannini
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Perlingeiro
authors.forename: Silvia C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Soldá
authors.forename: José Cesar
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Assef
mesh_terms: D015998:Abbreviated Injury Scale; D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D055815:Young Adult