Which older emergency patients are at risk of intracranial bleeding after a fall? A protocol to derive a clinical decision rule for the emergency department.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Falling on level ground is now the most common cause of traumatic intracranial bleeding worldwide. Older adults frequently present to the emergency department (ED) after falling. It can be challenging for clinicians to determine who requires brain imaging to rule out traumatic intracranial bleeding, and often head injury decision rules do not apply to older adults who fall. The goal of our study is to derive a clinical decision rule, which will identify older adults who present to the ED after a fall who do not have clinically important intracranial bleeding.

Methods and analysis

This is a prospective cohort study enrolling patients aged 65 years or older, who present to the ED of 11 hospitals in Canada and the USA within 48 hours of having a fall. Patients are

SUBMITTER: de Wit K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8256748 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature