James talks to Associate Professor Mark Latt about falls, a common presentation in hospital and the Emergency Department, especially in the geriatric population.
Summary Writer: Alexandra Bolger
Editor: Mark Latt
Interviewee: Mark Latt
Mark Latt is a Staff Specialist in Geriatric Medicine and runs a multidisciplinary outpatient Falls Management Service at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He is a Principal Investigator in NHMRC funded trials examining the prevention of falls in Parkinson’s disease, dementia and minor neurocognitive disorder.
With Associate Professor Mark Latt, Geriatrician at Royal Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia
Falls are a common presentation on the wards and in the Emergency Department especially in the geriatric population. Falls costs the health system more than any other type of injury including road trauma. The cause of falls is often multifactorial including mechanical accidents, gait and balance problems, muscle weakness, sensory impairment, hypotension, polypharmacy and many more. An interdisciplinary team approach is the most important factor in optimising outcomes for our geriatric falls patients.
You are a junior doctor working an after hours shift and you are called to review an 80-year-old female who has had a fall whilst attempting to go to the bathroom.
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