The Study
The impact of treatment of orthostatic hypotension on falls in elderly patients admitted to acute geriatric care in a university hospital centre
This study looked back at what happened to old patients in the hospital and noticed that those with low blood pressure when standing were more likely to fall. But it didn't change anything to test if fixing the blood pressure helped—it just watched what already happened.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at older adults who fell and ended up in the hospital to see how doctors checked for and treated low blood pressure when standing.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 527 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even though doctors often found and treated the problem, many patients still fell again — suggesting the treatments might not be working well or aren't being followed up.
- 2About 1 in 3 patients had low blood pressure when standing.
- 3Most got treatment (like lowering meds), but almost no one checked if the treatment worked.
- 4About 3 in 10 came back to the hospital for another fall.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Revue de gériatrie
Year
2024
Authors
Claire-Marie Chatellier, Estelle Le Pabic, A. Corvol, Dominique Somme
Related Content
Claims (4)
Older adults with orthostatic hypotension have a 73% higher rate of falls compared to those without it.
In elderly patients hospitalized for falls, about 36% had orthostatic hypotension, and nearly all of them received treatments like reducing medications or using compression devices, but doctors rarely checked whether those treatments worked.
Elderly patients admitted to the hospital after a fall who were taking ACE inhibitors at admission had a lower rate of being readmitted for another fall compared to those not taking ACE inhibitors, with 30.4% of all patients in the study being readmitted for falls.
In older adults hospitalized after a fall, 36.4% had orthostatic hypotension even though most were taking medications that lower blood pressure or affect the nervous system.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.