Falls Lead to ED Visits by Nursing Home Residents

NEW ORLEANS â€" Falls are by far the most common reason for emergency department visits by nursing home patients, a national survey showed. After injuries from falling, which led to an estimated 14% of all nursing home patients' ED visits in 2004, the top reasons for a trip to the ED included chest pain and pneumonia (4.5% of visits each), psychiatric symptoms (3.7%), and cardiac conditions other than acute coronary syndrome (3.2%), Dr. Scott Wilber reported at the annual meeting of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.