Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29985457›Full record

ArticleSpinal cord2019

Predictors of falls in persons with spinal cord injury-a prospective study using the Downton fall risk index and a single question of previous falls.

Emelie Butler Forslund, Vivien Jørgensen, Kirsti Skavberg Roaldsen, Claes Hultling, Kerstin Wahman, Erika Franzén

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Spinal cord, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.5field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Observational
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Emelie Butler ForslundDivision of Physiotherapy, Department of Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet, Care Sciences and Society, Stockholm, Sweden. emelie.butler.forslund@rehabstation.se.
Vivien JørgensenDivision of Physiotherapy, Department of Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet, Care Sciences and Society, Stockholm, Sweden.
Kirsti Skavberg RoaldsenDivision of Physiotherapy, Department of Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet, Care Sciences and Society, Stockholm, Sweden.
Claes HultlingKarolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Kerstin WahmanRehab Station Stockholm/Spinalis Research and Development Unit, Stockholm, Sweden.
Erika FranzénDivision of Physiotherapy, Department of Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet, Care Sciences and Society, Stockholm, Sweden.
Karolinska Institutet · SEKarolinska University Hospital · SESunnaas sykehus · NO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

designPrediction study.

objectivesTo investigate the prediction accuracy of the Downton fall risk index (DFRI) and a question of falls the previous year; further to examine the association between time to first fall and risk indicators for falls in wheelchair users and ambulatory persons with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI).

settingTwo SCI centres in Norway and Sweden (Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital, Rehab Station Stockholm /Spinalis).

methodsTwo hundred and twenty-four persons with traumatic SCI, ≥1 year post-injury, ≥18 years participated. Prospective falls were reported by text messages every second week for one year. Sensitivity, specificity and time to first fall (Kaplan Meier) were investigated for DFRI and the question of falls in the previous year. DFRI ≥3 was defined as a high risk of falls. Cox survival analysis was used to calculate hazard ratios for functional independence, gait speed and fear of falling.

resultsThe sensitivity was 36-57% for DFRI and 82-89% for the question of falls, while specificity was 74-83%, and 34-49%. For DFRI, time to first fall was shorter in the high-risk group, for both wheelchair users (p = 0.005) and ambulatory persons (p = 0.006). Falls previous year increased the hazard ratio of falls for wheelchair users (HR = 3.35, 95% CI = 1.86 to 6.02) but not for ambulatory persons.

conclusionsFalls in the previous year showed a better predictive accuracy than DFRI due to the low sensitivity of DFRI. As previous falls had low specificity, it still remains difficult to predict falls in those who have not fallen yet.

Indexed as

Risk AssessmentAccidental FallsAdultFemaleHumansKaplan-Meier EstimateLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedOutcome Assessment, Health CarePredictive Value of TestsProportional Hazards ModelsSpinal Cord InjuriesWheelchairs

Identifiers

PMID29985457
OpenAlexW2850264261

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.