Predictive value of the Royal Melbourne Hospital Falls Risk Assessment Tool (RMH FRAT) for post-stroke patients

Colleen Ma; Kelly Evans; Carin Bertmar; Martin Krause

doi:10.1016/j.jocn.2013.06.018

Predictive value of the Royal Melbourne Hospital Falls Risk Assessment Tool (RMH FRAT) for post-stroke patients

J Clin Neurosci. 2014 Apr;21(4):607-11. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2013.06.018. Epub 2013 Aug 29.

Authors

Colleen Ma¹, Kelly Evans², Carin Bertmar², Martin Krause³

Affiliations

¹ Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
² Royal North Shore Hospital, Reserve Road, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia.
³ Royal North Shore Hospital, Reserve Road, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 24216064
DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2013.06.018

Abstract

Falls after stroke are common and carry a significant disease burden. Several scores aim to identify patients who are at risk of falls to implement primary prevention therapy. The aim of this study was to determine the validity of the commonly used Falls Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT) developed at the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) in 1995 for predicting falls after a stroke. The RMH FRAT was administered within 2 weeks after discharge post-stroke. Occurrence of falls was recorded at 3 and 6 months post-stroke in 202 and 152 patients, respectively. In our study 90% of patients were placed in the RMH FRAT high risk or medium risk group. In these two groups the RMH FRAT did not provide sufficient predictive value.

Keywords: Accidental falls; Post stroke; Predictive value; Risk assessment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Validation Study

MeSH terms

Accidental Falls*
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Female
Housing
Humans
Logistic Models
Male
Middle Aged
Odds Ratio
Probability
ROC Curve
Risk Assessment / methods*
Sensitivity and Specificity
Stroke / complications*
Stroke / diagnosis
Time Factors