Falls Case Scenarios Emphasize Identification of Reversible Risk Factors

​A series of three case scenarios involving falls in older adults illustrates the importance of identifying and addressing individuals’ reversible risk factors for falls. In each case discussed in the article, published October 30, 2013, in Clinical Geriatrics, a reversible risk factor was identified after the fall. In the first case, the older adult was found to have normal-pressure hydrocephalus (excess cerebrospinal fluid in the brain). His gait improved after lumbar puncture, and he was scheduled for neurosurgical evaluation for a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. In the second case, the older adult had vitamin D deficiency.