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Reduction of Falls in the Elderly - Parkinson's Disease

Phase 3
Completed
Conditions
Parkinson's Disease
Interventions
Other: Multifactorial fall prevention program
Other: Usual care
Registration Number
NCT00518648
Lead Sponsor
Radboud University Medical Center
Brief Summary

The REFINE-PD study is a controlled trial embedded within a larger cluster controlled study (the IMPACT study). The study aims to investigate the efficacy of a multifactorial falls prevention program for patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD). This program contains PD-specific elements (e.g., optimizing dopaminergic therapy), plus a generic falls prevention program. The intervention will be tailored to each individual's specific risk profile for falls, as identified during detailed baseline examination.

Detailed Description

Falls and postural instability are common complications of advanced Parkinson's Disease (PD). Falls in PD often have devastating consequences, leading to a poor overall prognosis. In addition, falls in PD are associated with substantial medical expenses due to treatment of injuries and nursing home admission. The risk of falls in older PD patients is aggravated by "generic" age-related factors, such as sedative medication or poor vision. Observations on elderly persons without PD suggest that a multifactorial prevention program might be more effective. We propose to investigate the effectiveness of a multifactorial prevention program aimed at the prevention of falls in PD, which is based on disease-specific treatment strategies with demonstrated efficacy in PD, as well as prevention strategies with proven effectiveness for the general elderly population.

In this study an individualised multifactorial program aimed at the prevention of falls in PD containing PD-specific elements and a generic falls prevention program will be compared to usual care.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
187
Inclusion Criteria
  • Patients with idiopathic Parkinson's Disease, diagnosed according to the Brain Bank criteria of the UK Parkinson's Society

  • Regular control by the neurologist

  • Living independently in the community

  • Able to complete the trial questionnaires

  • An increased risk for falling, defined as:

    • at least one fall in the preceding 12 months OR
    • recurrent (monthly) near falls in the preceding 12 months OR
    • fear of falling OR (iv) avoidance of activities due to fear of falling OR a combination of these findings
Exclusion Criteria
  • Atypical parkinsonian syndromes
  • Hoehn and Yahr stage 5
  • Severe cognitive impairment (MMSE < 24)
  • Severe co-morbidity (e.g., cancer)
  • Planned surgical procedure for PD within the intervention period
  • Patients who have already visited the Multidisciplinary Assessment Center

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
IMultifactorial fall prevention programMultifactorial fall prevention program
IIUsual careUsual care
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Incidence of falls8 months
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Number of fallers (secondary)8 months
Falls Efficacy Scale (tertiary)8 months
Unified Parkinson's Disease rating scale (UPDRS) Motor Examination (part III) (tertiary)4 months
Parkinson's Disease quality of life questionnaire (PDQL) (tertiary)8 months
Self-assessment Parkinson's Disease disability scale (SPDDS)(tertiary)8 months
Caregiver burden assessed with BELA-A-k, SF-36, and HADS (tertiary)8 months
Number of injurious falls (secondary)8 months
Number of patients with injurious falls (secondary)8 months
Freezing of gait (tertiary)8 months
Costs (secondary)8 months

Trial Locations

Locations (6)

Ziekenhuis Groep Twente, Twenteborg Ziekenhuis

🇳🇱

Almelo, Netherlands

Wilhelmina Ziekenhuis Assen

🇳🇱

Assen, Netherlands

Ziekenhuis Rijnstate

🇳🇱

Arnhem, Netherlands

Ziekenhuis Groep Twente, Streekziekenhuis Midden-Twente

🇳🇱

Hengelo, Netherlands

Medisch Centrum Leeuwarden

🇳🇱

Leeuwarden, Netherlands

Canisius Wilhelmina Ziekenhuis

🇳🇱

Nijmegen, Netherlands

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