Falls represent the most frequent reason older people are admitted to hospital and significantly increase the likelihood of functional decline, healthcare utilisation and early mortality. The aim of this study is to comprehensively delineate the burden of falls amongst community-dwelling older people in Ireland.

Population-representative analysis of Wave 6 of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) estimating incidence of falls requiring medical attention and emergency department (ED) attendance, fractures and fear of falling over 12 months. Additional data detailing falls-risk increasing drugs (FRIDs) and prior falls were also analysed.

Using Central Statistics Office Census 2022, the population of older people in Ireland was multiplied by the proportion of TILDA participants with each outcome of interest to yield population-level estimates.

Population-representative sample of 2299 (55% female) community-dwelling people in Ireland aged ≥70 years.

Almost 12% (proportion 0.12 (95% CI 0.10 to 0.13)) of participants, corresponding to almost 62 000 older people in Ireland, reported a fall requiring medical attention in 12 months, with 6% (proportion 0.06 (95% CI 0.05 to 0.07)), or over 32 000 people, attending ED due to a fall. Over 3% (proportion 0.03 (95% CI 0.03 to 0.04)) reported sustaining a fracture. Almost half of participants reporting a fall requiring medical attention were prescribed FRIDs, and over half had also reported a fall when assessed at the prior wave of the study (ie, 2 years ago).

The burden of falls amongst community-dwelling older people is considerable; 1 in 8 required medical attention for a fall and 1 in 16 attended the ED with falls over 12 months.

Currently, there is no national falls strategy in Ireland. These findings, alongside our ageing population, underscore the need for strengthened falls-prevention strategies to reduce avoidable morbidity and healthcare utilisation.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is due to the mutation of haemoglobin (Hb), from HbA to HbS and characterised by recurrent vaso-occlusive crises (VOC), which can progress to acute chest syndrome (ACS), a leading cause of death in adults with SCD. Hypoxia is a key modifiable factor in the polymerisation of HbS and the pathogenesis of VOC. High-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) delivers humidified gas at high oxygen concentrations and flow rates: the former may reverse sickling (metabolic effect) to accelerate VOC resolution and prevent ACS, while the latter may reduce the risk of ACS by mitigating hypercapnia and generating positive airway pressure that limits hypoventilation and atelectasis (pulmonary effect). The study hypothesises that HFNO is a safe and effective strategy for treating VOC and preventing secondary ACS, and will assess this using a multi-arm multi-stage (MAMS) trial design.

This is a prospective, multicentre, randomised, open-label controlled trial following an MAMS design with three phases and four arms: one control (low-flow oxygen) and three HFNO intervention arms with varying fraction of inspired oxygen levels (low, intermediate, high). The pilot stage will assess safety and feasibility, using the rate of cardiac and neurological events as the primary endpoint. In the activity stage, arms demonstrating acceptable safety will be compared for efficacy based on the rate of VOC resolution without complications by day 5, allowing selection of the most promising arm. The final efficacy stage will compare the selected HFNO strategy to control, with prevention of secondary ACS by day 14 as the primary endpoint. The study aims to enrol up to 350 VOC episodes in total.

The study has been granted ethical approval (CPP SUD MEDITERRANEE IV). Following the provision of informed consent, patients will be included in the study. The results will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

NCT03976180.

Infectious diseases are a major global health concern, responsible for significant morbidity and mortality. To advance the understanding and treatment of these diseases, biobanks and biorepositories play a crucial role in guaranteeing sample traceability through their entire life cycle (collection, acquisition and registration, processing, storage, distribution) and future analysis of clinical and biological data.

The INfectious DIsease REgistry BIObank (INDI-REBIO) is an observational, prospective, monocentric, open-ended registry with ad hoc procedures and a systematic collection of uniform clinical, laboratory, imaging and therapeutic data of patients with suspected or microbiologically documented bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infectious diseases from the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital (Milan, Italy). The study aims to collect both uniform data and biological samples such as blood and other relevant specimens. The registry aims to include significant patient numbers across various conditions (among others: bloodstream infections, endovascular infections as infective endocarditis, central nervous system infections, bone and joint infections, multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) colonisation, sexually transmitted infections, HIV infection, emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases), enabling comprehensive research on disease evolution, treatment outcomes and the identification of biomarkers.

The study adheres to ethical principles outlined by the Helsinki Declaration and Good Clinical Practice guidelines. It has received ethical approval (Comitato Etico CET Lombardia 1, CET 138–2023) and is registered on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT06418048). Participants will provide informed consent and can withdraw at any time. The study results will be disseminated through major international conferences and submitted to peer-reviewed research journals.

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT06418048.