Drop attack

A drop attack is a sudden

The term "drop attack", also known as "cryptogenic drop attack" or "La maladie des genoux bleus"[1]^[2][3]; is used to categorize otherwise unexplained falls from a wide variety of causes and is considered ambiguous medical terminology; drop attacks are currently reported much less often than in the past, possibly as a result of better diagnostic precision.^[4][5] By definition, drop attacks exclude syncopal falls (fainting), which involve short loss of consciousness. In neurology, the term "drop attack" is used to describe certain types of seizure which occur in epilepsy.^[6][7] Drop attacks that have a vestibular origin within the inner ear may be experienced by some people in the later stages of Ménière's disease (these may be referred to as Tumarkin [drop] attacks, or as Tumarkin's otolithic crisis).^[8][9]

Drop attacks often occur in elderly people; with a majority of documented cases occurring in women^{[10][11][12][13]}. Falls in older adults happen for many reasons, and the goals of health care include preventing any preventable falls and correctly diagnosing any falls that do happen.

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