Drop attack

The term "drop attack", also known as "cryptogenic drop attack" or "La maladie des genoux bleus"; 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. 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. 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).

Drop attacks often occur in elderly people; with a majority of documented cases occurring in women. 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.