Journal
ACTA CLINICA BELGICA
Volume 75, Issue 6, Pages 405-410Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/17843286.2019.1655215
Keywords
Symptom; complaint; older patients; emergency department; presentation
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Objective: In this study, we aimed: (1) to evaluate the presenting symptoms of older emergency department (ED) patients within a 12-month period, (2) to compare the differences in presenting symptoms between three age groups, and (3) to evaluate the seasonal variations in the presenting symptoms. Methods: This retrospective single-centered observational study was conducted at the ED of a university hospital in older ED patients with yellow and red triage code. Consecutive patients aged 65 and older admitted to ED in the study period were included in the study. Results: In our study, 14.0% of all ED admissions were patients aged 65 and older. The mean age of 10,692 patients was 75.3 +/- 7.3 years, and 49.2% of them were male. The most common presenting symptoms to ED were dyspnea (18.5%), abdominal pain (12.4%), and chest pain (8.3%). Whereas 6,352 (59.4%) patients had been discharged from the ED (to home), 4,305 (40.3%) were hospitalized. Falls became the third rank presenting symptom in patients aged 85 and older. The hospital admission rate increased from 35% to 53% by age, and the in-hospital mortality rate of patients aged 85 and older was higher than that of the other age groups (p < 0.001). Conclusion: ED physicians should be aware of the common medical problems and life-threatening conditions of older patients. Morbidity and mortality rates increase by age and those patients may need different management strategies and an increased number of resources.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available