Death and End-of-Life Care in Emergency Departments in the US

IMPORTANCE There are more than 140 million annual visits to emergency departments (EDs) in the US. The role of EDs in providing care at or near the end of life is not well characterized. OBJECTIVE To determine the frequency of death in the ED or within 1 month of an ED visit in an all-age, all-payer national database. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The retrospective cohort study used patient-level data from the nationally representative Optum clinical electronic health record data set for 2010 to 2020. Data were analyzed from January to March 2022. EXPOSURES Age, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and year of ED encounter. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was death in the ED, overall and stratified by age, CCI, or year. A key secondary outcome was death within 1 month of an ED encounter. We extrapolated to make national estimates using US Census and Nationwide Emergency Department Sample data. RESULTS Among a total of 104 113 518 individual patients with 96 239 939 ED encounters, 205 372 ED deaths were identified in Optum, for whom median (IQR) age was 72 (53 to >80) years, 114 582 (55.8%) were male, and 152 672 (74.3%) were White. ED death affected 0.20% of overall patients and accounted for 0.21% of ED encounters. An additional 603 273 patients died within 1 month of an ED encounter. Extrapolated nationally, ED deaths accounted for 11.3% of total deaths from 2010 to 2019, and 33.2% of all decedents nationally visited the ED within 1 month of their death. The proportion of total national deaths occurring in the ED decreased by 0.27% annually (P for trend =.003) but the proportion who died within 1 month of an ED visit increased by 1.2% annually (P for trend <.001). Compared with all ED encounters, patients with visits resulting in death were older, more likely to be White, male, and not Hispanic, and had higher CCI. Among ED encounters for patients aged older than 80 years, nearly 1 in 12 died within 1 month. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This retrospective cohort study found deaths during or shortly after ED care were common, especially among patients who are older and with chronic comorbidities. EDs must identify patients for whom end-of-life care is necessary or preferred and be equipped to deliver this care excellently.

Automated summary

This retrospective cohort study found that deaths during or shortly after emergency department care were common, especially among older patients with chronic comorbidities. Emergency departments must be able to identify patients for whom end-of-life care is necessary or preferred and provide excellent care.