The Effect of Older Age on EMS Use for Transportation to an Emergency Department

Abstract

AbstractIntroductionPrevious studies have found that older adults are more likely to use Emergency Medical Services (EMS) than younger adults, but the reasons for this remain understudied.Hypothesis/ProblemThis study aimed to determine if older age is associated with using EMS for transportation to an emergency department (ED) after controlling for confounding variables.MethodsA cross-sectional survey study was conducted at a large academic medical center. Data on previous medical history, chief complaint, self-perceived illness severity, demographic information, and mode of arrival to the ED were collected on all subjects. Those who arrived to the ED via EMS also were asked reasons why they opted to call an ambulance for their illness/injury. Descriptive statistics were used to quantify survey responses, and multivariable regression was used to assess the independent effect of age on mode of ED arrival.ResultsData from 1,058 subjects were analyzed, 449 (42%) of whom arrived to the ED via EMS. Compared to adults<55 years, the unadjusted prevalence ratio for the association between age and EMS use was 1.18 (95% CI, 0.96-1.45) for subjects 55-79 years and 1.54 (95% CI, 1.18-2.02) for subjects ≥80 years. After adjustment for confounding variables, age remained a statistically significant risk factor for EMS use (P<.05).ConclusionOlder age is an independent risk factor for transportation to the ED via ambulance; however, this effect is attenuated by number of chronic medical conditions and history of depression. Additional research is needed to account for confounders unmeasured in this study and to elucidate reasons for the increased frequency of EMS use among older adults.JonesCMC, WassermanEB, LiT, AmidonA, AbbottM, ShahMN. The effect of older age on EMS use for transportation to an emergency department. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(3):261–268.