Association between Emergency Department Overcrowding and Mortality at a Teaching Hospital in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Introduction: Emergency Departments (ED) are highly important in hospital settings because they offer 24-hour professional assistance to patients in need of healthcare. However, ED overcrowding has started to become a global healthcare crisis, such that the patient capacity of EDs is no longer sufficient to meet patient demand. Aim: Thus, this study aimed to determine the relationship between ED overcrowding and the mortality rate of patients to draw the attention of decision makers in Saudi Arabia toward this issue, with the hope of ultimately attaining a solution to this problem. Methods: Using patients’ electronic health records that were stored in the Quadra Med system in 2018, we calculated the occupancy rates of the ED of a target teaching hospital at different quarters and associated those figures with the mortality rates for the same quarters. Results: Our results showed that there was no significant association between mortality rate and crowding status in the ED. Nonetheless, we recommend increasing public awareness and bed capacity at EDs in Saudi Arabia because overcrowded EDs can lead to adverse patient outcomes. Conclusion: The present study showed that the highest percentage (38%) of deaths that occurred during the overcrowded period were mostly of patients between 30 and 44 years of age, while patients between 60 and 74 years of age accounted for 36% of deaths. The current study also assessed patient triaging, revealing that the highest number of patients was associated with level four (62.7% of the total patients in the overcrowded ED) and level five (33.1% in the overcrowded ED) triaging. We also discovered higher levels of admission in the critical care unit during the ED overcrowding period compared with other periods.