Impact of Geriatric Admissions on Workload in the Emergency Department

Abstract

Background: Due to the increase in life expectancy, both the general population and the population of patients of emergency departments (ED) are getting older. An understanding of differences, workload and resource requirements may be helpful in improving patient care. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the reasons for geriatric admissions in the ED, identify typical medical problems and assess the number of resources in order to provide more effective management. Methods: We examined 35,720 elderly patients’ ED visits over the course of 3 years. The data collected included age, sex, timing and length of stay (LOS), use of various resources, endpoint (admission, discharge or death) and ICD-10 diagnoses. Results: The median age was 73 years [66–81], with more females (54.86%). There were 57.66% elderly (G1), 36.44% senile (G2) and 5.89% long-liver (G3) patients. There were more females in the older groups. The total admission rate was 37.89% (34.19% for G1, 42.21% for G2 and 47.33% for G3). The average length of the patient’s stay was 150 min [81–245] (G3 180 min [108–277], G2 (162 min [92–261]) and G1 139 min [71–230]). Heart failure, atrial fibrillation and hip fracture were the most common diagnoses. Nonspecific diagnoses were common in all groups. Conclusion: The vast majority of geriatric patients required considerable resources. With increasing ages, the number of women, LOS and number of admissions increased.