The relationship between emergency department crowding and outcome of referred critical patients from other hospitals
2017
Introduction: Emergency department overcrowding
can affect the process of seeking help for critically ill patients in the
emergency department. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship
between crowding and clinical outcome of referred critical patients from other
hospitals.
Methods: This
was a retrospective cross-sectional study performed on 583 critically ill
patients (triage levels one and two) referred to the emergency department of
Imam Reza Hospital, Tabriz, Iran, between 22 September 2016 and 22 March 2017.
Clinical outcome was considered as death rate and the crowd was measured in
terms of the number of patients per hour. Statistical analysis was performed
using SPSS.
Results: The
mean ± standard deviation (SD) of age was 49.5 ± 25.0 years old with 56.4%
frequency of men and 43.2% women. About 53.5% of people were referred during
peak hour. Evaluating the final outcome, 21.6% of patients died in the
emergency department, while 41.5% and 36.9% were cured and discharged or
hospitalized respectively. The mean ± SD duration of staying in the emergency department
was 239.6 ± 233.0 minutes. A significant percentage of death was during the
peak hour of emergency referrals. The final outcome got worse with an increased
number of patients admitted to the emergency room.
Conclusion:
Crowding in the emergency department deteriorated
the treatment process of patients with a critical condition. Thus, the final
outcome of the disease or the mortality rate of patients admitted to emergency
worsened. Constructive measures to reduce the crowding in the emergency
department should be considered.
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