The Complaint and Outcome of Geriatric Patient in Emergency Department

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the the ratio and outcome of geriatric patients in Emergency Department.
Methods: This retrospective study was performed by including the geriatric patients presenting to our emergency department between January 1 and July 1, 2008. The patients were grouped as 65-74, 75-84, 85 years old and older. Age, sex, the primary and chief complaint, outcome of patient management were evaluated.
Results: There were a total of 2046 geriatric patients. 70.8% of patients were discharged. The most common complaints were falls, chest pain, dyspnea, chronic extremity pain, abdominal pain and fever. The most common admission services were cardiology (7%), neurology (4.2%), general surgery (3.2%) and chest diseases (2.4%).
Conclusions: Age and sex were effective factors in complaints of geriatric patients in Emergency Department. The properties of older geriatrics were different in studied groups.