Characteristics of Patients Presenting to the Academic Emergency Department in Central Anatolia
Ahmet Tugrul ZEYTIN1, Arif Alper CEVIK2, Nurdan ACAR2, Seyhmus KAYA3, Hamit OZCELIK4
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Turkish Republic Ministry of Health Dumlupinar University Kutahya Evliya Celebi Training and Research Hospital, Kutahya
2Department of Emergency Medicine, Eskisehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Eskisehir
3Department of Emergency, Turkish Republic Ministry of Health Eskisehir State Hospital, Eskisehir
4Department of Emergency Medicine, Turkish Republic Ministry of Health Canakkale State Hospital, Canakkale
Keywords: Data base management systems; demography; emergency department
Abstract
Objectives
Determining the properties of patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) is important to plan for future and quality assurance. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the properties of patients admitted to our ED to improve the quality of care within our hospital.
Methods
In the study period, the patients: (i) who have their full information in hospital information and management system (HIMS) and (ii) older than 17 years of age were included into the study. Demographic information, admission and discharge rates, mean staying time in the ED, triage categories, International Classification of Diseases – 10 (ICD-10) diagnoses were evaluated.
Results
During the study period, 32,117 cases were seen by the ED. However, 22,955 patients (71.4%) had complete information in the HIMS. The mean age was 44.92±19.50 and female gender was found 52.2%. The patients who were located in 18–29 age group was the major group of all cases (30.8%). Emergent and urgent cases were 26.1% and 14.8%, respectively. Non-urgent cases were also found (59.1%). The mean age of patients located in the emergent group (55.19±18.59) were significantly higher than urgent and non-urgent group (p≤0.01). The highest patient volume was seen on Sunday, between 20:00 and 22:00 o'clock. The mean staying time in the ED was 183.6 minutes and the admission rate was 17.6%. The three most noted ICD-10 codes were respiratory (16.6%), gastrointestinal (11.3%), musculoskeletal (11.2%) codes.
Conclusions
The data that was correctly uploaded into the system did not reach our expectation. Data can be more appropriately uploaded by medical secretaries. Registering patient information in a digital atmosphere while performing analyses will undoubtedly have an effect on future focused studies.