Analysis of non-traumatic elderly patient presentations to the emergency department/Acil servise basvuran travma disi geriatrik olgularin demografik ozelliklerinin incelenmesi

• Published in: Turkish Journal of Emergency Medicine Vol. 13; no. 4; p. 171
• Main Authors: Logoglu, Aysegul, Ayrik, Cuneyt, Kose, Ataman, Bozkurt, Seyran, Demir, Filiz, Narci, Huseyin, Karaaslan, Ulas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Turkish
• Published: Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd 01.12.2013
• ISSN: 1304-7361
• DOI: 10.5505/1304.7361.2013.82474

We aimed to investigate the demographic and clinical outcomes of elderly patients that presented to the emergency department (ED). A total of 949 elderly ED patients were studied of which 53.7% were between the ages of 65 to 74 years, 37.6% were 75 to 84years, and 8.6% were 85 years and older. Compared to elderly patients that were 85 years and older, patients in the 65-74 years and 75-84 years age groups both had significantly greater usage of antiplatelet drugs (p=0.029) and medications that treat neurological disorders (p=0.014). From the ED, cardiology was the most commonly consulted at 15.2% followed by internal medicine at 13.7% and pulmonary medicine at 7.4%. Moreover, the number of consultations significantly increased with older age (p=0.003). For elderly patients that were discharged, the average length of stay in the ED was 162.7 minutes, whereas patients that were admitted into the hospital stayed in the ED over an average of220.6 minutes (p<0.001). Patients 85 years and older that were admitted into the hospital from the ED were found to have a hospital stay that was 4 [+ or -] 6.6 days longer than the other age groups (p<0.001). Elderly patients presenting to the ED tend to be medically complicated, and so it is imperative that health providers are adequately trained and experienced in delivering medical care to geriatric populations.