Emergency Department as the Entry Point to Inpatient Care: A Nationwide, Population-Based Study in South Korea, 2016–2018

Abstract

(1) Background: The emergency department provides lifesaving treatment and has become an entry point to hospital admission. The purpose of our study was to describe the characteristics and outcomes of patients who were admitted through the emergency department to the intensive care unit or general ward. (2) Methods: We performed a retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive analysis using the National Emergency Department Information System, analyzing patient data including disease category, diagnosis, and mortality from 1 January 2016, to 31 December 2018. (3) Results: During the study period, about 13.6% were admitted through the emergency department. Of these, the overall in-hospital mortality was 4.6%. The frequent disease class for the intensive care unit admissions was the cardiovascular system, and the classes for the general ward admissions were as follows: injury and toxicology, digestive system, and respiratory system. Cardiovascular system-related emergencies were the predominant cause of death among patients admitted to the intensive care unit; however, oncologic complications were the leading cause of death in the general ward. (4) Conclusions: Emergency departments are incrementally utilized as the entry point for hospital admission. Health care providers need to understand emergency department admission epidemiology and prepare for managing patients with certain common diagnoses.

Main reasons and predictive factors of cancer-related emergency department visits in a Hungarian tertiary care center

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Impact of the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency department-to-intensive care unit admissions in Korea: An interrupted time-series analysis

“…Data source and setting patient-related information were anonymized and checked for data integrity. In Korea, EDs are classi ed into three levels based on their capacity and capability: level 1, regional emergency centers; level 2, local emergency centers; and, level 3, local emergency facilities (17). Level 3 EDs have fewer capabilities than level 1 or level 2 EDs; as a result, the data received from level 3 EDs are limited.…”

Patient and hospital characteristics predict prolonged emergency department length of stay and in-hospital mortality: a nationwide analysis in Korea

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