Backgound: Recently elderly people have increased in Korea and increased demands of medical service. To solve the problem of emergency medical service in elderly patients, it tis very important to analyze the emergency patients who visit medical service and to accumulate date bases of various hospitals. So the purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of emergency services by the elderly to provide better understanding of the emergency care needs of this specialized popuations and provide a basis planning to meet the needs of the expanding geriatric population.
Methods : We performed a retorspective study of 2380 elderly patients who visited Emergency room of national medical center. from August 1, 1999 to July 31,2000. We analyzed the patients gender, age, arrival time, final diagnosis, adimission rate, mortality, ects.
Result : Male to female ration is 1:1.29, and most common age group was between 65 and 69 years old. The peak time of patients entrance was between 10 AM and 11 AM, in a week monday was most crowding day. The most predomint monthly distribution of visit was January. The respiratory diseases are most common problem(14.7%), and cardivascular diseases (12.01%) are next, and cerebrovascular disease(11.17%) are following. Diabetic complications(7.53%) are common problems and hypoglycemia and diabetic foot infection are frequent. Adimission rate was 32.35%. ICU adimission rate is 2.77% Emergency operation rate is 5.91%. During admission, mortality case was 127 patients. The cause of death were cerebrovascular diseases(16.94%) and advanced respiratory diseases(15.43%).
Conclusion : The results show that cerebrovascular disease and respiratory disease and cardiovascular disease that needed prompt medical service are major problem who visit emergency room. And diabetic complications that are prevented by proper educations are common. So more concentrated medical service and preventive effort focused on these diseases.
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