|
KMID : 0828520130170030118
|
|
Journal of the Korean Geriatrics Society
2013 Volume.17 No. 3 p.118 ~ p.125
|
|
|
Chief Complaints and Related Features of Elderly Patients Presenting to One Region Wide Emergency Medical Center with Medical Problems
|
|
Jeong Si-Kyoung
Lim Jee-Yong
Hong Sung-Youp
Choi Se-Min
Choi Seung-Phill
|
|
|
Abstract
|
|
|
Background: This research was to determine the chief complaints and related features of elderly patients presenting to emergency department with medical problems.
Methods: Medical records of patients, 65 years or older, who visited 000 Hospital Emergency Center between January 1, 2012 and June 30, 2012 were reviewed retrospectively. Age, gender, mode of transportation to the hospital, chief complaint, and diagnosis were among the subjects analyzed.
Results: 3,468 elderly patients with medical problems visited the emergency department, constituting 12.66% out of 27,396 patients in total during the research period. 28.45% of the patients were aged 70~74, the most among the age groups. Ambulance was the mode of transportation used by 43.06% of the patients and 42.96% stayed overnight, while 11.13% stayed in the intensive care unit. The most frequent chief complaints were abdominal pain (16.81%), dyspnea (13.96%), fever (11.16%). The most common diagnosis for patients with abdominal pain was gastritis (20.75%), chronic heart failure (26.03%) for dyspnea, and pneumonia (28.96%) for fever. The main diagnosis of in-patients in order of frequency were cerebral vascular accident (16.38%), pneumonia (12.48%) and chronic heart failure (6.04%).
Conclusions: The number of elderly patients who stay overnight and stay in the intensive care unit has increased compared to younger patients. The top 10 most frequent chief complaints accounted for 78.92% of medical elderly patients. The results of this research could be used for the development of geriatric emergency medicine training programs and critical pathway for interns and residents.
|
|
|
KEYWORD
|
|
|
chief complaint, emergency department, geriatric
|
|
|
FullTexts / Linksout information
|
|
 
|
|
|
Listed journal information
|
|
  
|
|