This study was conducted to obtain some basic data for the better emergency care by classifying important characteristics of using the emergency facilities of hospital and was carried out on the basic of 4,522 patients who had visited emergency room of two hospitals in Taegu from Aug. 1 to Aug. 31, 1994(one of them was a secondary care hospital and the other, tertiary care hospital), based on emergency room medical records and patients charts.
The results of this study were as follows, Sex distribution of both secondary and tertiary hospitals showed male dominance, 58.2% and 62.5% respectively. Age distribution in the tertiary hospital showed patients over 60 were higher(21.8%) than secondary hospital. In secondary hospital, the twenties and thirties were dominant(45,0%).
Most visited hours of secondary hospital were marked from 8 P.M. to 4 A.M.(51.7%) but in tertiary hospital from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M.(45.3%). Sundays were the most visited days of secondary hospital(22.5%) on the contrary, tertiary hospital showed fairly even distribution on thursdays and sundays (15.1% and 15.8%).
Most visited departments showed slight difference between secondary and tertiary hospital; Internal medicine(31.2%), Orthopedics(27.4%), and Neuro-surgery(16.6%) in secondary hospital whereas Internal medicine(34.1%), Orthopedics(11.6%), and Pediatrics(10.0%) in tertiary hospital. Tertiary hospital had more natural disease patients(70.3%) than traumatic accident patients, contrary to secondary hospital showing fairly even distribution(50.8% and 49.2%). Patients transporting time right after the emergency was within 30 minutes in secondary hospital(38.1%) but tertiary hospital was ranged from I day to 7 days(23,2%). 36.1% of tertiary hospital patients had visited prior local medical center, however 86.4% of secondary hospital patients didn’t visit any other prior local medical center.
Referred patients from other primary care clinics were transferred because of the severity of the disease mainly to tertiary hospital(23.3%) and secondary hospital(1.7%).
After emergency treatment 84.0% of secondary hospital emergency patients were discharged and 16.0% of them were admitted on the contrary 54.0% of tertiary hospital emergency patients were discharged and 46.0% of them were admitted. tertiary hospital showed higher admission rate. The main reason for transferring from secondary hospital after emergency treatment to another hospital was patients or guidance’s wish(30.1%). 28.6% of tertiary hospital wanted to be transferred to their residence area because of the convenience for the patients care.
The major emergency labs were CBC in secondary hospital(27.0%) and tertiary hospital(74.3%) and Chest X-ray in secondary hospital(21.3%) and in tertiary hospital(71.0%). Fluid therapy was given in secondary hospital(31.4%) and tertiary hospital(71.0%). Transfusion was done in secondary hospital (0.6%) and tertiary hospital(3.4%).
Emergency room staying time in secondary hospital was within 1 hour(56.6%) and over 6 hours(6.0%). On the contrary 56.1% of tertiary hospital patients stayed over 6 hours and within I hour(7.8%).
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