Analysis of Clinical Presentation, Investigations, Admissions and Mortality Among Patients Presenting to Emergency Departments

Abstract

Introduction: Characteristics of patients presenting to Emergency Department (ED) are important in order to plan future strategies and improve quality assurance. However, very few tertiary hospitals routinely utilize the patient data to improve the quality of health care services. In this study we aim to analyse the characteristics of patients presenting to ED in a tertiary care hospital in India. Methods: This retrospective observational study included 1124 adult patients presenting to the Emergency department from May, 2018 to August, 2019 at a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai. Patient demographic details, laboratory investigations and clinical outcomes were assessed. Results: Out of 1124 patients, 899 were taken up for analysis wherein 61% were males and 39% were females. Fever (13.9%) was the most common complaint noted which was followed by abdominal pain (12.6%) and chest pain (11.1%). Of the total number of patients, 58%were managed successfully in the emergency room while 30.6%patients were admitted to wards and 10%patients were shifted to the ICU. The most common investigations conducted were blood glucose (31.6%), complete blood count (31.5%) and electrocardiography (31.4%). 42.05% patients were admitted to the hospital, 18% patients left against medical advice, while more than a quarter of patients (37.05%) were discharged and 1.45% patients succumbed to death. Conclusion: Demographic and characteristic data obtained through the hospital’s information management system, provided a holistic snapshot of patients visiting the emergency department which will help us in carving out strategies in regulating the ED training programmes, planning adequate infrastructure and developing faculty resources.