Emergency department visits of staff and students of a large medical college and hospital in South India

Abstract

Background: The emergency department (ED) is always kept busy by patients requiring urgent health care. A part of the patients is the staff and students of the very institute running the ED. Sick staff and students are a liability as they contribute to economic loss and loss of person-hours of the institute. Materials and Methods: The retrospective cross-sectional study done in Christian Medical College, Vellore, included all staff and students who presented to the ED during the period of January 2014–December 2014. Results: During the study period, a total of 54,562 patients presented to the ED with various complaints. A total of 956 staff and students comprised 2.8% (1528/54,562) of all the emergency visits. There were 1350 staff visits and 178 student visits during the 1-year study period. More than half (57.5%) had general medical complaints and only required pharmacological therapy. A quarter of the staff and students (25.5%) presented to the ED with trauma with more than half of those being road traffic accidents. Univariate analysis for risk factors for trauma among staff had been carried out and the results were summarized. Class 3 and 4 employees had a higher incidence of trauma (21.6% vs. 12.6%, P < 0.001; odds ratio [OR] = 1.91 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.43–2.55]) as also males (25.8% vs. 11.8%; P < 0.001; OR = 2.6 [95% CI: 1.94–3.48]). Conclusions: A significant number of staff and students present to the ED with trauma with males and class 3 and 4 employees having a higher risk. In addition, acute febrile illness present in specific seasonal patterns through the year and are the most common presentations to the ED.