Characteristics of Patients Who Visited Emergency Department: A Nationwide Population-Based Study in South Korea (2016–2018)

Seok-In Hong, June-Sung Kim, Youn-Jung Kim, Dong-Woo Seo, Hyunggoo Kang, Su Jin Kim, Kap Su Han, Sung Woo Lee and Won Young Kim
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Seok-In Hong: Department of Emergency Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, Korea
June-Sung Kim: Department of Emergency Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, Korea
Youn-Jung Kim: Department of Emergency Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, Korea
Dong-Woo Seo: Department of Emergency Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, Korea
Hyunggoo Kang: Department of Emergency Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul 04763, Korea
Su Jin Kim: Department of Emergency Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul 02841, Korea
Kap Su Han: Department of Emergency Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul 02841, Korea
Sung Woo Lee: Department of Emergency Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul 02841, Korea
Won Young Kim: Department of Emergency Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, Korea

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-13

Abstract: The utilization of the emergency department (ED) has been continuously increasing and has become a burden for ED resources. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics, outcomes, common diagnoses, and disease classifications of patients who were referred to the ED. This nationwide epidemiologic study examined the data from adult patients (>18 years) who visited EDs from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018. Most EDs in Korea provide data from ED patients to the National Emergency Medical Center (NEMC). The disposition of ED patients was classified as discharge, admission, death, and re-transfer. From 2016 to 2018, the proportion of referred patients out of the total ED visits increased from 7.3% to 7.8%. The referred patients were older (61.1 vs. 50.5 years), had worse vital signs, longer ED lengths of stay (409.1 vs. 153.3 min), and higher admission (62.3 vs. 16.9%) and re-transfer rates (4.4 vs. 1.9%) than the direct-visit patients. Among the referred patients in the 3 years, 62.3% were hospitalized, and the most common disease classification was “disease of the digestive system” (19.8%). The most common diagnosis was pneumonia (6.0%), followed by urinary tract infection, gastrointestinal bleeding, and hepatobiliary infection. The number of patients referred to EDs is increasing, and more than 60% of referred patients are hospitalized. Detailed characteristics of these patients will be helpful for improving ED management and the distribution of medical resources.

Keywords: direct visits; emergency department; South Korea; population-based; referrals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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