• Dana Jelinski, Olayinka I Arimoro, Caley Shukalek, Kayla R Furlong, Eddy Lang, Krista Reich, Jayna Holroyd-Leduc, and Zahra Goodarzi.
• Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services - Calgary zone, Calgary, AB, Canada. dana.jelinski@ucalgary.ca.
• CJEM. 2023 Nov 1; 25 (11): 884892884-892.

ObjectiveOlder adults visit emergency departments (EDs) at higher rates than their younger counterparts. However, less is known about the rate at which older adults living with dementia visit and revisit EDs. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify the revisit rate to the ED among older adults living with a dementia diagnosis.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL, as well as gray literature, to identify observational studies reporting on older adults living with dementia that revisited an ED within 30 days of a prior ED visit. We calculated pooled rates of 30-day revisit as percentages using random effects models, and conducted stratified analyses by study data source, study population, and study period. We assessed between-studies heterogeneity using the I2 statistic and considered [Formula: see text] > 50% to indicate substantial heterogeneity. All analyses were performed in R software.ResultsWe identified six articles for inclusion. Percentages of 30-day ED revisit among older adults living with dementia ranged widely from 16.1% to 58.0%. The overall revisit rate of 28.6% showed significant heterogeneity. Between-studies heterogeneity across all stratified analyses was also high. By data source, 30-day revisit percentages were 52.3% (public hospitals) and 20.0% (administrative databases); by study population, revisit percentages were 33.5% (dementia as main population) and 19.8% (dementia as a subgroup). By study period, revisit percentages were 41.2% (5 years or greater) and 18.9% (5 years or less).ConclusionExisting literature on ED revisits among older adults living with dementia highlights the medical complexities and challenges surrounding discharge and follow-up care that may cause these patients to seek ED care at an increased rate. ED personnel may play an important role in connecting patients and caregivers to more appropriate medical and social resources in order to deliver an efficient and more rounded approach to care.© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP)/ Association Canadienne de Médecine d'Urgence (ACMU).

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