• Nina M F Langlo, Astrid B Orvik, Jostein Dale, Oddvar Uleberg, and Lars P Bjørnsen.
• aDepartment of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology bEmergency Department, Clinic of Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, St Olav's Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim cDepartment of Research and Development, The Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation, Drobak, Norway.
• Eur J Emerg Med. 2014 Jun 1;21(3):175-80.

ObjectivesThere is a lack of knowledge of the emergency department (ED) population in Norway; hence, the aim of this study was to describe the ED patient population at a Norwegian University Hospital.Materials And MethodsProspective data of all ED patients admitted to the main ED over a period of 2 months were collected. The patients' presenting complaint was registered using the International Classification of Primary Care-2 (ICPC-2).ResultsA total of 3163 patients arrived in the ED during the study period. The majority (71%) of patients presented with a complaint that was defined as a symptom in ICPC-2. The most common symptoms were abdominal pain (13%), chest pain (13%), and dyspnea (9%). The complaints of the remaining patients (29%) were primarily traumas, infections, and other diagnoses.ConclusionED patients have a diverse spectrum of presenting complaints and the majority of patients present with symptoms rather than a defined medical diagnosis.

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