• Joshua D Lipsitz, Deena Zimmerman, Nahum Kovalski, Raz Gross, and Rachel Hammel.
• Department of Psychology, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
• Am J Disaster Med. 2010 Sep 1;5(5):305-14.

ObjectiveTo examine patterns of visits by residents of northern Israel displaced during the Israel-Lebanon War of 2006 to an urgent care system in central Israel and to compare these patterns with those of local patients.DesignRetrospective analysis of electronic medical records.SettingUrgent care clinic system in and around Jerusalem, Israel.ParticipantsPatients residing in northern Israel who presented from July 12 to August 21, 2006. Local patients who presented during the same time period were used for comparison.InterventionsNone.Main Outcome MeasuresChief complaints, discharge diagnoses, demographics, and visit characteristics.ResultsThere were a total of 1,175 visits for 938 northern patients, reflecting 6.7 percent of total visits to this system. Overall age distribution of northerners was generally similar. As a proportion of visits, adult northerners were less likely to visit for chief complaints of injury or laceration and more likely to visit for complaint of back pain. They were more likely to have a discharge diagnosis of chest pain, anxiety, or hypertension. Northern children and adolescents were less likely to visit due to injury or fall or to have a discharge diagnosis of fracture. They were more likely to have a discharge diagnosis of gastroenteritis or tonsillitis.ConclusionsPatterns of common discharge diagnoses were generally similar between northern and local residents, with the exception of fewer injury-related visits and more anxiety-related visits. Urgent care appears to have served an important function for displaced individuals during this war, mostly for routine medical needs.

27 keywords...

hide…