Annals of emergency medicine
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To determine the hospital characteristics associated with patients leaving emergency departments prior to physician evaluation. ⋯ More than 4% of patients who seek care at EDs in Los Angeles County leave without being seen by a physician. A greater proportion of patients leave without medical evaluation from EDs with long waiting times for ambulatory patients and from those that serve uninsured populations. These findings should be interpreted in light of existing data on the health consequences faced by patients who leave hospital EDs without treatment.
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Time series analysis can provide accurate predictions of emergency department volume, length of stay, and acuity. ⋯ Time series analysis can provide powerful, accurate short-range forecasts of future ED volume. Simpler models performed best in this study. Time series forecasts of length of stay and patient acuity are not likely to contribute additional useful information for staffing and resource allocation decisions.
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To describe fatal childhood injury patterns in an urban county and evaluate the use of the emergency medical services system. ⋯ Fatal childhood injury patterns in this urban setting differed from reported national injury patterns. This study found a higher percentage of deaths from fire, gunshot wounds, and homicides but a lower percentage of motor vehicle-related deaths. Prevention strategies need to address the injury patterns of a particular community. Only a small percentage of victims survived to receive inpatient care following their injuries, suggesting that primary prevention of injury may be the most effective intervention.
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Editorial Comment
The emergency department and triage of nonurgent patients.