European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Comparative Study
Utilization of a UK emergency department by care home residents: a retrospective observational study.
There is little information available on the impact of care home residents upon emergency departments (EDs) in the UK. Our objective was to determine utilization of a UK ED by local care home residents. This study took place in a busy district general ED in an urban setting. ⋯ Most common presentation categories were trauma (38%), respiratory disorders (11.2%), cardiovascular disorders (10.8%), gastrointestinal disorders (9.3%) and genitourinary disorders (6.4%). Although accounting only for 1.5% of daily attendances, care home residents have a high admission and inpatient mortality rate. This study provides important information on presentation patterns for this subgroup of the population and identifies areas for further study.
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We aim to define the characteristics of patients with hand injuries in the emergency department (ED), their management and operative findings. Decision on admission was also analyzed between the ED and the hand and reconstructive microsurgical team. We reviewed 504 patients seen at the ED over a 3-month period with isolated hand injuries and found more males (88%) who were between 20 and 30 years of age (51%). ⋯ About 62% of the patients were discharged after treatment at the ED while 38% were admitted. A high level of concurrence in the decisions made by the ED and hand and reconstructive microsurgery signifies good quality assessment performed by the ED. The operative findings of fractures, tendon, nerve and vessel injuries for those who were admitted to the wards are higher than those admitted to 'day surgery'.