Evaluation of Patients Aged 90 and Over Who Apply to the Emergency Department

Authors : Mustafa Alpaslan, Mehmet Oktay, Necmi Baykan

Pages : 68-75

Doi:10.47572/muskutd.1371126

View : 42 | Download : 37

Publication Date : 2024-08-31

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :It is seen that the rate of elderly population in the world is increasing day by day. However, the rate of elderly patient admissions in emergency departments is also increasing. In this study, a group of patients over the age of 90 who admitted to the emergency department was analyzed. In this study, a retrospective evaluation was made of patients aged over 90 who admitted to the emergency department of a secondary care health institution between 01.01.2022 and 31.12.2022. The information about patients’ age, gender, time of acceptance, acceptance complaint, diagnosis, clinics where patients were most frequently admitted, and their results were evaluated. Results are presented as mean±standard deviation (SD) or frequency (percentage), and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. 754 patients were evaluated in the study. The mean age was 92.4±2.38. The proportion of female patients was higher (70.7%). Most acceptance were made during weekday working hours and summer months. The most common reasons for accept were shortness of breath, falling and abdominal pain. The most common diagnoses were pneumonia, extremity fracture and acute renal failure. The most common co-morbidity in the patients was hypertension. 72.2% of the patients were discharged from the emergency department. The clinics where patients were most frequently admitted were chest diseases, internal medicine and orthopedics. The average length of hospitalization was 6 (1-91) days. The number of patients who died in the emergency department or in the hospitalized clinic was 63 (8.3%). The most common causes of death were pneumonia and acute myocardial infarction. In our study, pneumonia was diagnosed most frequently in elderly patients. Pneumonia should be considered in the geriatric patient population presenting to the emergency department with deterioration in general condition.
Keywords : Acil Servis, Geriatri, Hospitalizasyon