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. 2017 Nov 30;12(11):e0188954.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188954. eCollection 2017.

Elderly emergency patients presenting with non-specific complaints: Characteristics and outcomes

Joyce J H Wachelder  1   2 , Patricia M Stassen  2   3 , Laura P A M Hubens  1 , Steffie H A Brouns  1   2 , Suze L E Lambooij  1 , Jeanne P Dieleman  4 , Harm R Haak  1   2   3
Affiliations

Elderly emergency patients presenting with non-specific complaints: Characteristics and outcomes

Joyce J H Wachelder et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Non-specific complaints (NSC) are common at the emergency department, but only a few studies have shown evidence that these complaints are associated with a poor prognosis in elderly emergency patients.

Objective: To describe patient characteristics and outcomes in a cohort of elderly emergency patients presenting with NSC. Outcomes were: patient characteristics, hospitalization, 90-day ED-return visits, and 30-day mortality.

Method: A retrospective cohort study was conducted amongst elderly patients present to the Internal Medicine Emergency Department (ED) between 01-09-2010 and 31-08-2011. NSC were defined as indefinable complaints that lack a pre-differential diagnosis needed to initiate of a standardized patient evaluation. Cox regression was performed to calculate Hazard Ratios (HR) and corrected for confounders such as comorbidity.

Results: In total, 1784 patients were enrolled; 244 (13.7%) presented with NSC. Compared to those with SC, comorbidity was higher in the NSC-group (Charlson comorbidity index 3.0 vs. 2.4, p<0.001). The triage level did not differ, but ED-length of stay was longer in the NSC-group (188 vs. 178 minutes, p = 0.004). Hospitalization was more frequent (84.0 vs. 71.1%, p<0.001) and the length of hospital stay (9 vs. 6 days, p<0.001 was longer in the NSC- than in the SC-group. The number of ED-return visits were comparable between both groups (HR 0.8, 95%CI 0.6-1.1). Mortality within 30-days was higher in the NSC- (20.1%) than in the SC-group (11.0%, HR 1.7 95%CI 1.2-2.4).

Conclusion: Elderly patients present with NSC at the ED regularly. These patients are more often hospitalized and have a substantially higher 30-day mortality than patients with SC.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow chart of the study population.
Fig 2
Fig 2. ED discharge diagnosis and hospital discharge diagnosis.
A. The diagnosis after workup at the ED and B. diagnosis at discharge from the hospital (NSC = 198 and SC = 1059) (ICD-10 classification). The “other” group includes ICD-10 diseases of the: nervous system, musculoskeletal and connective tissue, skin & subcutaneous tissue, eye and adnexa, ear and mastoid, mental, and injury and poising. NEC = Not Elsewhere Classified. NSC = Non-Specific Complaints. SC = Specific Complaints. * = P<0.05.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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