Utilization of the emergency department by older residents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Geriatr Gerontol Int
; 15(8): 944-50, 2015 Aug.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25311907
ABSTRACT
AIM:
To determine the pattern of utilization of emergency department (ED) services by older patients in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, compared with younger patients in the same setting.METHODS:
The sociodemographics, clinical characteristics and resource utilization of consecutive patients attending the adult ED at the University Malaya Medical Center were recorded during a typical week.RESULTS:
A total of 1649 patients were included in the study; 422/1649 (25.6%) were aged ≥60 years and 1077 (74.4%) were aged <60 years. Older adult patients were more likely to be diagnosed with ischemic heart disease (12.6% vs 2.5%, P < 0.001), and more likely to require investigations such as electrocardiogram (68.1% vs 16.6%, P < 0.001) or chest X-rays (67.6% vs 24.0%, P < 0.001) than their younger counterparts. Logistic regression methods showed that older adults remained an independent predictor of hospital admission (OR 2.75, 95% CI 2.11-3.57).CONCLUSION:
The ratio of older adult patients attending our ED over the proportion of older people in the general population was 266, which is far higher than reported in previous published studies carried out in other countries. Older ED attenders are also more likely to require investigations, procedures and hospital admissions. With the rapidly aging population in Malaysia, reconfiguration of resources will need to occur at a compatible rate in order to ensure that the healthcare needs of our older adults are met.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Contexto en salud:
1_ASSA2030
Problema de salud:
1_desigualdade_iniquidade
Asunto principal:
Envejecimiento
/
Servicio de Urgencia en Hospital
/
Recursos en Salud
/
Tiempo de Internación
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Aspecto:
Equity_inequality
Límite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Geriatr Gerontol Int
Año:
2015
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Malasia