Title

Hyper-use of the ED

Authors

Authors

J. R. Shiber; M. B. Longley;K. L. Brewer

Comments

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Abbreviated Journal Title

Am. J. Emerg. Med.

Keywords

EMERGENCY-DEPARTMENT USERS; FREQUENT USERS; CARE; SERVICES; VISITS; ACCIDENT; ATTENDERS; Emergency Medicine

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to describe the population that averages one or more emergency department (ED) visits per month and compare them to the general ED population to determine if there are associated characteristics. Methods: A retrospective cohort study conducted in a teaching hospital between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2004, identified all patients with more than 35 visits. This hyper-user (HU) cohort (n = 49) was compared to a randomly selected group of non-HU patients (n = 50) on the following measures: age, sex, insurance coverage, primary medical doctor (PMD), dwelling location, chief complaint, comorbidities, and disposition. Results: The HU group was significantly older (mean, 49.45 years) than the non-HU group (37.32 years) with a P < .0001. There was no difference between the groups in sex, insurance coverage, PMD, dwelling location, and disposition. A univariant logistical regression found that previous cardiovascular, genitourinary, or psychiatric disease were predictors of hyper-use. Conclusions: The HU group is older and more likely to have a history of cardiovascular, genitourinary, and psychiatric disease but is similar to the non-HU group in other measured parameters. The HU group appears to have equal access to a PMD and is not more likely to be admitted to the hospital than the non-HU group. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Journal Title

American Journal of Emergency Medicine

Volume

27

Issue/Number

5

Publication Date

1-1-2009

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

588

Last Page

594

WOS Identifier

WOS:000266940800012

ISSN

0735-6757

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