Emergency department presentations and 30-day mortality in patients from residential aged care facilities
Kate Chiswell A * , Kendall Bein B , Daniel Simpkins C , Mark Latt C and Michael Dinh B DA Medical Training Unit, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney Local Health District, NSW, Australia.
B Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Green Light Institute for Emergency Care, Sydney Local Health District, NSW, Australia.
C Geriatrics Department, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney Local Health District, NSW, Australia.
D The University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health, NSW, Australia.
Australian Health Review 46(4) 414-420 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH21275
Submitted: 8 August 2021 Accepted: 16 March 2022 Published: 17 May 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA.
Abstract
Objective To describe patterns of emergency department (ED) presentations and predictors of 30-day mortality in patients referred from a residential aged care facility (RACF).
Methods A retrospective analysis of linked state-wide emergency, inpatient and death data from 136 public ED hospitals in New South Wales, Australia. Data were collected from the NSW Emergency Department Data Collection database, the NSW Admitted Patient Data Collection database and the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. All patients aged ≥65 years presenting to the ED from a RACF between January 2017 and July 2018 were included. ED diagnosis categories, re-admission rates within 30 days and 30-day all-cause mortality were measured.
Results In total, 43 248 presentations were identified. The most common ED diagnosis categories were: injury (26.48%), respiratory conditions (14.12%) and cardiovascular conditions (10.74%). Prolonged ED length of stay was associated with higher adjusted hazard ratios for 30-day all-cause mortality after adjustments for age Charlson Comorbidity Index, triage category and diagnosis category (HR 1.10 95% CI 1.05–1.14 P < 0.001).
Conclusions A large proportion of ED presentations from RACFs were for injuries associated with falls and chest infections. There was a range of both high- and low-urgency presentations. Both the 30-day mortality and re-admission rates were high. Predictors of increased mortality included prolonged length of stay in the ED and re-admission within 30 days. The findings are useful in informing discussion around improving access to care in RACFs and coordination of healthcare providers in this cohort.
Keywords: aged care, clinical pathways, emergency department, emergency department re-admission, models of care, mortality, residential aged care facilities.
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