Effect of emergency department crowding on outcomes of admitted patients.

ABSTRACT:

Study objective

Emergency department (ED) crowding is a prevalent health delivery problem and may adversely affect the outcomes of patients requiring admission. We assess the association of ED crowding with subsequent outcomes in a general population of hospitalized patients.

Methods

We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of patients admitted in 2007 through the EDs of nonfederal, acute care hospitals in California. The primary outcome was inpatient mortality. Secondary outcomes included hospital length of stay and costs. ED crowding was established by the proxy measure of ambulance diversion hours on the day of admission. To control for hospital-level confounders of ambulance diversion, we defined periods of high ED crowding as those days within the top quartile of di

SUBMITTER: Sun BC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3690784 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature