Utilization of the emergency department by older residents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Issue 8 (14th October 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mohd Mokhtar, Mohd Amin; Pin, Tan Maw; Zakaria, Mohd Idzwan; Hairi, Noran Naqiah; Kamaruzzaman, Shahrul Bahiyah; Vyrn, Chin Ai; Hua, Philip Poi Jun
• Is Part Of: Geriatrics and gerontology international. Volume 15:Issue 8(2015)
• Page Start: 944
• Page End: 950
• Publication Date: 2014-10-14
• Subjects: Geriatrics -- Periodicals; Gerontology -- Periodicals; Geriatrics -- Japan -- Periodicals; Gerontology -- Japan -- Periodicals; 618.97
• DOI: 10.1111/ggi.12369
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1444-1586

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <sec id="ggi12369-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Aim</title> <p>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.</p> </sec> <sec id="ggi12369-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Methods</title> <p>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.</p> </sec> <sec id="ggi12369-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>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% <italic>vs</italic> 2.5%, <italic>P</italic> < 0.001), and more likely to require investigations such as electrocardiogram (68.1% <italic>vs</italic> 16.6%, <italic>P</italic> < 0.001) or chest X‐rays (67.6% <italic>vs</italic> 24.0%, <italic>P</italic> < 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).</p> </sec> <sec id="ggi12369-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusion</title> <p>The ratio of older adult patients attending our ED over the proportion of older people in the general population was 26:6, 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. <bold>Geriatr Gerontol Int 2015; 15: 944–950.</bold></p> </sec> </abstract>