UtilizationoftheAccident&EmergencyDepartmentsbyChineseelderlyinHongKong

摘要： BACKGROUND:TheepidemiologicaldataonelderlypatientsattendingAccidentandEmergencyDepartments(AEDs)inHongKongislacking.ThestudyaimedtoexaminetheepidemiologyofgeriatricpatientvisitstoAEDsinHongKong,includingdemographicdataandpredictorsoflife-savinginterventions(LSI)andadmission.METHODS:Aretrospectivecross-sectionalstudyofgeriatricpatientsolderthan64yearsoldattendingthreeAEDsduringtheyear2012,withasampleof1200patientvisitsrecruited.Thedatawereretrievedfromthemedicalrecordsoftherespectivehospitals.Descriptivecharacteristicsofthevisitswereprovided.MultivariatelogisticregressionwasperformedtoevaluatethepredictorsofLSIandhospitaladmission.RESULTS:Themeanageofthepatientswas79.1years.Totally49.7%ofthepatientsweremale.DiseasesoftherespiratorysystemwasthecommonestdiagnosisinAEDsaswellasthatrequiredadmission.Theadmissionratewas56.8%.Logisticregressiondemonstratedthatdependentactivityofdailyliving(ADL),arrivalbyambulance,andthehighernumberofco-morbiditieswerepredictorsofLSI,whileadvancedage,dependentADL,institutionalizedpatients,arrivalbyambulance,andhighernumberofco-morbiditieswerepredictorsofhospitaladmission.CONCLUSIONS:AgeingpopulationiscreatinganimminentburdenontheemergencyserviceinHongKong.PreviouslyunavailableepidemiologicalinformationaboutgeriatricattendancetoAEDswasdescribed.Thisformsthebasisfordevelopmentoffuturestudiesconcerningthemedicalservicesonthisspecificgroupofpatients. ... （共6頁）