title: Clinical and demographic characteristics of adult emergency patients at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital.
abstract: In order to establish a database dealing with the clinical and demographic characteristics of an emergency department (ED) in a large teaching hospital, a prospective chart review study was conducted from April to September 1991. Attendance charts for the medical emergency room (MER) and surgical emergency room (SER) were checked and necessary information was entered in the computer. The information headings were triage classification, registration time, time to be seen, patient disposition, and impression. Of the 7,086 patients tracked in MER and 4,545 in SER, 3.5% vs 1.5% were classified as triage 1; 14.69% vs 9.48%, triage 2; 69.42% vs 79.22%, triage 3; and 12.41% vs 9.79%, triage 4. There were two peak hours (09:00 to 12:00 and 19:00 to 21:00) in MER, and one (16:00 to 17:00) in SER. The driving force behind these peak times was considered. The leading 15 diseases or chief complaints in MER and 20 in SER were described, showing that ED overcrowding was caused by the number of chronic diseases presented in MER. The broad based clinical and demographic characteristics of emergency patients were analyzed. A further study is warranted in order to improve the quality of care of patients visiting this unique ED.
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department, Veterans General Hospital-Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D013624:Taiwan; D014218:Triage