[Estimation of emergency department activity and its relationship with inhospital bed disposition].
OBJECTIVE
To find out if the daily emergency department (ED) census and daily ED admittances can accurately be foreseen based on the number of visits arrived on ED within the first shift hours.


METHODS
For 6 consecutively months, the number of ED visits from 6 AM to 10 AM (early visits), and from 10 AM to next day 6 AM (daily ED census) was recorded, along with the number of both daily hospital and ED admittances from 6 AM to 6 AM. The analysis was performed for the ED as a whole, and for each one of its sections.


RESULTS
A significant direct correlation was seen between the early visits and daily ED census. This relationship was even greater as considered the ED as a whole (R2 = 0.25; p < 0.001). A direct correlation was also found between daily ED census and daily admittances (R2 = 0.19; p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The number of early ED visits is an important tool to accurately predict the daily ED census and the number of in-hospital beds needed for ED patients.
Miró
Oscar
O
Secció d'Urgències de Medicina, Area d'Urgències, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, España. omiro@clinic.ub.es
Salgado
Emilio
E
Bragulat
Ernest
E
Junyent
Mireia
M
Asenjo
Miguel A
MA
Sánchez
Miquel
M
D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006742:Hospital Bed Capacity; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013030:Spain