Use of emergency departments by older people from residential care: a population based study.
OBJECTIVE
to investigate the differences between emergency department (ED) presentations of older people who do and do not live in residential care facilities (RCFs).


METHODS
a population-based retrospective cohort study. ED records linked to ambulance and hospital morbidity records.


METHODS
public EDs in Perth, Western Australia.


METHODS
all patients 65 years and older who presented to EDs between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2006 (n = 97,161).


METHODS
patient demographic and clinical characteristics. Logistic regression was used to model the effect of living in RCFs on the likelihood of a particular ED diagnosis, hospital admission and in-hospital death.


RESULTS
the age-sex standardised rate of ED presentation for those living in RCFs was 1.69 times that of community dwellers. Compared to community dwellers, people from RCFs were older (mean age 84.7 years vs. 76.0 years, P < 0.001) and a lower proportion were male (28.7% vs. 46.7%, P < 0.001). Adjusting for age and sex revealed that people from RCFs were more likely to be diagnosed with pneumonia/influenza [odds ratio (OR) 1.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.72-2.19], urinary tract infections (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.49-1.98) or hip fractures (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.03-1.32); less likely to be diagnosed with circulatory system diseases (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.64-0.75) or neoplasms (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.31-0.72); more likely to be admitted (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.06-1.20) and to die in hospital (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.40-1.75).


CONCLUSIONS
there are different patterns of ED presentations and hospital admissions of older people who do and do not live in RCFs. The appropriateness of these differences is uncertain.
Ingarfield
Sharyn L
SL
Emergency Medicine, School of Primary, Aboriginal and Rural Health Care, The University of Western Australia, Australia.
Finn
Judith C
JC
Jacobs
Ian G
IG
Gibson
Nicholas P
NP
Holman
C D'arcy J
CD
Jelinek
George A
GA
Flicker
Leon
L
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality; D002423:Cause of Death; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000401:mortality; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000401:mortality; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000401:mortality; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000401:mortality; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology