title: Correlation between age, emergency department length of stay and hospital admission rate in emergency department patients aged ≥70 years.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Interdisciplinary emergency departments (EDs) are confronted with trauma and nontrauma patients of any age group. Length of stay (LOS) and admission rates reflect both disease complexity and severity.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate LOS and admission rates in different age groups according to traumatic and nontraumatic etiologies.
  
  
  METHODS
  During May 2011 a total of 4,653 adult patients (defined as ≥18 years old) seen in the ED of our municipal hospital were evaluated for their primary problem, Emergency Severity Index, LOS and admission rate. 1,841 trauma patients (mean age: 51.9 years; SD 22.5 years) and 2,812 nontrauma patients (mean age: 60.0 years; SD 20.4 years) were included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median LOS in the ED was 1:41 h (trauma) and 1:52 h (nontrauma). Trauma patients aged ≥70 years spent more time in the ED than nontrauma patients of this age group (patients aged ≥70 years median: 2:08 vs. 1:56 h; p < 0.0001). However, no significant difference was found in patients aged <70 years (1:33 vs. 1:48 h; p = 0.64). Comparing older with younger patients, median LOS within the ED was about 8 min longer in nontrauma patients aged ≥70 years (p = 0.22) and about 35 min longer in trauma patients aged ≥70 years (p < 0.00001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The correlation between age and LOS is stronger for trauma patients, which might indicate a special need for geriatric expertise in elderly trauma ED patients. Thus an interdisciplinary approach including surgical and geriatric expertise may be advantageous.
authors.affiliation: Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Klinikum Nürnberg, Nuremberg, Germany. biber@klinikum-nuernberg.de
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Biber
authors.forename: Hermann Josef
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Bail
authors.forename: Cornel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sieber
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Weis
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Christ
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Singler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries