title: The acute sick and injured patients: an overview of the emergency department patient population at a Norwegian University Hospital Emergency Department.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There is a lack of knowledge of the emergency department (ED) population in Norway; hence, the aim of this study was to describe the ED patient population at a Norwegian University Hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective data of all ED patients admitted to the main ED over a period of 2 months were collected. The patients' presenting complaint was registered using the International Classification of Primary Care-2 (ICPC-2).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 3163 patients arrived in the ED during the study period. The majority (71%) of patients presented with a complaint that was defined as a symptom in ICPC-2. The most common symptoms were abdominal pain (13%), chest pain (13%), and dyspnea (9%). The complaints of the remaining patients (29%) were primarily traumas, infections, and other diagnoses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ED patients have a diverse spectrum of presenting complaints and the majority of patients present with symptoms rather than a defined medical diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: aDepartment of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology bEmergency Department, Clinic of Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, St Olav's Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim cDepartment of Research and Development, The Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation, Drobak, Norway.
authors.forename: Nina M F
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Langlo
authors.forename: Astrid B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Orvik
authors.forename: Jostein
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dale
authors.forename: Oddvar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Uleberg
authors.forename: Lars P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Bjørnsen
mesh_terms: D000006:Abdomen, Acute / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D009664:Norway; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*