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Utilization of the emergency department by older residents in K uala L umpur, M alaysia
Author(s) -
Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Amin,
Pin Tan Maw,
Zakaria Mohd Idzwan,
Hairi Noran Naqiah,
Kamaruzzaman Shahrul Bahiyah,
Vyrn Chin Ai,
Hua Philip Poi Jun
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geriatrics and gerontology international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1447-0594
pISSN - 1444-1586
DOI - 10.1111/ggi.12369
Subject(s) - medicine , emergency department , kuala lumpur , logistic regression , population , emergency medicine , older people , pediatrics , gerontology , environmental health , marketing , psychiatry , business
Aim To determine the pattern of utilization of emergency department ( ED ) services by older patients in K uala L umpur, M alaysia, compared with younger patients in the same setting. Methods The sociodemographics, clinical characteristics and resource utilization of consecutive patients attending the adult ED at the U niversity M alaya M edical C enter were recorded during a typical week. Results A total of 1649 patients were included in the study; 422/1649 (25.6%) were aged ≥60 years and 1077 (74.4%) were aged <60 years. Older adult patients were more likely to be diagnosed with ischemic heart disease (12.6% vs 2.5%, P < 0.001), and more likely to require investigations such as electrocardiogram (68.1% vs 16.6%, P < 0.001) or chest X ‐rays (67.6% vs 24.0%, P < 0.001) than their younger counterparts. Logistic regression methods showed that older adults remained an independent predictor of hospital admission ( OR 2.75, 95% CI 2.11–3.57). Conclusion The ratio of older adult patients attending our ED over the proportion of older people in the general population was 26:6, which is far higher than reported in previous published studies carried out in other countries. Older ED attenders are also more likely to require investigations, procedures and hospital admissions. With the rapidly aging population in Malaysia, reconfiguration of resources will need to occur at a compatible rate in order to ensure that the healthcare needs of our older adults are met. Geriatr G erontol I nt 2015; 15: 944–950.