An analysis of ED utilization by adults with intellectual disability

A Comparison of Medical and Psychobehavioral Emergency Department Visits Made by Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

“…Our study found, in contrast to the Venkat study [7], that emergencies related to injuries were most common. This raises the question as to whether individuals with intellectual disabilities who have accidents are safe and receiving the level of support they require.…”

“…The emergency descriptions were reviewed by two raters and coded as medical only or psychobehavioral. All medical events were categorized according to ICD 9 general categories by two raters (AK, DE), as was done in a previous study by Venkat et al [7] Psychobehavioral events were reviewed and categorized into one of 11 categories by the same raters (AK, DE): physical aggression/injury to others, suicidal behaviour/injury to self, suicidal ideation only, other psychiatric symptoms (e.g., panic or paranoia), verbal aggression only, property damage only, victim of verbal/physical abuse, missing/AWOL, sexual deviance, arson, respite/lack of resources, and other. When there was a discrepancy between raters, the case was discussed with a third rater (YL), and a consensus was reached.…”

“…Little is known about the extent to which individuals with intellectual disabilities access emergency departments although three recent studies have reported that such visits are more common in those with intellectual disabilities than the general population [5–7]. In a study of 186 emergency department users with intellectual disabilities, Lin et al [6] found that the most common reasons for these visits were fever (27%), diarrhea (14.9%), injury (14.4%), seizure (14.4%), and asthma (7.5%).…”

“…In a study of 186 emergency department users with intellectual disabilities, Lin et al [6] found that the most common reasons for these visits were fever (27%), diarrhea (14.9%), injury (14.4%), seizure (14.4%), and asthma (7.5%). Venkat et al [7] described a cohort of 431 individuals with intellectual disabilities living in congregate care settings, of which 222 visited the emergency department over 18 months. Compared to the general population, these individuals were more likely to visit due to digestive disorders or ill-defined symptoms.…”

U.S. Emergency Department Admissions for Nontraumatic Dental Conditions for Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

“…There are no studies from the dental literature to which we can directly compare our findings. However, two studies suggest that general ED use is higher in adults with IDDs (Lunsky et al, 2011; Rasch, Gulley, & Chan, 2013) and two studies have focused on ED use in adults with IDDs (Lunsky & Elserafi, 2011; Venkat, Pastin, Hedge, Shea, Cook, & Culig, 2011). There are three main explanations for our finding.…”