Retrospective Evaluation of Patients Admitted to Emergency Critical Care Unit

Abstract

Background: We aim to analyze the patients hospitalized during 2016-2018 in the "emergency critical care unit" (ECCU) of our institution, which has emerged in recent years in our country and is primarily run by emergency medicine specialists operating within the department of emergency medicine and representation of a new understanding in these aspects. Materials and Methods:Our study was carried out retrospectively on 1.658 patients hospitalized in the secondary step ECCU operating within the department of emergency medicine between 01.01.2016 and 31.12.2018. The epidemiological and medical data of the patients were obtained from the hospital registration system records. Factors affecting mortality and discharge were investigated.Results: A total of 1.658 inpatients in the ECCU were included in our study. The median age of the patients was 71 years, and 43.8% were male. It was determined that 46.8% of the patients were discharged from ECCU, 34.3% were transferred to other services or intensive care units, and 18.9% exitus. There was no correlation between the outcome of the patients and age and gender (p>0.05). The highest rate of discharge was in patients hospitalized due to drug intoxication (p<0.05), while the highest rate of deceased patients was gastrointestinal system bleeding (p<0.05). Following the literature, the Apache-II score was highest in deceased patients and lowest in discharged patients (p<0.05). In our study, it was determined that 37% of the patients underwent various interventional procedures. A higher rate of death was found in patients who had many attempts and underwent tracheostomy and central catheterization (p<0.05). Conclusion:ECCUs are managed by emergency medicine specialists who provide intensive care support, especially for critically ill patients. As we concluded in our study, many patients received the critical care they needed without waiting for the intensive care unit in the emergency room, and about half of them were discharged.