Clinical Analysis on Patients with Altered Mental Status in the Emergency Department: Elderly versus Adult Patients

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: We compared elderly and adult patients and tried to find a way to make an early diagnosis and proper management for elderly patients with altered mental status in the emergency department(ED). METHODS: During one year, two groups -123 elderly patients over 65 years and 127 adult patients from 20 to 64 years who visited ED in National Police Hospital(NPH)-were selected. Sex, age, arrival time after symptom onset, means of transportation, underlying diseases, causative disease, time of notification to other departments, and pattern of discharge of two groups were analyzed. RESULTS: The average age of the elderly and the adults were 76.43+/-9.51 and 42.12+/-15.0(yrs), respectively. As for the means of transportation, 84% of the elderly used a 911 ambulance service, and 11% used other emergency services. The average times from symptom onset to arrival for two groups were 124 minutes and 69 minutes, respectively. 86.99% of the elderly and 68.38% of the adults had underlying diseases. As for final diagnosis, cerebrovascular disease for the elderly and cardiovascular disease for the adults were the main causes. When patients left the hospital, rate of transfer to other hospital was higher in the elderly(60.2%), and rate of discharge was higher in the adults(15.8%). CONCLUSION: The elderly patients had more intracranial causes and needed longer time for diagnosis than the adult patients. In the case of the patients with intracranial cause who needed an emergency care, they were usually diagnosed at the secondary medical facility and then transferred to the other hospitals for proper treatment causing bad effect on the prognosis of the treatment due to time delay.