Trends of chronic illness in emergency department admissions among elderly adults in a tertiary hospital over ten years.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine to what extent an aging population and shift to chronic illness has contributed to emergency admissions at a tertiary care hospital over ten years. METHODS: This was a retrospective observational study performed using a database of all emergency admissions from the Emergency Department (ED) at a single tertiary hospital in Singapore during a ten-year period (January 1st, 2008 to December 31st, 2017). Emergency admissions were defined as ED visits with inpatient admission as the disposition. This study analyzed the trends of demographics, pre-existing comorbidities, chronic conditions or ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) of all patients who underwent emergency admissions in Singapore General Hospital. RESULTS: A total of 446,484 emergency records were included. For elderly patients, the proportions of them had pre-existing multimorbidity at the time of undergoing emergency admissions were found to be lower at the end the 10-year study period relative to the beginning of the study period. The proportions of emergency admissions whose ED primary diagnoses were categorized as chronic conditions and certain chronic ACSC including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes complications, and epilepsy also decreased for elderly patients over the 10-year study period. CONCLUSIONS: In Singapore, despite a rapidly aging population, there have been surprisingly lower proportions of chronic conditions, pre-existing comorbidities, and chronic ACSC among the elderly emergency admissions. This is possibly consistent with an overall improved management of the chronic conditions among the elderly population. Future studies should include similar studies at the national level and comparison with other healthcare settings in different countries.

Health-seeking behaviour of foreign workers in Singapore: Insights from emergency department visits.

INTRODUCTION: Foreign workers (FWs) on work permit face unique health challenges and potential barriers to healthcare. We aimed to examine the epidemiology, attendance patterns, disposition, and adherence to follow-up, by FWs on work permit to two emergency departments (EDs) in Singapore. METHODS: In this retrospective observational study, we included consecutive FWs on work permit who registered at the EDs of two public restructured hospitals from 1 May 2016 to 31 October 2016. Data obtained from electronic medical records included patient demographics, triage acuity, disposition, ED diagnoses and bill information. RESULTS: There were 6,429 individual FWs on work permit who contributed to 7,157 ED visits over the 6-month study period, with male predominance (72.7%, 4672/6429), and median age of 31 (interquartile range 26 to 38) years. A high proportion of these FWs were triaged to low-acuity status compared to the general ED population (66.9% versus 45.9%, P<0.001). Trauma-related injuries contributed to 34.4% of their visits, and were more likely to result in admission compared to non-trauma-related conditions (18.7% vs 15.2%, P<0.001). FWs engaged in shipyard, construction and process industries were more likely to be discharged "against medical advice" (14.8% vs 3.2%, P<0.001), and default their specialist outpatient follow-up (50.1% vs 34.2%, P<0.001) for non-trauma-related conditions compared to trauma-related injuries. CONCLUSION: In Singapore, the EDs of public restructured hospitals provide healthcare safety nets to FWs on work permit. These workers made more low-acuity visits compared to the general population during the study period and may face potential barriers to admission and follow-up.

Compliance With Asthma Guidelines and Association With Outcomes in the Emergency Department of a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Despite the existence of guidelines for treating acute asthma patients in the emergency department (ED), compliance is often poor. We aimed to examine the compliance to treatment guidelines for asthma at our tertiary care teaching hospital's ED and association with re-attendance rates. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of electronic patient records of patients above 16 years old who presented to our ED with a primary diagnosis of asthma over a 6 month period in 2012. Patient demographics such as age, gender, history of previous intubations and hospitalisations were reviewed, as were the treatment administered during the ED visit and on discharge. Concordance of treatment was compared with the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program's Expert Panel Report 3 (NAEPP EPR3) guidelines. Re-attendance rates to our ED within one year were then analysed. RESULTS: A total of 552 patients were included in the study. We found that 151 (27.4%) of patients reattended within the year, 35 (6.3%) returned more than twice. Low compliance to the EPR3 guidelines (p = 0.005), age of between 41 and 60 (p = 0.049), previous hospitalisations for asthma (p < 0.001) and non-use of recommended systemic corticosteroids (p = 0.020) in the ED predicted a higher re-attendance rate. Follow up care and medications on discharge were not signifi cant factors. CONCLUSION: Low compliance to recommended treatment by established guidelines is associated with higher re-attendance, as are middle age and previous hospitalisations. Besides managing pressures of time and resource limitations in the ED, an increased awareness of guidelines amongst doctors will improve asthma care.

Utility of a Medical Alert Protection System compared to telephone follow-up only for home-alone elderly presenting to the ED - A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Medical Alert Protection Systems (MAPS) are a form of assistive technology designed to support independent living in the care of elderly patients in the community. We aimed to investigate the utility of using such a device (eAlert! System) in elderly patients presenting to an Emergency Department (ED). METHODS: Elderly patients presenting to an ED were randomized to receive MAPS or telephone follow-up only (control arm). All patients were followed up at one-week, one-month and six-month post-intervention. A confidence scale (at 1week, 1month and 6months) and EQ-5D score (at 6months) were also administered. RESULTS: 106 and 91 participants enrolled in the MAPS and control arms respectively. Within both individual arms, there were significant reductions in the median number of ED visits and median number of admissions in the six month periods before, compared to after intervention (p<0.01 for both). However, the reductions were not significantly different between the two arms. Among participants who have had one or more admissions during the six months period post intervention, the MAPS arm had significantly lower median total length of stay (8days, Interquartile Range [IQR]=(4, 14)) compared to the control arm (15days, IQR=(3, 25), p=0.045). The median health state score for health state was significantly higher in the MAPS arm (70 IQR=(60,80) versus 60 IQR=(50,70), p=0.008). CONCLUSION: In this population of elderly ED patients, the use of a MAPS decreased length of stay for admissions and improved quality of life measures.

Characteristics of patients who made a return visit within 72 hours to the emergency department of a Singapore tertiary hospital.

INTRODUCTION: 72-hour emergency department (ED) reattendance is a widely-used quality indicator for quality of care and patient safety. It is generally assumed that patients who return within 72 hours of ED discharge (72-hour re-attendees) received inadequate treatment or evaluation. The current literature also suggests considerable variation in probable causes of 72-hour ED reattendances internationally. This study aimed to understand the characteristics of these patients at the ED of a Singapore tertiary hospital. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study on all ED visits between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2013. 72-hour re-attendees were compared against non-re-attendees based on patient demographics, mode of arrival, patient acuity category status (i.e. P1/P2/P3/P4), seniority ranking of doctor-in-charge and medical diagnoses. Multivariate analysis using the generalised linear model was conducted on variables associated with 72-hour ED re-attendance. RESULTS: Among 104,751 unique patients, 3,065 (2.93%) were in the 72-hour re-attendees group. Multivariate analysis showed that the following risk factors were associated with higher risk of returning within 72 hours: male gender, older age, arrival by ambulance, triaged as P2, diagnoses of heart problems, abdominal pain or viral infection (all p < 0.001), and Chinese ethnicity (p = 0.006). There was no significant difference in the seniority ranking of the doctor-in-charge between both groups (p = 0.419). CONCLUSION: Several patient and event factors were associated with higher risk of being a 72-hour re-attendee. This study forms the basis for hypothesis generation and further studies to explore reasons behind reattendances so that interventions can be developed to target high-risk groups.