Background: Emergency departments are faced with a high influx of patients presenting for various complaints. The aim of the present study was to assess the basic characteristics of elderly patients presenting to a rural hospital emergency department in inland Croatia in 2017.
Methods: Retrospective data collected from the Hospital Information System and by analysis of medical records on patients presenting to emergency department in 2017 were used in the study.
Results: Study results indicated that a lower proportion of elderly individuals aged 65-74 were hospitalized following emergency department workup. A statistically significantly higher proportion of patients older than 74 years was presented to ED due to various discomforts and diseases (ICD-10 group I; χ2 = 324.85; p < 0.01) than due to cardiorespiratory diseases and acute abdomen (χ2 = 285.04; p < 0.01).
Conclusion: Our findings highlight the need for a complex approach in care for elderly people, given that they are a fragile population with multiple comorbidities, chronic diseases, atypical symptoms, and often with cognitive and functional impairments.
Keywords: Chronic disease; Emergency department; Nursing; Rural health; The elderly; Triage.
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