Backgrounds: Describe the management results of patients returning to the Emergency Department unplanned within 72 hours and some correlated factors at Tan Phu Dist Hospital, 2019.
Methods: A retrospective study collected patient data at the Emergency Department, Tan Phu Dist Hospital using Hsoft hospital management software from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2019.
Results: There were 22,417 eligible patients, and 340 patients returned within 72 hours, accounting for 1.5%. Some differences between the two groups of patients who returned and did not return to the emergency department within 72 hours: The group of patients who returned had a higher average age of 49 ± 19 (p < 0.01), more women than men (p < 0.01), higher health insurance payments (p < 0.001), longer emergency hospital stay (p < 0.01) and a higher proportion of hospital stays over 120 minutes (p < 0.01). Intestinal infections, dengue fever, vestibular disorders, hypertension, and digestive disorders had a higher rate (p < 0.01). The group of patients who returned to the emergency department and had to be hospitalized was 71.18%. Patients with health insurance, diagnosed with 1 of 5 diseases (intestinal infection, vestibular disorder, dengue fever, hypertension, and digestive disorder) had a higher risk of return than other diseases (p < 0.05). Patients with a hospital stay in the emergency department ≥ 120 minutes had an OR = 1.31, p < 0.05 compared with the group < 120 minutes.
Conclusions: The management results of patients returning to the emergency department within 72 hours showed a trend towards older patients, women, using health insurance, longer emergency hospital stays, and five medical conditions including intestinal infections, vestibular disorders, dengue fever, hypertension, digestive disorders.