ArticleClinical and experimental emergency medicine2024
Characteristics of patients who return to the emergency department after an observation-unit assessment.
Article in Clinical and experimental emergency medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trauma observation unit-based pathway for treatment of injured patients: A retrospective study.Qatar medical journal · 2026Article
- Are There Benefits to Observation Units in the Emergency Departments: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Comments on "Characteristics of patients who return to the emergency department after an observation-unit assessment".Clinical and experimental emergency medicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveEmergency department observation units (EDOUs) transition patients from the ED to dedicated areas where they can receive continuous monitoring. Understanding patient return visits after EDOU discharge is important for optimizing healthcare. The objective of this study was to investigate the correlations between demographic and clinical features and the likelihood of returning to the ED within 30 days following an initial EDOU assessment.
methodsThis retrospective, observational, cohort study of adult EDOU subjects was conducted between February 1, 2018, and January 31, 2023. Adult patients who were evaluated in an EDOU and returned to an ED within 30 days were compared with those who were assessed in the EDOU but did not return to the ED within 30 days. The analysis took into account multiple visits by the same subject and made adjustments for variables of sex, ethnicity, insurance status, primary diagnosis, and disposition using a generalized linear mixed model.
resultsA total of 14,910 EDOU encounters was analyzed, and 2,252 patients (15%) returned to the ED within 30 days. The analysis took into account several variables that indicated a significant association with the likelihood of returning to the ED within 30 days. These were sex (P<0.001), ethnicity (P=0.005), race (P<0.001), insurance status (P<0.001), primary diagnosis (P<0.001), and disposition (P<0.001). Emergency severity index and length of stay were not associated with ED return.
conclusionUnderstanding these factors may guide interventions, enhance EDOU care, and reduce resource strain. Further research should explore these associations and the long-term intervention impacts on improved outcomes.
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