Emergency department utilization: A comparative analysis of older— adults, old and old— old patients

A comparative analysis of Emergency Department (ED) utilization by 2936 older- adults, old, and old— old patients was conducted in the only hospital available for residents of a vast geographical region. All patients (45+) who arrived at the ED during the first week of every even month from September 1986 to August 1987 were selected for the study. No significant differences were found among the three groups with regard to sociodemographic characteristics other than age. Data showed that the old— old use the ED approximately twice as much as the old and the older- adults; they also use the ED more often than the two other groups during the winter season. These two findings indicate the utility of viewing the old— old not only as a part of the elderly population, but also as a unique risk group. Hospitalization rates present a different pattern: they double in each age group moving from the youngest to the oldest. Complaints of an internal medicine nature are more often presented by the two groups of the elderly in comparison to the older— adults, and are followed by more frequent hospitalizations in internal medicine wards. Such findings have practical implications, and should be taken into consideration by policymakers. (Aging 2:387–393,1990)