Dtsch Arztebl Int
-
Inpatient admission rates and the resources required upon admission to the hospital were studied as a function of the type of referral to the emergency department (ED) of a university hospital. ⋯ Whether a patient is admitted to the hospital depends on the source of the referral and the leading symptom on arrival in the ED. One in every six self-referred patients is admitted to the hospital, particularly when the reason for presenting to the ER is non-traumatic and some of them go on to receive intensive care. The high percentage (around 95%) of self-referred trauma patients that are discharged from the ED presumably indicates that they were referred mainly for the exclusion of dangerous conditions, and/or that appropriate care options are lacking in the community setting.