Symptoms at presentation to the emergency department: Predicting outcomes and changing clinical practice?

ConclusionThe number of symptoms did not correlate with the main adverse outcomes (ICU‐admission and in‐hospital mortality). However, clinical practice was influenced by the nature and number of symptoms. This was shown by associations with hospitalisation, length‐of‐stay, use of resources and follow‐up presentations. Furthermore, the number of symptoms correlated with the caregivers’ disease severity ratings and the attributed triage categories. This may indicate that caregivers respond to the number of symptoms by a higher investment in their immediate work‐ups and later follow‐ups.
Source: International Journal of Clinical Practice - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL PAPER Source Type: research