Epidemiology of the Elderly in a Hospital Emergency Department in Spain
A Study of 171,343 Cases

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/revsalud/a.13823

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Published: Jul 10, 2025
Issue: Vol. 23 No. 2 (2025): Revista Ciencias de la Salud
Section Clinical or Experimental Research


Keywords: elderly frequenting emergency department epidemiology

Main Article Content

Authors

  Esteban Merino-Galvez
Universidad Católica San Antonio
  Gabriela Merino-Coy
Universidad Católica San Antonio
  Javier Gómez-Hervas
Hospital Rafael Mendez de Lorca

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To know the trends and distribution of the main ailments of elderly people in a Spanish hospital’s emergency  department.


METHOD: A descriptive, observational and retrospective study was conducted for all patients older than 65 years, that were seen by the Emergency Service at a secondary hospital from 2011 to 2019. We used CIAP-2  code from WONCA.


RESULTS: 713,585 patients were analysed, of whom 171,341 (23.87%) were older than 65 years. Attendance and hospitalisation increased in the elderly during the period studied, especially in those over 85 years of age (p <0.001). The frequentation is greater in women on Mondays, and in the months of December, January and August (p <0.001). Nonspecific respiratory pathology- R83 (4.8%), trauma-A80 (4.2%) and fractures-L76 (4%) were the most frequent pathologies (p <0.001). The most frequent causes of admission were respiratory infections-R83 (8.9%), fractures-L76 (6.5%) and heart failure-K77 (5.2%) (p <0.001). Emergency doctors resolved 88.8% of pathologies without referring the patient to another specialist.


CONCLUSION: Despite the fact that the demand for care in hospital emergencies for the elderly is booming, their attendance rate is at levels below the rest of the population, and also, when they attend, they do so for more serious pathologies. Respiratory pathology and trauma are the main causes of diagnosis and hospitalisation in the elderly, so specific work plans must be created in these areas.

How to Cite
Merino-Galvez, E., Merino-Coy, G., & Gómez-Hervas, J. (2025). Epidemiology of the Elderly in a Hospital Emergency Department in Spain: A Study of 171,343 Cases. Revista Ciencias De La Salud, 23(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/revsalud/a.13823
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