The emergency department in a 2000-bed teaching hospital: saving open ward and intensive care facilities.

Providing emergency medicine at the entrance to the hospital proves to be a sufficient link between pre- and inhospital medical care. The aim of our study is to investigate how many open ward and intensive care facilities can be saved within the hospital by the emergency department. Therefore, the data of our emergency department within a 2000-bed teaching hospital are retrospectively analysed. Unstable life-threatening emergencies for acute care, stable for immediate care and non-life-threatening emergencies are defined. Patients were discharged, admitted to an open ward, intensive care unit, the operation theatre or died. According to the level of care needed in the emergency department the continuing medical management is investigated. Over a 2-year period, 102,411 patients entered our emergency department. Overall 1498 (1%) needed acute care, 3652 (4%) immediate care and 97,261 (95%) delayed care. Of the acute care patients, 29 (2%) were discharged, 573 (38%) were admitted to an open ward, 551 (37%) to an intensive care unit, 67 (4%) needed surgery and 278 (19%) died. Of the immediate care patients, 1611 (44%) were discharged, 1755 (48%) were admitted to an open ward, 551 (37%) to an intensive care unit, and 286 (8%) needed surgery. Of the delayed care patients, 93061 (96%) were discharged and 4200 (4%) were admitted to an open ward. Of 5150 patients with life-threatening diseases, 551 (11%) needed an intensive care unit and 2328 (45%) an open ward. Providing acute and immediate care in our emergency department saves both intensive care and open ward facilities of the hospital.