Patients who leave the emergency department without being seen.

Introduction: Patients who present to the ED for care and leave without being seen (LWBS) represent a significant problem. The objective of this study was to determine why patients LWBS, how long they perceived waiting versus actual time waited before leaving, and factors that might have prevented LWBS.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, scripted phone survey of all patients who left without being seen over a two-month period in 2006 at an ED with approximately 65,000 yearly visits.

Application of San Francisco Syncope Rule in elderly ED patients.

Objectives: The San Francisco Syncope Rule (SFSR) is a decision rule with the potential to identify patients at risk for serious outcomes within 7 days of the emergency department (ED) visit for syncope. The initial studies of the SFSR reported a high sensitivity and specificity for identifying patients, of all ages, with serious outcomes. Our objective was to determine if the SFSR can be safely and accurately applied to ED patients aged 65 and older with syncope or near-syncope.