Association between emergency department length of stay and outcome of patients admitted either to a ward, intensive care or high dependency unit.

Objective: To evaluate the association of ED length of stay (EDLOS) and outcome of patients admitted to a ward, intensive care (ICU) or stepdown (high dependency) unit (SDU).

Design: Retrospective cohort study using linked administrative and clinical data.

Setting: 650-bed, university-affiliated, tertiary referral hospital, whose ED has approximately 60 000 patient presentations per annum.

Direct and delayed admission to an intensive care or high dependency unit following discharge from the emergency department: associated patient characteristics and hospital outcomes.

Objective: To compare patients admitted from the emergency department (ED) directly to a ward (EDWard), the intensive care unit (EDICU) or stepdown (high dependency) unit (EDSDU) with patients admitted via the ED, but whose admission to an ICU (EDWardICU) or SDU (EDWardSDU) was preceded by a ward stay.

Design, Setting And Participants: Administrative and clinical data linkage; 650-bed, tertiary referral hospital, whose ED has about 60 000 patient presentations per annum; adult patients admitted via the ED to a ward, ICU or SDU and whose ED length of stay (LOS) was < 24 h.

Main Outcome Measure: Hospital outcome and stay.