[Incidence of genitourinary pathology in the emergency department.].

OBJECTIVE

The increase of healthcare pressure in Emergency Departments compels us to have a better understanding of patients' characteristics and the pathology they consult for. This is the first study that estimates the waiting time in the emergency room and the factors that are independently related with hospital admission.

METHODS

Descriptive and retrospective study of 2.741 patients who were admitted to the Emergency Department with genitourinary symptoms in 2011. Clinical and epidemiological features were reviewed. A multivariable study was performed to identify the factors related with the final resolution of patients, recurrence emergency attendance, and waiting time in the emergency room.

RESULTS

Most of the patients were male (60.3%), being diagnosed with hematuria, acute urinary retention and genital pathology. Females complained more frequently for pyelonephritis, urinary tract infection and low-back pain. Male were hospitalized in greater proportion. Age, diagnosis of infection/sepsis or low-back pain, and yellow or orange MTS level were independent features for hospital admission. Also, in the univariate and multivariate study, age > 60 years (311 vs 220 min.), UTI/sepsis related diagnoses (300 vs 250 min.), and hospital admission as final resolution (440 vs 240 min.) had a significant influence in the waiting time in the Emergency Department.

CONCLUSIONS

Age over 60 years, hospital admission as final resolution and infection/sepsis diagnosis were independent features for further waiting time in the Emergency Department. Persistent pain and symptoms of infection/sepsis behaved as independent features for hospital admission.