May 15, 2013
ICU admissions from the ED increased by almost 50% between 2002 and 2009, according to a study.
"The increase might be the result of an older, sicker population that needs more care," Peter Mullins, MA, the study’s lead author and a researcher with the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, said in a news release.
Mullins and his colleagues conducted the study by using data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Care Survey, a sample of hospital-based EDs in the United States during a seven-year period. They found that ICU admissions jumped from 2.79 million in 2002-03 to 4.14 million in 2008-09. During the same time frame, overall ED admissions grew by only 5.8%. To read about the study's key findings click here.
