ED Crowding Is Associated with Increased Mortality, Even in Discharged Patients

Emergency department (ED) overcrowding is known to be associated with poor patient outcomes, especially for patients with high acuity or unstable conditions. These authors explored whether crowding is also associated with worse outcomes for more-stable patients.

Using registry data from two large hospital EDs in Sweden from 2009 to 2016, the authors examined 10-day mortality in roughly 706,000 adult patients who were triaged to low acuity levels (scores of 3–5 with the Rapid Emergency Triage and Treatment System) and discharged to home or to a geriatric care facility. The study included some patients (estimated between 2% and 3%) who left against medical advice or before the visit was complete.

There were 623 deaths within 10 days (0.09%). Fa…