Is ED Boarding Associated with Undesirable Events?

Emergency department boarding — inpatients in the ED awaiting a hospital bed assignment — is common across the U.S. Although boarding is inconvenient and demoralizing for both patients and providers, few studies have examined outcomes of boarding.

In this retrospective chart review of 151 ED-boarded patients who were admitted to a single tertiary care hospital in Boston during 3 days in 2003, the authors measured the frequency of undesirable events, which were defined as deviations from hospital-based standards (missed relevant ED treatment, home medications, or laboratory evaluations) and adverse events (ED death, aspiration, suboptimal blood pressure control, hypotension, hypoxia, arrhythmia, or others). Forty-two patients (28%) had at lea…