- Title
- Emergency department presentations for problems in early pregnancy
- Creator
- Indig, Devon; Warner, Alexandra; Saxton, Anne
- Relation
- Australian & New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology Vol. 51, Issue 3, p. 257-261
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1479-828X.2011.01301.x
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2011
- Description
- Background: Many women with problems in early pregnancy such as vaginal bleeding or abdominal pain present to the emergency department (ED). Aim: To describe demographic, service delivery and diagnostic characteristics of women who presented to the ED with a problem in early pregnancy. Methods: Data were reviewed for all electronically available ED presentations in 2008 in NSW, Australia according to diagnostic codes related to problems in early pregnancy (N = 12,061). Descriptive statistics were used to illustrate relevant characteristics, and adjusted odds ratios were used to highlight the predictors of key service delivery outcomes. Results: Women who presented to the ED for a problem in early pregnancy accounted for 1.2% of all ED presentations for women. The average age of women who presented to the ED for a problem in early pregnancy was 29.3 years, with 25% aged 35 years or older. Over a fourth (28%) of women presented to the ED on a weekend and over a third (37%) presented after-hours. Most (70%) women were seen according to their triage category, and the median length of stay in the ED was just under 4 h. One-fourth of women were admitted to hospital, which was 3.8 times more likely among women with an ectopic pregnancy. Conclusions: The findings of this research may be useful for hospitals and clinicians to review and improve their current service delivery models for women who present to the ED with a problem in early pregnancy.
- Subject
- bleeding; ectopic; emergency department; pregnancy; spontaneous abortion
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/937187
- Identifier
- uon:12522
- Identifier
- ISSN:0004-8666
- Language
- eng
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