Analysis of cases with hypotension detected in the emergency department

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the demographic characteristics, presenting complaints, vital signs, laboratory values, comorbidities, medications used, diagnoses received, and outcomes of hypotensive cases identified in the emergency department, in order to determine factors influencing the course of the disease and to contribute to the management of patients by clinicians. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted at the Department of Emergency Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine. A total of 624 patients aged 18 years and older with a systolic blood pressure below 90 mmHg, presenting to the emergency department between 01/07/2022 and 31/12/2022 were included retrospectively by screening from the hospital information management system. The patients' age, gender, known chronic diseases, medications used, vital signs, laboratory results, and 30-day mortalities were evaluated. Results: A total of 624 patients were included in the study, of whom 272 (43.6%) were male and 352 (56.4%) were female. The mean age of the patients was 51.2±19(range:18–74) years. The mean systolic blood pressure was calculated as 86±5.6 mmHg and the mean diastolic blood pressure was 53.9±6.5 mmHg. The most common comorbidities observed in patients were malignancy, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. The most common diagnoses received by patients were infectious causes (57.4%), genitourinary causes (32.1%) and respiratory causes (12.2%). Systolic blood pressure was significantly lower in the group with 30-day mortality compared to the group without 30-day mortality (p<0.05). Conclusion: Evaluating factors such as demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and presenting complaints of patients with hypotension presenting to the emergency department helps to understand factors influencing the course of the disease and to determine appropriate treatment strategies. Additionally, it provides important insights into the management of hypotension in the emergency department in terms of diagnosis and outcomes for clinicians. Keywords: hypotension, systolic blood pressure, mortality, emergency department, shock