Prospective evaluation of alzheimer patients applying to the emergency department according to the application complaints

The aim of this study is to analyze the reasons for admission of Alzheimer's patients who applied to the emergency services. The study was conducted prospectively on patients with Alzheimer's disease who applied to the emergency departments of Bursa Uludag University Health Application and Research Center, Health Sciences University Bursa Yüksek İhtisas Training and Research Hospital and Bursa City Hospital between 01.07.2021 and 01.07.2022. A total of 248 patients, 103 male (41.5%) and 145 female (58.5%), were included in the study. It was determined that these patients had Alzheimer disease for an average of 4.58±3.68 years. When the reasons for admission were examined, it was seen that the three most common complaints were general condition disorder (18.9%), dyspnea (15.7%) and high fever (14.1%). The number of patients for whom at least one consultation was requested was 202 (81.5%), and the three most frequently requested consultations were pulmonary diseases department, internal medicine department and neurology department. It was determined that the three most common diagnoses received by the patients in the emergency department were pneumonia (17.7%), ischemic cerebrovascular disease (10.3%), and urinary system infection (9.3%). It was determined that 42.7% of the patients were hospitalized in clinical and 18.1% in intensive care units. The three most commonly hospitalized departments were chest diseases, internal medicine and neurology. The mean duration of stay in the emergency department during this period was calculated to be 7.93±5.93 hours. As a result, it was determined that the most common diagnoses of Alzheimer's patients admitted to the emergency department were pneumonia, ischemic cerebrovascular disease and urinary tract infection, respectively; the frequency of emergency department admission increased as age progressed, and more than half of all admitted patients had indications for hospitalization.