Background: Centralized emergency departments are becoming a major source of health care in Germany. In this study, we evaluated the importance for ENT health care.
Methods: In a retrospective study, all ENT emergency patients between May and July 2011 were characterized by diagnosis, therapy, and urgency (measured using the Manchester Triage System [MTS]). General epidemiological data from the emergency department were recorded between 2009 and 2011.
Results: Between 2009 and 2011, 50,699 patients were treated in the centralized emergency department of the University Hospital Bonn. A total of 15,658 (30.8%) needed ENT health care. During May 2011 to July 2011, ENT emergency patients had not only a wide variety of diseases but also a broad range of ages (0-98 years). Using the MTS, emergency patients (4% acute emergencies) were identified and urgency was determined prior to first contact with the physician.
Conclusion: ENT emergency care plays an important role for centralized emergency departments. Most of the patients have ENT diseases treatable as an outpatient in a single visit. MTS can be used to determine the appropriate level of urgency.