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3.5% of ED visits involved dermatologic disorders
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MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Visits of a dermatologic nature constituted 3.5% of all emergency department traffic during a 1-year period in Alberta, Canada, according to a poster session held at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.
Using ICD-10 codes related to common dermatologic findings, researchers analyzed data from the National Ambulatory Care Records for visits to all emergency departments in Alberta from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011. Codes included treatment for cellulitis, dermatitis, burns, hypersensitivity reactions, bacterial and viral infections. Investigators also noted ED visits for dermatologic concerns that resulted in hospital admissions.
Among 2,131,012 ED visits within the study period, 75,104 were for dermatologic disorders and accounted for 3.52% of all ED presentations. The most common diagnoses were for cellulitis (34.4%), which resulted in the most hospital admissions; dermatitis (18%), abscesses (13.3%), urticaria (9.9%) and viral infections (7%).
The majority of dermatologic cases presented at the ED involved females (51.91%), and the most ED visits (n=7,728) and hospital admissions were made in July. Researchers said 3.7% of ED visits resulted in admissions. Based on admission rates per type of presentation, the most prevalent were for cellulitis (7.3%), burns (7.2%) and abscesses (6.7%).
“Dermatologic disorders have been reported to be a small fraction of all emergency department visits,” the researchers concluded. “This still results in tens of thousands of dermatologic visits per year in Alberta alone.
“While the lack of specific goals and objectives related to dermatology in the emergency training curricula is startling, and should be corrected, the cross training in infectious diseases provides for a safety net regarding physicians’ knowledge of these common dermatological presentations.”
For more information:
Fiorillo L. P6776 – Common dermatology presentations in the emergency department: Who, what, and when. Presented at: American Academy of Dermatology 2013 Annual Meeting; March 1-5, Miami Beach, Fla.