During 2017–2019, 38.5% of adult emergency department visits were made by patients with no chronic conditions, 22.9% made by those with one, 15.3% made by those with two, and 23.3% made by those with three or more chronic conditions. The percentage of adult emergency department visits made by patients with no chronic conditions or one chronic condition decreased with age, from 58.0% among patients aged 18–44 years to 8.5% among patients aged ≥75 years with no chronic conditions and from 24.4% among patients aged 18–44 years to 18.5% among patients aged ≥75 years with one chronic condition. In contrast, the percentage of visits by patients with two or three or more chronic conditions increased with age, from 10.5% among patients aged 18–44 years to 20.8% among patients aged ≥75 years with two conditions and from 7.1% among patients aged 18–44 years to 52.1% among patients aged ≥75 years with three or more chronic conditions.
Source: The National Center for Health Statistics, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2017–2019. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/ahcd/ahcd_questionnaires.htm
Footnotes
With 95% CIs indicated with error bars.
Based on a sample of visits to emergency departments in noninstitutional general and short-stay hospitals, excluding federal, military, and Veterans Administration hospitals, located in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
Defined as emergency department visits made by patients with documentation in their medical record of a diagnosis of one of the following chronic conditions, regardless of the diagnosis for the current visit: alcohol misuse, abuse, or dependence; arthritis; asthma; cancer; chronic kidney disease; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; congestive heart failure; coronary artery disease; ischemic heart disease or history of myocardial infarction; depression; diabetes; end-stage renal disease; HIV/AIDS; hyperlipidemia; hypertension; obesity; obstructive sleep apnea; osteoporosis; history of pulmonary embolism; and substance use or dependence.