Why Does Non-traumatic Musculoskeletal Pain Apply to the Emergency Department? Cross-sectional Study from a Fourth-level University Hospital

Abstract

Aim: Overcrowding in emergency departments (ED) is one of the most important problems in healthcare systems around the world. musculoskeletal pain (MSP) is one of the most common non-emergencies and non-traumatic reasons for admission to emergency services. This study aimed to determine the proportion of non-traumatic MSP admissions to the ED of a university hospital in Istanbul. Materials and Methods: Hospital records of emergency admissions were retrospectively reviewed according to International Classification of Diseases codes between January 01 and December 31, 2021. Patients aged 18 years who applied to the non-traumatic ED were included. The patients were separated according to gender, age groups, and diagnostic codes. Results: The total number of patients admitted to the ED was 265.081. While 71.158 of these applications were for general pain, 5.940 (2%) patients applied for non-traumatic, non-specific MSP. Among these 5.940 patients, 3.058 (51.48%) were male and 2.882 (48.52%) were female. Conclusion: Because of its high prevalence and social impact, MSP should be considered when planning policies for optimizing health resources in emergencies. Implementation of training programs to cope with these problems or the development of MSP emergency care units open to the use of emergency physicians may be a precautionary measure.

Keywords

• overcrowding
• low back pain
• inappropriate use
• emergency
• non-traumatic reasons
• emergency admissions