Price for waiting: the adverse outcomes of boarding critically ill elderly medical patients in the emergency department

Purpose Boarding, the period in which a patient spends in the emergency department (ED) before admission, may be hazardous to critically ill patients, particularly the elderly. This study investigated the associations of boarding with hospital course, prognosis, and medical expenditure in older patients. Methods From January 2019 to December 2021, the medical records of older patients (age >= 65) visiting the ED of a tertiary referral hospital who were admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) were retrospectively reviewed. Eligible patients were categorized into two groups according to boarding time with a cutoff set at 6 h. Primary outcomes were in-hospital mortality, ICU/hospital length of stay, and total/average hospitalization cost. Subgroup analyses considered age and disease type. Results Among 1318 ICU admissions from the ED, 36% were subjected to boarding for over 6 h. Prolonged boarding had a longer ICU (8.9 +/- 8.8 vs. 11.2 +/- 12.2 days, P < .001) and hospital (17.8 +/- 20.1 vs. 22.8 +/- 23.0 days, P < .001) stay, higher treatment cost (10.4 +/- 13.9 vs. 13.2 +/- 16.5 thousands of USD, P = .001), and hospital mortality (19% vs. 25% P = .020). Multivariate regression analysis showed a longer ICU stay in patients aged 65-79 (8.3 +/- 8.4 vs. 11.8 +/- 14.2 days, P < .001) and cardiology patients (6.9 +/- 8.4 vs. 8.8 +/- 9.7 days, P = .001). Besides, the treatment cost was also higher for both groups (10.4 +/- 14.6 vs. 13.7 +/- 17.7 thousands of USD, P = .004 and 8.4 +/- 14.0 vs. 11.7 +/- 16.6 thousands of USD, P < .001, respectively). Conclusion Extended ED boarding for critically ill medical patients over 65 years old was associated with negative outcomes, including longer ICU/hospital stays, higher treatment costs, and hospital mortality.