Comparison of the Demographics and Visit Characteristics of Patients Who Left the Pediatric Emergency Department Without Being Seen With Those Who Were Evaluated in the Emergency Department

Background We compared those patients who left without being seen (LWBS) with those who stay for evaluation and determined which subsets were more likely to depart prematurely in the largest pediatric population studied to date. Methods We retrospectively extracted data from the electronic medical records of all pediatric patients who visited the emergency department between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2015. The demographics and visit characteristics were compared between patients who LWBS and those seen by a provider. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine the odds for premature departure of specific groups within the population. Results Of the 271,364 pediatric patients visiting the emergency department during the 3-year study period, 3835 (1.4%) LWBS by a provider. The mean age of those LWBS was younger, and the odds of leaving slightly decreased as the patient's age increased (odds ratio [OR], 0.98). Those triaged as having "nonurgent" medical conditions had a statistically significant increase in odds of premature departure when compared with those with "urgent" medical conditions (OR, 1.16). Patients arriving during the evening and overnight hours had a much greater odds of LWBS (OR, 6.7 and 7.3, respectively). Conclusions Our findings demonstrated and confirmed that age, time of arrival, and acuity level upon presentation were predictors of patients leaving before evaluation. This can guide institutions with staffing and flow processes as they attempt to reduce LWBS rates but also raises further questions as to whether these subsets go forward to have worse clinical outcomes after leaving prematurely.