The Clinical Characteristics of Urologic Patients Who Visited Emergency Center

Hwang, Sang Gil; Lee, Jong Bouk

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study was performed to analyze the clinical characteristics of urologic patients who visited emergency center and provide a fundamental data for further study, and to add some help in the management of the patients. Materials and Methods: Among the total 99,935 patients who visited the emergency center from July 1, 1993 to June 30, 1995, the clinical data of 3,063 urologic patients was reviewed retrospectively.
RESULTS
The most common group of age was 4th decade, and male predominated over female by 2.6 : 1. The peak time of patient's entrance to emergency center was between 20 : 00 and 24 : 00 (24.4%) and second peak was 00 : 00 and 04 : 00 (18.5%). Flank pain (57.5%) was the most common symptom and urinary retention (10.3%), gross hematuria (9.7%), irritative voiding symptoms (7.5%) followed that. The common diseases or injury were urinary stone (56.4%) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (8.0%), renal injury (4.0%), acute cystitis (3.7%) respectively. The admission rate was 23.3% and the ratio between urologic department and other departments was 4 : 1. Trauma was occupied 12.5% in all urologic patients and common disease or injuries that needed emergent operation were bladder rupture (23.5%), testicular torsion (18.5%), and renal trauma (16.0%). 7 patients with multiple injury were expired due to 1 urologic cause (renal trauma) and 6 non-urologic causes.
CONCLUSIONS
The most common cause that brings the urologic patients to the emergency center is flank pain associated with urinary stone and the factors related to increased occurrence are male, age of 4th decades and midnight.