For Immediate Release: May 10, 2000

National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 1998 Emergency Department Summary. Advance Data 313. 24 pp. (PHS) 2000-1250
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Contact: NCHS/CDC Public Affairs
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E-mail: nchsquery@cdc.gov

In 1998, there were 100 million visits to hospital emergency departments in the United States. This corresponds to about 37 visits per 100 persons, with the highest visit rate for the population 75 years of age and older. Abdominal pain was the most frequently reported reason for visiting the emergency department; chest pain, fever and cough also ranked high. Among the leading medical diagnoses were upper respiratory infections, ear infections, asthma, and heart disease.

More than a third of all visits to the emergency department were due to injuries. Males had a higher injury visit rate than females, with males 15-24 years old having the highest rate, followed by women 75 years old and older.

Unintentional injuries due to falls, being struck by objects or people, and motor vehicle crashes accounted for the largest proportion of injury-related visits. The leading injury diagnoses were open wounds and contusions.

Just over 2 million visits to the emergency department were related to intentional injuries, including 1.6 million assaults. A little less than a half-million visits were associated with self-inflicted injuries, the majority of which were poisoning from all types of substances. Approximately 3 percent--some 1.2 million visits--were due to adverse drug reactions and complications from surgical procedures and medical care.

This new report from the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, profiles the patients who visit the emergency department and the care they receive.  This profiling is part of the ongoing National Health Care Survey, which monitors health care in all settings, from the doctor's office to hospital and nursing home care to home and hospice services.

The survey showed that patients came to the emergency department in a fairly constant stream between 8 am and midnight, with the peak time for visits the late afternoon and early evening. On average patients waited about 40 minutes to see a physician. Patients defined as needing the most urgent care had to wait about 20 minutes, while those with semi-urgent or nonurgent problems usually saw a doctor after an hour's wait.

The most frequently performed diagnostic service during a visit to the emergency department was a blood pressure check. Other frequent diagnostic services included complete blood count and other types of blood tests, oxygen saturation, chest x ray, urinalysis, and EKG.

Medications were used in 7 out of 10 visits to the emergency department, with pain relief drugs used most frequently, followed by antimicrobial agents and respiratory tract drugs.

Data in this report are based on a national probability survey of visits to hospital emergency departments of non-Federal, short-stay and general hospitals in the United States. A record is completed for each visit selected as part of a sample.

This page last reviewed October 06, 2006