Final Diagnosis, Diagnostic Procedures, and Disease Course in Elderly Patients with General Weakness Referring to the Emergency Department; a Cross-sectional Descriptive Study

General weakness and fatigue are among the most common complaints in neurological, psychological, and medical diseases. which can have various causes, some of which are life-threatening. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the final diagnosis, diagnostic measures, and disease course in elderly patients with general weakness.

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from October 2015 to October 2016 in the emergency department of Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad, Iran. All elderly patients over 60 years of age who referred to the emergency department of Imam Reza Hospital with general weakness and did not have a specific diagnosis were included in the study. Demographic information, underlying diseases, medications, and the diagnostic and therapeutic measures taken for them from the moment of arrival until the time of discharge or death were recorded in the checklist prepared for this purpose. Data analysis was done using SPSS software version 11.5 and descriptive (number, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and inferential (Mann-Whitney, chi-square, t-test) statistical tests.

The average age of the participants in the study was 79.84 ± 8.6 years. The mean hemoglobin and white blood cell count (WBC) of the patients in the emergency room were higher than in the ward. Also, the platelets and international normalized ratio (INR) of people in the emergency department were higher. The median of onset of weakness in people was 7 (4-10) days. The duration of hospitalization of patients in the emergency room was 34.68 ± 21.7 hours and the duration of hospitalization in the ward was 6.06 ± 2.9 days. Also, the duration of hospitalization in ICU was 10.29 ± 5.2 days. Urinary tract infection (UTI) and electrolyte disorders were the most common diagnoses.

Based on the results of the present study, the highest mortality rate belonged to the ICU, ward, and emergency room, respectively. In addition, the highest discharge rates were observed in the emergency room, ward and ICU, respectively. Therefore, it seems that in the mentioned departments, it is very important to pay more attention to the patients in order to prevent further complications and the imposition of additional costs on the patients and the treatment system.