FREQUENT USERS OF EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS IN TIRANA REGION DURING PANDEMIC
Objectives. Being given the limited studies on the flow of patients in Albanian emergency departments (EDs), this study made the profile of the frequent patients who attended EDs during the pandemic. This article aimed to evaluate the weight and the factors which accompanied the frequent ED users e...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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“Francisc I. Rainer” Anthropology Institute of the Romanian Academy.
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Anthropological Researches and Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.journalstudiesanthropology.ro/en/frequent-users-of-emergency-departments-in-tirana-region-during-pandemic/ |
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| _version_ | 1849328973101662208 |
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| author | Edmond ZAIMI Artur XHUMARI Elisabeta OSMANAJ Paolo CONTINI Lucia MONACIS Elizana PETRELA |
| author_facet | Edmond ZAIMI Artur XHUMARI Elisabeta OSMANAJ Paolo CONTINI Lucia MONACIS Elizana PETRELA |
| author_sort | Edmond ZAIMI |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives. Being given the limited studies on the flow of patients in Albanian emergency departments (EDs), this study made the profile of the frequent patients who attended EDs during the pandemic. This article aimed to evaluate the weight and the factors which accompanied the frequent ED users even in some unusual situations.
Material and methods. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were examined following Andersen’s model. Data were collected from March 9th, 2020 to March 9th, 2021 using the medical registry of the Emergency Service at the University Hospital Center “Mother Teresa” in Tirana.
Results. Data collection included 13,753 patients with 15,314 ED visits; only 0.5% were classified as frequent ED users. They have reported the highest percentages in the Tirana region, in the number of visits and admissions to the ward, and in the diagnoses of hypertension, followed by coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes (DM), and stroke. Patients with CAD had 4 times the odds of reporting frequent ED use compared to those with no CAD (C.I.95% [2.2, 8.5]); patients with stroke had 11.34 times the odds of reporting frequent ED use compared to those without stroke (C.I.95% [5.2-14.4]). Patients with HTA and with DM had 2.6 times the odds of reporting frequent ED use compared to those without these diseases (C.I.95% [1.4-5.07] and C.I.95% [1.3, 4.3]).
Conclusion. Even during the pandemic, the frequent ED users continue to remain in considerable numbers in the use of the emergency system. A high percentage of frequent users were true emergencies. Results could suggest that the appropriate intervention measures are crucial in order to reduce the occasional ED utilization. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e3d048ec8aa643ec911faf6b7d0c6c87 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2360-3445 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | “Francisc I. Rainer” Anthropology Institute of the Romanian Academy. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Anthropological Researches and Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-e3d048ec8aa643ec911faf6b7d0c6c872025-08-20T03:47:24Zeng“Francisc I. Rainer” Anthropology Institute of the Romanian Academy.Anthropological Researches and Studies2360-34452025-04-0115335347https://doi.org/10.26758/15.1.22FREQUENT USERS OF EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS IN TIRANA REGION DURING PANDEMICEdmond ZAIMI0Artur XHUMARI1Elisabeta OSMANAJ2Paolo CONTINI3Lucia MONACIS4Elizana PETRELA5University of Medicine, AlbaniaUniversity of Medicine, Albania“Aleksander Xhuvani” University, AlbaniaUniversity of Bari, ItalyUniversity of Foggia, ItalyUniversity of Medicine, AlbaniaObjectives. Being given the limited studies on the flow of patients in Albanian emergency departments (EDs), this study made the profile of the frequent patients who attended EDs during the pandemic. This article aimed to evaluate the weight and the factors which accompanied the frequent ED users even in some unusual situations. Material and methods. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were examined following Andersen’s model. Data were collected from March 9th, 2020 to March 9th, 2021 using the medical registry of the Emergency Service at the University Hospital Center “Mother Teresa” in Tirana. Results. Data collection included 13,753 patients with 15,314 ED visits; only 0.5% were classified as frequent ED users. They have reported the highest percentages in the Tirana region, in the number of visits and admissions to the ward, and in the diagnoses of hypertension, followed by coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes (DM), and stroke. Patients with CAD had 4 times the odds of reporting frequent ED use compared to those with no CAD (C.I.95% [2.2, 8.5]); patients with stroke had 11.34 times the odds of reporting frequent ED use compared to those without stroke (C.I.95% [5.2-14.4]). Patients with HTA and with DM had 2.6 times the odds of reporting frequent ED use compared to those without these diseases (C.I.95% [1.4-5.07] and C.I.95% [1.3, 4.3]). Conclusion. Even during the pandemic, the frequent ED users continue to remain in considerable numbers in the use of the emergency system. A high percentage of frequent users were true emergencies. Results could suggest that the appropriate intervention measures are crucial in order to reduce the occasional ED utilization.https://www.journalstudiesanthropology.ro/en/frequent-users-of-emergency-departments-in-tirana-region-during-pandemic/emergency departmentfrequent userspatients’ profilepandemic |
| spellingShingle | Edmond ZAIMI Artur XHUMARI Elisabeta OSMANAJ Paolo CONTINI Lucia MONACIS Elizana PETRELA FREQUENT USERS OF EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS IN TIRANA REGION DURING PANDEMIC Anthropological Researches and Studies emergency department frequent users patients’ profile pandemic |
| title | FREQUENT USERS OF EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS IN TIRANA REGION DURING PANDEMIC |
| title_full | FREQUENT USERS OF EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS IN TIRANA REGION DURING PANDEMIC |
| title_fullStr | FREQUENT USERS OF EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS IN TIRANA REGION DURING PANDEMIC |
| title_full_unstemmed | FREQUENT USERS OF EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS IN TIRANA REGION DURING PANDEMIC |
| title_short | FREQUENT USERS OF EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS IN TIRANA REGION DURING PANDEMIC |
| title_sort | frequent users of emergency departments in tirana region during pandemic |
| topic | emergency department frequent users patients’ profile pandemic |
| url | https://www.journalstudiesanthropology.ro/en/frequent-users-of-emergency-departments-in-tirana-region-during-pandemic/ |
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