UPmémoires

English

Introduction - Since 2013, France has seen a reduction of 39,000 full hospitalization beds, leading to a shift towards outpatient care and an overload of emergency services. This phenomenon, known as "overcrowding," particularly affects elderly individuals, who are more vulnerable due to their frailty and comorbidities. This study examines the association between spending a night on a stretcher and the morbidity and mortality of patients over 75 years old in the emergency department.

Methods - A prospective single-center cohort study was conducted at Poitiers University Hospital from December 2022 to December 2023. The included patients were 75 years or older and were hospitalized after visiting the emergency department, where they spent a night either on a stretcher or in a hospital bed. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality, while secondary outcomes included the length of hospital stay and the occurrence of complications.

Results - A total of 147 patients were included, with 109 in the "bed" group and 38 in the "stretcher" group. The median age was 84 years. No significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of in-hospital mortality (10% for those hospitalized versus 2.6% for those on stretchers, p = 0.2) or the occurrence of adverse events (p = 0.4) or the length of stay (p = 0,2). Multivariate analysis did not reveal a significant association between the type of overnight care and mortality.

Conclusion - The results of our study do not show a significant difference in mortality related to spending a night on a stretcher.