Maximum emergency department overcrowding is correlated with occurrence of unexpected cardiac arrest.
Kim JS, Bae HJ, Sohn CH, et al. Maximum emergency department overcrowding is correlated with occurrence of unexpected cardiac arrest [published correction appears in Crit Care. 2020 Aug 3;24(1):480]. Crit Care. 2020;24(1):305. Published 2020 Jun 6. doi:10.1186/s13054-020-03019-w
Overcrowding in the emergency department (ED) can adversely impact patient safety. This study conducted at a single ED found that maximum ED occupancy rates were positively correlated with in-hospital cardiac arrest over a 3.5-year period, but occupancy rates were not correlated with ED mortality.