Comparison of emergency hospital admissions for drug poisoning and major diseases: a retrospective observational study using a nationwide administrative discharge database

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical and procedural characteristics of emergency hospital admissions for drug poisoning and major diseases. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study. SETTING: Discharged patients from 855 acute care hospitals from 1 July to 31 December in 2008 in Japan. RESULTS: There were a total of 1 157 893 emergency hospital admissions. Among the top 100 causes, drug poisoning was ranked higher in terms of the percentage of patients using ambulance services (74.1%; second) and tertiary emergency medical services (37.8%; first). Despite higher utilisation of emergency care resources, drug poisoning ranked lower in terms of the median length of stay (2 days; 100th), percentage of requirement for surgical procedures (1.7%; 91st) and inhospital mortality ratio (0.3%; 74th). CONCLUSIONS: Drug poisoning is unique among the top 100 causes of emergency admissions. Our findings suggest that drug poisoning imposes a greater burden on emergency care resources but has a less severe clinical course than other causes of admissions. Future research should focus on strategies to reduce the burden of drug poisoning on emergency medical systems.