Why come back? 72 hours Revisits in a Tertiary care Emergency Department in Saudi Arabia

Introduction : The number of emergency department (ED) visits has increased locally and internationally, however, not all these visits require immediate treatment. The increased rate of ED visits has led to ED crowding, which has negative effects on patients, healthcare providers, and the healthcare system. One of the contributing factors of ED crowding is ED revisits. An ED revisit is defined as a patient presenting to the ED within 72 hours after discharge from the previous ED visit. This study aimed to provide insights into the patterns and characteristics of emergency department revisits. Methods : This is a retrospective study investigated pattern of revisits to the ED at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A consecutive sampling technique was employed, utilizing the hospital's Electronic Medical Record database. Results: A total of 461 patients were included in this study, out of which 261 (56.5%) were females. At the 1 ^st ED visit, 415 (90%) of patients were discharged directly from ED and only 25 (5.4%) required admission and were then discharged. However, the same patients visited the ED within the 72 hours, 313 (67.9%) of patients discharged from ED directly without the need of admission or transfer in the 2 ^nd ED visit and 134 (29.1%) of patient required admission and were discharged after their hospitalization. Conclusion: It is crucial to be aware about ED revisits in which it can affect several aspects such as hospital resource usage, healthcare worker exhaustion/burnout, or patient level of satisfaction with the delivered care.