Quartz 5

Common ED presentations

4 min read

Cardiovascular

  • Chest pain (the single most common ED diagnosis overall, ~4.3–5.5% of all visits)

  • Acute coronary syndromes (STEMI, NSTEMI, unstable angina)

  • Heart failure / acute decompensated heart failure (~5.7% of emergency care–sensitive visits)

  • Cardiac arrest and severe arrhythmias (leading cause of ED mortality, 58–77% of ED deaths)

  • Hypertensive emergencies

  • Aortic aneurysm and dissection

Respiratory

  • COPD exacerbation (~7.9% of emergency care–sensitive visits)

  • Pneumonia (~7.9%)

  • Asthma exacerbation (~6.1%)

  • Shortness of breath / dyspnea (~3.7% of chief complaints; ~12% in European data)

  • Upper respiratory infections

  • Respiratory failure (88% admission rate when present)

Gastrointestinal

Neurologic

Musculoskeletal / Trauma

Genitourinary

Infectious Disease / Systemic

Psychiatric / Behavioral

Endocrine / Metabolic

Dermatologic

Obstetric / Gynecologic

Key patterns to note: Abdominal pain and chest pain consistently rank as the top two chief complaints across national datasets.1(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42425740)[[2]](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30704822)[[3]](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.50522?utm_source=openevidence&utm_medium=referral) Among conditions requiring admission, sepsis/SIRS, respiratory failure, and heart failure dominate.4(https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.8642?utm_source=openevidence&utm_medium=referral) Cardiac arrest is the overwhelming leading cause of ED mortality.1(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42425740) Presentation patterns shift significantly by age — younger adults present more with trauma, respiratory infections, and self-harm, while older adults present more with sepsis, COPD, and pneumonia.1(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42425740)

Would you like to explore how these ED presentation patterns differ across specific age groups or demographic populations?

References

  1. National Patterns in Emergency Department Diagnoses and Mortality: Insights From the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample. Goyal A, Quazi MA, Saeed H, et al. Emergency Medicine Journal : EMJ. 2026;:emermed-2026-215921. doi:10.1136/emermed-2026-215921.
  2. Characteristics and Trends of Emergency Department Visits in the United States (2010-2014). Hooker EA, Mallow PJ, Oglesby MM. The Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2019;56(3):344-351. doi:10.1016/j.jemermed.2018.12.025.
  3. Concordance in Medical Urgency Classification of Discharge Diagnoses and Reasons for Visit. Giannouchos TV, Ukert B, Wright B. JAMA Network Open. 2024;7(1):e2350522. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.50522.
  4. Identification of Emergency Care–Sensitive Conditions and Characteristics of Emergency Department Utilization. Vashi AA, Urech T, Carr B, et al. JAMA Network Open. 2019;2(8):e198642. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.8642.
  5. Chief Complaints, Underlying Diagnoses, and Mortality in Adult, Non-Trauma Emergency Department Visits: A Population-Based, Multicenter Cohort Study. Arvig MD, Mogensen CB, Skjøt-Arkil H, et al. The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2022;23(6):855-863. doi:10.5811/westjem.2022.9.56332.
  6. Evaluation of Nurse‐Led Triage in the Emergency Department: A Retrospective Observational Study. Selva-Medrano D, Laredo-Aguilera JA, Serrano-Fernández V, et al. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 2026;. doi:10.1111/jocn.70320.
  7. Race and Ethnicity and Primary Language in Emergency Department Triage. Joseph JW, Kennedy M, Landry AM, et al. JAMA Network Open. 2023;6(10):e2337557. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.37557.

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