Emergency department use during pregnancy: a prospective observational study in a single center institution

Gynecologists working in emergency department services in hospitals lately have the impression that the number of pregnant women who present themselves because of anxiety or uncertainty is increasing. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess reasons of pregnant women for presenting themselves to an emergency department. Of special interest was how far a diagnosis could be confirmed for the symptoms pregnant women complained about.

This is a prospective questionnaire-based study conducted between April 2015 and April 2016 in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of the University Hospital of Cologne. The questionnaire was placed in the waiting area of the emergency department service for pregnant women. Pregnant patients were included with a gestational age of above 20 weeks of gestation.

331 patients were enrolled in this study. The most frequent reason for emergency department use was "pain" in 28.3% and cervical insufficiency in 19.7% of all cases. 45.6% (n = 151) of the patients had a recommendation of an outpatient practice for presentation to emergency department service. 36.3% (n = 120) of all patients were admitted to hospital for further treatment, 58.6% (n = 194) could be released from hospital. 3.3% (n = 11) of all patients rejected recommended further treatment in hospital. A trend was demonstrated concerning former abortion and hospital admission (p = 0.062).

The high amount of patients making nonurgent use of emergency department services indicates potential uncertainty in interpretation of symptoms. Patients with former abortion history were admitted more often to hospital, and therefore need special attention during pregnancy.