Critical care in an emergency department

A one year review of resuscitation in an emergency department (ED) was conducted. In the stabilization room (SR) within the ED at Hennepin County Medical Center, 852 cases were treated in the year ending July 31, 1978. There were 166 deaths in the SR (19.5%) overall, and 141 (47.9%) and 16 (5.3%) for cardiac and trauma cases, respectively. The 32 fatal cases of blunt trauma (six in the SR, 10 within 24 hours, and 16 late deaths) were reviewed and assigned an injury severity score (ISS). Of these, 12 deaths were unrelated to central nervous system causes. These had an average ISS of 42.8.