Details:

Alternative Title:
Emerg Infect Dis
Personal Author:
Glaser, Carol A. ; Gilliam, Sabrina ; Thompson, William W. ; Dassey, David E. ; Waterman, Stephen H. ; ... More +
Glaser, Carol A. ; Gilliam, Sabrina ; Thompson, William W. ; Dassey, David E. ; Waterman, Stephen H. ; Saruwatari, Mitchell ; Shapiro, Stanley ; Fukuda, Keiji ; Less -
Description:
In December 1997, media reported hospital overcrowding and "the worst [flu epidemic] in the past two decades" in Los Angeles County (LAC). We found that rates of pneumonia and influenza deaths, hospitalizations, and claims were substantially higher for the 1997-98 influenza season than the previous six seasons. Hours of emergency medical services (EMS) diversion (when emergency departments could not receive incoming patients) peaked during the influenza seasons studied; the number of EMS diversion hours per season also increased during the seasons 1993-94 to 1997-98, suggesting a decrease in medical care capacity during influenza seasons. Over the seven influenza seasons studied, the number of licensed beds decreased 12%, while the LAC population increased 5%. Our findings suggest that the capacity of health-care systems to handle patient visits during influenza seasons is diminishing.
Subject:
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Disease Outbreaks
Emergency Medical Services
Female
Hospital Bed Capacity
Humans
Influenza, Human
Male
Patient Transfer
Pneumonia
Research
Retrospective Studies
Seasons

Source:
Emerg Infect Dis. 8(6):569-574.
Document Type:
Journal Article ;
Place as Subject:
Los Angeles, CA ;
Collection(s):
Emerging Infectious Diseases
Main Document Checksum:
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urn:sha256:c71a689b5f35409e2ee5b4bf845b778f7c28abc72d7f1f89750a73857647cc22
File Type:

Supporting Files

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