Assessment of patients’ perception of emergency in the gynecology and obstetrics emergency clinic: Is it an actual emergency? A retrospective analysis

INTRODUCTION: Emergency departments are crucial components of healthcare systems, providing rapid and effective medical services. However, unnecessary emergency visits lead to inefficiencies in resource allocation and service delivery. Pregnancy often alters women’s health perceptions, increasing emergency department visits. This study aimed to evaluate the urgency of visits to the gynecology and obstetrics emergency department and analyze the impact of pregnancy on emergency service utilization.
METHODS: This retrospective, cross-sectional study analyzed the reasons for admission, demographic characteristics, and hospitalization rates of patients who visited the Zeynep Kamil Women and Children Diseases Training and Research Hospital between 2013 and 2023. Data were collected from the hospital automation system, categorized using ICD-10 codes, and statistically analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0 software.
RESULTS: A total of 174,790 emergency visits were recorded, with 69.76% involving pregnant patients. Among pregnant patients, 26.04% required hospitalization, whereas the hospitalization rate for non-pregnant patients was 8.23%. The most common reasons for emergency visits included pregnancy-related conditions (O26.8, O26.9) and pregnancy status (Z33, Z32.0). The analysis of emergency visit trends revealed a decline in 2019–2020, followed by an increase after 2021.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that gynecology and obstetrics emergency services are predominantly utilized for pregnancy-related concerns, with some visits being unnecessary. To optimize emergency department efficiency, patient education, improved outpatient services, and enhanced triage systems are recommended. Future multicenter studies should explore patient motivations and long-term health outcomes. The study recommends improving emergency service efficiency through patient education, better outpatient access, and effective triage implementation.