Waiting times for neurological emergencies in an emergency room

Background: Neurological emergencies constitute 10-15% of medical emergencies. Doctor Hernan Henriquez Aravena Hospital has in house neurologists present permanently at the Emergency Room since July 2013. Aim: To estimate the waiting times for neurological consultations; to compare the waiting times between neurovascular (UV) and non-vascular (UNV) emergencies; and to compare the waiting times of two prioritization (triage) models. Material and Methods: A convenience sample of the consultations made during shift # 1 at the emergency room between January and December 2016, was analyzed. Results: There were 859 consultations in the period, 570 for UNV and 289 for UV. Mean age of consultants was 57 years and 52% were women. The median time for having an evaluation by a neurologist was 106 min (132 and 81 min for UNV and UV respectively). Twenty seven percent of patients were evaluated in less than one hour (23 and 36% of UNV and UV, respectively). The change of the prioritization model decreased the waiting time by 81 and 32 min for UNV and UV, respectively. Conclusions: There were significant differences in waiting times between neurovascular and non-vascular emergencies. Most patients were not evaluated in less than 60 minutes. The change in the initial stratification model was associated with a significant reduction in the waiting times for neurological emergencies.