Analysis of inmate patients admitted to emergency department of a tertiary education and research hospital: A retrospective cohort study

Inmates represent a special minority population susceptible to various health disorders that require special healthcare. Emergency departments (EDs) almost always provide the initial healthcare service for inmates, particularly in Turkey. We aimed herein to assess inmates’ health problems necessitating ED admission and their effect on emergency department crowding. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study performed in the ED of a tertiary healthcare center with some 750.000 yearly admissions. We grouped emergency admissions referred from prisons into surgical, medical, psychiatric, traumatic, and musculoskeletal pain disorders. We reviewed 1250 patients, 95% (n=1187) of which were male and 5% (n=62) female. The most common causes of presentation of inmate patients were internal disorders (51.5%; n=643) and injury (19.6%; n=245). The patients with internal and surgical disorders were higher while those presenting with injury and psychiatric disorders had a significantly lower age (p<0.05). Among patients with internal disorders, the most common disorder was lung infection (12%); those presenting with injury most presented after self-harm (40.4%); those presenting with surgical disorders most presented with non-specific abdominal pain (21.0%); and those presenting with psychiatric disorders most presented with drug intoxication (33%). EDs are the first units of referral for every health problem of this sensitive population in Turkey. Therefore, prisons must provide critical on-site healthcare services of this medically vulnerable population.

Keywords: Prison medicine, emergency medicine, minority group