Emergency Department (ED) presentations 2023-2024 (AIHW)

In 2023-2024 there were about 92,000 presentations to the Emergency Department of public hospitals with asthma.*
Specifically, 92,288 presentations with asthma were recorded across complexity level A, B and C, of which:
– about 44,000 (48%) were admitted (including admission in the emergency department, admission to another hospital ward, including a short stay unit, or admission to hospital-in-the-home)
– about 48,000 (52%) were not admitted
– 1.5% were triaged as resuscitations
– 37% were triaged as emergencies
– 48% were triaged as urgent
– 12% were triaged as semi-urgent
– <1% were triaged as non-urgent

*ED presentations included all types of visits, including Emergency presentation but also Return planned visit (e.g for Follow-up tretament, test results etc), pre-arranged admission and dead on arrival (without resuscitation attempt) (see https://meteor.aihw.gov.au/content/684942)

Note: This data differs from AIHW asthma webpage which lists ED due to asthma (asthma as the principal diagnosis)

Note: the number of admissions here is different from the hospitalisation number provided through the AIHW “Admitted Patient Care”. Admitted patient care provides a count of hospitalisations with asthma as principal diagnosis (i.e. main reason for hospitalisation)