Understanding Characteristics and Predictors of Admission From the Emergency Department for Patients With Intellectual Disability

The goal of this investigation is to compare rates of admission from the emergency department (ED) and the characteristics of patients with intellectual disability (ID) who get admitted from the ED. This was a retrospective study using data from the United States' Nationwide Emergency Data Sample (NEDS) to investigate the associations between the diagnosis of ID and admission to the hospital in patients ≥ 18 years during the years 2016–2017. Adults with ID were almost four times as likely to be admitted to the hospital from the ED as patients who were not identified as having ID. Identifying the major contributors to increased admission for patients with ID may help improve their care.