The Impact of Emergency Room Overcrowding on the Incidence of Healthcare-Acquired Infections Among Patients

Emergency department (ED) visits are vital components of healthcare delivery, serving as the primary site for acute medical care, particularly for individuals with urgent medical needs. The ED is among the most crowded hospital units. The fast-paced setting and over-crowdedness of an emergency room have become the reality of every hospital across the United States. Overcrowding causes problems for patients and staff, which include the risk of contracting healthcare-acquired infections. This is due to several factors that in most cases lead to an increase in the number of people within the ED, an increase in mortality and morbidity, and a decrease in the ability to provide critical services promptly to patients suffering from medical emergencies. Although the causes of ED overcrowding are complex, the main cause is inadequate inpatient capacity for a patient population with an increasing severity of illness. This study focuses on the over-crowded environment of an Emergency department and the relationship it may have to the increasing number of avoidable health care-acquired infections.