Abstract

Introduction: This epidemiologic study was aimed to identify the causes of death in the emergency department of Imam Khomeini hospital in Urmia, Iran. Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out on the profiles of all of the dead patients in the emergency department of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Urmia, Iran who were admitted from April 2013 to March 2014. Demographic data and causes of death were extracted and were then statistically analyzed using SPSS 21. Results: During the studied year, 396 patients were dead in the emergency department, 207 of which were studied (68% male). Mean age for the dead patients was 63.1±5.2 years (minimum 3 and maximum 94). 159 patients were dead in the first 24 hours after admission and 48 in the next 24 hours. The most common causes of death were figured to be respiratory illnesses (27.5%), heart diseases (21.3%) and trauma (14%). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it seems that respiratory illnesses, heart diseases and trauma are the most common causes of death in the emergency department. Therefore, proper planning, educating the staff and equipping the department appropriately can be effective in reducing the death rate.

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