The principal diagnosis is the main reason the patient presented to the ED and is recorded at the conclusion of the patient’s visit.
The most common diagnoses of ED presentations vary by state, triage category, admission status and age group.
Data on principal diagnosis by age and sex, triage category, and admission end status can be explored further in the data visualisations below.
In 2017–18, Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes was the most common ICD-10-AM principal diagnosis chapter reported (accounting for 25% of presentations). This chapter includes fractures, burns, toxic effects of medicinal and non-medicinal substances, and other complications. The second most common ICD-10-AM principal diagnosis chapter reported was Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (21% of presentations), which includes abdominal and pelvic pain, pain in the throat and chest, syncope and collapse, headache, and nausea.
About 31% of ED presentations were subsequently admitted to hospital, and older patients were more likely to be Admitted to this hospital than younger patients. The most common ICD 10 AM principal diagnosis chapter for patients admitted to hospital was Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (28%).