Meteorological factors, ambient air pollution, and daily hospital admissions for depressive disorder in Harbin: A time-series study

BACKGROUND The literature has discussed the relationship between environmental factors and depressive disorders;however,the results are inconsistent in different studies and regions,as are the interaction effects between environmental factors.We hypo-thesized that meteorological factors and ambient air pollution individually affect and interact to affect depressive disorder morbidity.AIM To investigate the effects of meteorological factors and air pollution on depressive disorders,including their lagged effects and interactions.METHODS The samples were obtained from a class 3 hospital in Harbin,China.Daily hos-pital admission data for depressive disorders from January 1,2015 to December 31,2022 were obtained.Meteorological and air pollution data were also collected during the same period.Generalized additive models with quasi-Poisson regre-ssion were used for time-series modeling to measure the non-linear and delayed effects of environmental factors.We further incorporated each pair of environ-mental factors into a bivariate response surface model to examine the interaction effects on hospital admissions for depressive disorders.RESULTS Data for 2922 d were included in the study,with no missing values.The total number of depressive admissions was 83905.Medium to high correlations existed between environmental factors.Air temperature(AT)and wind speed(WS)significantly affected the number of admissions for depression.An extremely low temperature(-29.0℃)at lag 0 caused a 53%[relative risk(RR)=1.53,95%confidence interval(CI):1.23-1.89]increase in daily hospital admissions relative to the median temperature.Extremely low WSs(0.4 m/s)at lag 7 increased the number of admissions by 58%(RR=1.58,95%CI:1.07-2.31).In contrast,atmospheric pressure and relative humidity had smaller effects.Among the six air pollutants considered in the time-series model,nitrogen dioxide(NO_(2))was the only pollutant that showed significant effects over non-cumulative,cumulative,immediate,and lagged conditions.The cumulative effect of NO_(2) at lag 7 was 0.47%(RR=1.0047,95%CI:1.0024-1.0071).Interaction effects were found between AT and the five air pollutants,atmospheric temperature and the four air pollutants,WS and sulfur dioxide.CONCLUSION Meteorological factors and the air pollutant NO_(2) affect daily hospital admissions for depressive disorders,and interactions exist between meteorological factors and ambient air pollution.

The effects of cold region meteorology and specific environment on the number of hospital admissions for chronic kidney disease:An investigate with a distributed lag nonlinear model

Objective:To explore the effects of daily mean temperature(°C),average daily air pressure(hPa),humidity(%),wind speed(m/s),particulate matter(PM)2.5(μg/m3)and PM10(μg/m3)on the admission rate of chronic kidney disease(CKD)patients admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University in Harbin and to identify the indexes and lag days that impose the most critical influence.Methods:The R language Distributed Lag Nonlinear Model(DLNM),Excel,and SPSS were used to analyze the disease and meteorological data of Harbin from 01 January 2010 to 31 December 2019 according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria.Results:Meteorological factors and air pollution influence the number of hospitalizations of CKD to vary degrees in cold regions,and differ in persistence or delay.Non-optimal temperature increases the risk of admission of CKD,high temperature increases the risk of obstructive kidney disease,and low temperature increases the risk of other major types of chronic kidney disease.The greater the temperature difference is,the higher its contribution is to the risk.The non-optimal wind speed and non-optimal atmospheric pressure are associated with increased hospital admissions.PM2.5 concentrations above 40μg/m3 have a negative impact on the results.Conclusion:Cold region meteorology and specific environment do have an impact on the number of hospital admissions for chronic kidney disease,and we can apply DLMN to describe the analysis.

The Weather Temperature and Air Pollution Interaction and Its Effect on Hospital Admissions due to Respiratory System Diseases in Western China

Air pollution has ever become a global major public health problem.Previous studies showed that air pollution is associated with excessive mortality and morbidity of respiratory disease[1-2].The extreme weather temperature can impact human health and the thermal stresses can lead not only to direct deaths and illnesses,but also to aggravation of respiratory disease[3-4].Though the independent

Epidemiological profile of alcoholic liver disease hospital admissions in a Latin American country over a 10-year period

BACKGROUND Alcoholic liver disease(ALD)is a major cause of chronic liver disease worldwide.AIM To describe the epidemiological profile and mortality rates of patients with ALD admitted to public hospitals in different regions of Brazil from 2006 to 2015.METHODS This is a descriptive study that evaluated aggregate data from the five Brazilian geographic regions.RESULTS A total of 160093 public hospitalizations for ALD were registered.There was a 34.07%increase in the total number of admissions over 10 years,from 12879 in 2006 to 17267 in 2015.The region with the highest proportion(49.01%)of ALD hospitalizations was Southeast(n=78463).The North region had the lowest absolute number of patients throughout the study period,corresponding to 3.9%of the total(n=6242).There was a 24.72%increase in the total number of ALD deaths between 2006 and 2015.We found that the age group between 50 and 59 years had the highest proportion of both hospitalizations and deaths:28.94%(n=46329)of total hospital admissions and 29.43%(n=28864)of all deaths.Men were more frequently hospitalized than women and had the highest proportions of deaths in all regions.Mortality coefficient rates increased over the years,and simple linear regression analysis indicated a statistically significant upward trend in this mortality(R^2=0.744).CONCLUSION Our study provides a landscape of the epidemiological profile of public hospital admissions due to ALD in Brazil.We detected an increase in the total number of admissions and deaths due to ALD over 10 years.

Interdialytic Weight Gain in Hemodialysis Patients: Worse Hospital Admissions and Intradialytic Hypotension

Introduction: Interdialytic weight-gain (IDWG) has been linked to various complications in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Method: Prospective clinical-observational study to evaluate the effect of IDWG in HD patients on the rate of hospital admissions over a 12-month period, and the impact of high IDWG on the frequency of IDH. Results: Of the 240 patients, those who had IDWG ≥ 4%, 81% had at least one hospital admission due to volume-overload or the need for extra HD-session(s). On the other hand, only 19% of those having IDWG < 4% had been admitted or got extra HD sessions (p < 0.001). Of those who were admitted (over 12 months) due to volume overload;74.1% had IDWG ≥ 4%, while 25.9% had IDWG < 4% (p < 0.001). Regarding IDH, 87% of patients having IDWG ≥ 4% had at least one episode of IDH/week. On the other hand, only 22.5% of those with IDWG < 4% had one episode of IDH/week (p < 0.001). When analyzing those who had at least one IDH episode/week;72.9% of them had IDWG ≥ 4%, while only 27.1% had IDWG < 4% (p < 0.001). Conclusion: In HD patients, the frequency of hospital admission due to volume-overload and the need for extra HD-sessions is strongly related to the amount of IDWG (>4% in our patients), the same stands for the frequency of IDH. Thus, control of IDWG in HD patients is of great importance, keeping in mind the importance of the nutrition status of HD patients that may also impact IDWG.

Emergency department visits and hospital admissions in kidney transplant recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic:A hospitalbased study

BACKGROUND Several studies have demonstrated that the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)has affected daily living and the healthcare system.No previous study has described the consequences of COVID-19 on emergency department(ED)visits and hospital admission among kidney transplant(KT)recipients.AIM To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ED visits and hospital admissions within 1 year in patients who underwent KT in Thailand.METHODS We conducted a retrospective study at a university hospital in Thailand.We reviewed the hospital records of KT patients who visited the ED during the outbreak of COVID-19(from January 2020 to December 2021).We used the previous 2 years as the control period in the analysis.We obtained baseline demographics and ED visit characteristics for each KT patient.The outcomes of interest were ED visits and ED visits leading to hospital admission within the 1^(st)year following a KT.The rate of ED visits and ED visits leading to hospital admissions between the two periods were compared using the stratified Cox proportional hazards model.RESULTS A total of 263 patients were included in this study:112 during the COVID-19 period and 151 during the control period.There were 34 and 41 ED visits after KT in the COVID-19 and control periods,respectively.The rate of first ED visit at 1 year was not significantly different in the COVID-19 period,compared with the control period[hazard ratio(HR)=1.02,95%confidence interval(CI):0.54-1.92;P=0.96].The hospital admission rate was similar between periods(HR=0.92,95%CI:0.50-1.69;P=0.78).CONCLUSION ED visits and hospital admissions within the 1st year in KT recipients were not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.Despite these findings,we believe that communication between post-KT patients and healthcare providers is essential to highlight the importance of prompt ED visits for acute health conditions,particularly in post-KT patients.

Ambient Air Particulate Matter and Hospital Admissions for Chronic Kidney Disease in China:A Nationwide Case-Crossover Study

Incident chronic kidney disease(CKD)may be accelerated(could be indicated by repeated admissions to the hospital)by environmental triggers such as ambient particulate matter(PM).Additionally,hospital admission is a sensitive proxy reflecting the disease burden.However,the association of PM exposure with hospital admissions for CKD is still unknown,let alone the excess risks(ERs)in hospital admissions for CKD due to high PM level exposure.In this study,a two-stage time-stratified case-crossover study was conducted to investigate the association of ambient air PM exposure with hospital admission for CKD in 282 Chinese cities of prefecture-level or above during 2013–2017.City-specific associations of single and cumulative 0–3 days lagged exposure to fine particulate matter(PM_(2.5))and inhalable particles(PM_(10))with hospital admissions for total CKD and its subtypes were evaluated by the conditional logistic regression model,then were pooled using the random-effect model.A total of 3,490,416 hospital admissions for CKD were identified.We found that per interquartile range(IQR)increment in PM_(2.5) at lag02 and per IQR increment in PM_(10) at lag03 were associated with increases of 2.36%(95%CI:1.58%,3.14%)and 2.87%(95%CI:1.91%,3.85%)in hospital admissions for total CKD,respectively.Compared to control concentrations(PM_(2.5):35μg/m^(3);PM_(10):50μg/m^(3)),the largest ERs in hospital admissions for total CKD were 2.63%(95%CI:2.15%–3.11%)and 4.45%(95%CI:3.85%–5.06%)in association with exposure to heavily excessive PM_(2.5)(≥75μg/m^(3))and PM_(10)(≥150μg/m^(3)),respectively.Moreover,the attributable fractions(AFs)for CKD admissions were 2.83%for PM_(2.5) and 3.46%for PM_(10) during the study period.These findings suggested that exposure to PM_(2.5) and PM_(10) is associated with substantially increased risk and burden of CKD admissions.

Temperature change between neighboring days and hospital admissions in China

The short-term temperature fluctuation caused by global climate change is one of the risk factors affecting public health.Exploring the association between temperature fluctuation and diseases,which has received relatively limited research attention,can contribute to enhancing awareness of health risks and taking timely measures for health risk alert and management.Therefore,this study aims to investigate the relationship between temperature change between neighboring days(TCN)and hospitalizations,identify diseases sensitive to extreme TCN,and evaluate the related disease burden.We collected meteorological and hospitalization data from 2014 to 2019 in 23 sites of China to explore the impact of TCN on hospitalizations.We first quantified site-specific associations between TCN and hospitalizations and then conducted meta-analysis to pool the results,to assess the relative risk of extreme TCN for susceptible diseases,and to estimate the related disease burden attributed to TCN.Stratified analyses were undertaken by age,sex,and disease type.Results showed that all-cause hospital admission was significantly linked to TCN.A negative TCN(below-1.9℃)in the cool season and a positive TCN(above 1.0℃)in the warm season increased the risk of hospitalization.People aged 15-64 years,men,and patients with musculoskeletal system or connective tissue diseases were more sensitive to extremely negative TCN during the cool season.People aged over 65 years,men,and patients with respiratory diseases were more sensitive to extremely positive TCN during the warm season.The attributable fraction to all-cause hospitalization from negative TCN in the cool season was 2.05%(95%CI:-0.90%,4.53%)and from positive TCN in the warm season was 5.79%(95%CI:2.98%,8.31%).Circulatory diseases in the cool season and respiratory diseases in the warm season had the highest disease burden.Our findings indicate that awareness of TCN and its health risks should be promoted and evidence-informed policies are needed to reduce the risk of TCN.

Association between Ambient Air Pollution and Hospital Emergency Admissions for Respiratory and Cardiovascular Diseases in Beijing: a Time Series Study

Objective To investigate the association between ambient air pollution and hospital emergency admissions in Beijing. Methods In this study, a semi-parametric generalized additive model （GAM） was used to evaluate the specific influences of air pollutants （PM10, SO2, and NO2） on hospital emergency admissions with different lag structures from 2009 to 2011, the sex and age specific influences of air pollution and the modifying effect of seasons on air pollution to analyze the possible interaction. Results It was found that a 10μg/m3 increase in concentration of PMlo at lag 03 day, SO2 and NO2 at lag 0 day were associated with an increase of 0.88%, 0.76%, and 1.82% respectively in overall emergency admissions. A 10 lag/m3 increase in concentration of PM10, SO2 and NO2 at lag 5 day were associated with an increase of 1.39%, 1.56%, and 1.18% respectively in cardiovascular disease emergency admissions. For lag 02, a 10 μg/m3 increase in concentration of PM10, SO2 and NO2 were associated with 1.72%, 1.34%, and 2.57% increases respectively in respiratory disease emergency admissions. Conclusion This study further confirmed that short-term exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with increased risk of hospital emergency admissions in Beijing.

Evaluating Hospital Admission/Discharge Rates at the Community Level

Hospital admission/discharges rates are generating increased attention from health care providers and payors. This study focused on evaluation of inpatient hospital admission/discharge rates for Syracuse and other New York State metropolitan areas during 2014 and 2015. It provided comparative information concerning this subject and suggested how this approach to analysis of hospital utilization could be carried out using publicly available data. The study data demonstrated that hospital admission/discharge rates per 1000 population increased with patient age in all of these areas. The study data suggested that differences in hospital admission/discharge rates among the New York State metropolitan areas were generally consistent between 2014 and 2015. Utica and New York City produced the highest rates. Rochester and Albany produced the lowest rates. Utilization rates for Syracuse were considerably lower than for Utica and New York City and slightly higher than for Rochester and Albany. This analysis demonstrated that most of the differences between aggregate rates for Syracuse and Rochester were produced by elderly patients, especially those aged 75 years and over. The analysis demonstrated that most of these differences in admission rates for the elderly were produced by adult medicine patients aged 75 years and over. Most of these differences were generated by patients with respiratory, digestive, and orthopedic disorders. Additional data suggested that the highest readmission rates for adult medicine and adult surgery were produced by patients aged 75 years and over.

Estimating the Potential for Reduction of Hospital Capacity at the Community Level

This study estimated the potential impact of the nationwide shift from inpatient to outpatient care in the hospitals of Syracuse, New York, a small metropolitan area with a relatively stable population. The study employed the 3MTM All Patients Refined Diagnosis Group Severity of Illness system to identify inpatients and related utilization with the greatest potential for movement from inpatient to outpatient settings. The study data suggested that the development of additional ambulatory care capacity in Syracuse could support the reduction of an average daily census of approximately 60 - 125 patients with low severity of illness, excluding readmissions. The study data also identified the potential for shifting an average daily census of approximately 9 - 19 patients who were readmitted to hospitals within 30 days of their initial admissions from inpatient to outpatient care. The study data also identified the potential for reduction of an average daily census of approximately 20 - 70 adult medicine and adult surgery patients through continued initiatives for inpatient length of stay reduction. The impact of initiatives in each of these areas could result in a reduction of the combined average daily adult medicine and adult surgery census of the Syracuse hospitals from approximately 90 to 215 patients. This would amount to between 8 and 20 percent of the current inpatient census for adult medicine and adult surgery. These data suggest that planning for initiatives such as ambulatory care development and reduction of readmissions should also include evaluation of their impact on inpatient acute care and related services.

Daily Visibility and Hospital Admission in Shanghai, China

Objective The study is to investigate the associations between visibility, major air pollutants and daily counts of hospital admission in Shanghai, China. Methods Daily data on hospital admission, visibility, and air pollution during 2005‐2008 were obtained from the Shanghai Insurance Bureau （SHIB）, Shanghai Meteorological Bureau, and Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center, respectively. The generalized additive model （GAM） with penalized splines was used to examine the associations between daily visibility and hospital admission. Results Among various pollutants, PM 2.5 showed strongest correlation with visibility. Decreased visibility was significantly associated with increased risk of hospital admission in Shanghai. An inter‐quartile range decrease in the 2‐day （L01） moving average of visibility corresponded to 3.66% （95%CI： 1.02%, 6.31%）, 4.06% （95%CI： 0.84%, 7.27%）, and 4.32% （95%CI： 1.67%, 6.97%） increase of total, cardiovascular, and respiratory hospitalizations, respectively. Conclusion Our analyses provide the first piece of evidence in China, demonstrating that decreased visibility has an effect on hospital admission, and this finding strengthens the rationale for further limiting air pollution levels in Shanghai.

Medication Error and Interprofessional Communication-Related Factors Contributing to Hospitalisation in Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Australia

Background: Population ageing is a worldwide phenomenon. It is common for older adults to develop multiple age-related illnesses and the prevalence of multimorbidity increases substantially with age. Multimorbid adults are frequently treated with several concurrent medications and the regimen may be complex requiring multiple steps in the preparation of a medication prior to its administration. Polypharmacy is a concerning trend and older adults have a 100% risk of experiencing adverse drug events when taking ten or more medications concurrently. Discharge summaries communicating the number of medications, changes made to medication regimens during hospitalisations and the requirement for ongoing monitoring in the community are often incomplete. The aim of this study was to investigate contributing factors to medication-related hospitalisation, length of stay or readmission in older community-dwelling persons and examine the quality of discharge summaries. Methods: Descriptive and correlational analyses of demographic, clinical, admission, readmission, length of stay and medication variables were examined in Australia in 2016-2018. Discharge summaries were analysed for completeness, timeliness and interprofessional communication. Results: There were 295 participants, mean age 80 years, 55% were female, taking an average of 11 prescribed medications and with a mean Medication Regimen Complexity Index score of 34. Medication errors that were unrecognised at the time of hospitalisation were present in 19% of the sample. Factors associated with medication error were older age and a longer median length of stay. Fewer than 52% of these older patients had detailed discharge summaries. Conclusion: The prevalence of polypharmacy and medication regimen complexity at admission was high. A high proportion of older adults on medical units may have unrecognised medication errors impacting their admission. Medical discharge summaries are inadequately addressing this issue for patients returning to the care of their family physician.

Six-minute walking test performance is associated with survival in cirrhotic patients

BACKGROUND Patients with cirrhosis are at risk of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy,with resulting cardiac dysfunction and exercise limitations.Six minute walking test(6MWT)assesses functional status and predicts morbidity and mortality in cardiopulmonary diseases.AIM To determine if it associates with mortality by analyzing 6MWT performance in patients with liver cirrhosis.METHODS A cohort of 106 cirrhotic patients was evaluated in the outpatient setting with echocardiogram and 6MWT and follow up for one year to document hepatic decompensation and mortality.The distance in meters was recorded at the end of 6 min(6MWD).RESULTS This cohort had a mean age of 51 years and 56%male;patients were staged as Child A in 21.7%,B 66%and C 12.3%.Walk distance inversely correlated with Child scores,and was significantly reduced as Child stages progresses.Patients who died(10.4%)showed shorter mean 6MWD(P=0.006).Low 6MWD was an independent predictor of mortality(P=0.01).CONCLUSION 6MWT is a noninvasive inexpensive test whose result is related to Child scores and mortality.It is useful to identify patients with liver cirrhosis at high risk of mortality for closer monitoring and potential early intervention.

Prognostic factors of response to endoscopic treatment in painful chronic pancreatitis

AIM To evaluate the endoscopic treatment efficacy and prognostic factors of long-term response to treatment for painful chronic pancreatitis.METHODS This retrospective analysis identified 168 patients with painful chronic pancreatitis hospitalized during January 2010-January 2015 in a Romanian tertiary referral center. Data on demographics, medical history, alcohol consumption, smoking habit, clinical parameters, type and number of endoscopic procedures and hospital admissions number were collected from the medical charts and analyzed. The absence or substantial reduction of pain(mild pain) at the end of the follow-up associated with the technical success of endotherapy was considered as clinical success. RESULTS Among the 168 patients with painful chronic pancreatitis admitted to our department during the study period, 39(23.21%) had optimal response to the medical therapy. One hundred and twenty-nine patients required endoscopic treatment. The median follow-up period was 15 mo(range, 0-60 mo). Overall, technical success of endotherapy was achieved in 105 patients(81.39%). More than two-thirds of patients(82.78%) had substantial improvement of pain after the endoscopic treatment, including frequency and severity of the pain attacks. Patients younger than 40 years had significantly more successful endoscopic procedures(P = 0.041). Clinical success was higher in non-smoking patients(P = 0.003). The hospital admission rate was higher in patients with recognized alcohol consumption(P = 0.03) and in smokers(P = 0.027). The number and location of pancreatic stones and locations of strictures did not significantly influence the technical success(P > 0.05) or the clinical success(P > 0.05).CONCLUSION Younger age than 40 years can be considered an important factor positively influencing endoscopic treatment outcome in patients with painful chronic pancreatitis.

Reply to"Six-minute walking test performance is associated with survival in cirrhotic patients"to the editor

Use of the six-minute walk test has been proposed as a prognostic marker in liver cirrhosis.In the Letter to the Editor presented here,the authors highlight some important points,which were raised after the article was published in the November issue of the World Journal of Hepatology.

Effects of Air Pollution on Disease Respiratory:Structures Lag

Objective: Little evidence is available on the association between ozone exposure and health in Campo Grande, Brazil. In this study, we aimed to examine the effects of surface ozone concentrations (O3) on respiratory morbidity in Campo Grande, Brazil during the period from January 1st, 2008 to December 31st, 2011. Methods: Daily data on respiratory hospital admissions, O3, mean temperature, and relative humidity were collected at Campo Grande, Brazil. A Poisson time series model was used to examine the effects of O3 on hospital admissions, while controlling for seasonality, long-term trend, temperature and relative humidity. A distributed lag non-linear function was used for O3, temperature, and relative humidity. We examined the effects of O3 on different age groups (0 - 4 years, 5 - 60 years and >60 years). Results: The ozone-respiratory morbidity relationship was non-linear, with a threshold at 13 ppb (less than 25% percentile of ozone distribution). We estimated the relative risk of hospital admission at 75% percentile of O3 distribution compared with associated with 25% of percentile of O3 distribution. The O3 effect on respiratory morbidity was delayed by two days and lasted for 4 days for all age groups except people aged 5 - 60 years. Children and the elderly were much more vulnerable to ozone pollution than people aged 5 - 60 years. Conclusions: This study suggests that ozone pollution has negative impacts on respiratory diseases in Campo Grande, Brazil. Children and the elderly were susceptible to O3 exposure. These findings should be used to develop policies for protecting people from O3 pollution.

Effect of budesonide on hospitalization rates among children with acute asthma attending paediatric emergency department:a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction The efficacy of inhaled budesonide for managing moderate-to-severe acute exacerbations in children is not clear.Therefore,this study aimed to evaluate hospital admission rates,need for use of systemic corticosteroids,length of hospital stay and adverse events when inhaled budesonide is added to standard pediatric emergency department management of moderate-to-severe acute exacerbations of asthma.Methods A systematic search was conducted in PubMed,Scopus,CENTRAL(Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials)and Google scholar databases.Randomized controlled trials that evaluated the effect of nebulized budesonide in moderate-to-severe acute exacerbations of asthma in pediatric patients were included for this meta-analysis.Statistical analysis was done using STATA version 13.0.Results A total of 16 RCTs were included.Children receiving nebulized budesonide had 43%lower risk of being hospital-ized(RR 0.57;95%CI,0.39;0.85)and 66%lower risk of requiring systemic corticosteroids(RR 0.34;95%CI,0.21;0.55)compared with those receiving placebo.There were no differences in the length of hospital stay(Hedges's g standardized mean difference-1.53;95%CI,-3.64;0.58)and risk of adverse events(RR 0.87,95%CI;0.65;1.17)between the two groups.There was no evidence of publication bias for any of the outcomes considered.Conclusion The findings of this meta-analysis support the use of inhaled budesonide in reducing risk of hospitalization and the need for systemic corticosteroids among children with acute moderate-to-severe asthma exacerbation.

A new charging scheme in an emergency department observation unit under Beijing＇s basic medical insurance

Background The new medical insurance policy （JRSYF（2010） No.255） was released by the Beijing Municipal Government and became effective on January 1,2011.Medical expenses incurred during a stay in an emergency department （ED） observation unit can be reimbursed as a hospital admission.The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a new charging scheme during stays in ED observation unit under Beijing＇s Basic Medical Insurance.Methods Data for those patients who had stayed in ED observation unit in 2010 （before the implementation of a new charging scheme） and 2012 （after the implementation of this policy） were retrospectively analyzed in terms of length of stay,patients who were observed （PO）,and median medical costs.Results After the implementation of a new charging scheme,compared with the year of 2010,in year of 2012,there were statistically significant longer lengths of stay at the observation unit （6 （4-9） vs.5 （4-7） days; P〈0.001）,more PO （2 257vs.1 783; P〈0.001）,and more median medical costs （RMB 6 026 vs.3 650 Yuan; P〈0.01）.The proportion of elderly patients （≥60 years of age） in 2012 was larger than that in 2010 （70.22% vs.63.71%; P〈0.01）.It was performed on those patients who were admired after the implementation of a new charging scheme.Compared with patients who were not admired had stayed in ED observation units,the patients who were admired had stayed in ED observation units that had a higher proportion for 〉15 days （36.22% vs.5.61%; P〈0.01）; they had higher median medical costs RMB （9 186 vs.5 668Yuan; P〈0.001） and they were more elderly （≥60 years of age） （86.10% vs.66.39%; P〈0.01）.Conclusions The new charging scheme under Beijing＇s Basic Medical Insurance allows patients to get access to inpatient admission more easily.It lowers patients＇ financial burden in ED observation unit.Since more people stay at ED observation unit,it increases ED payments by the insurance system.However,it slows the turnover rate of ED observation unit and causes overcrowding in ED.Hence,the advantages and disadvantages of the new policy are obvious.