Emergency department patients who leave without being seen (LWBS): A population-based study in Veneto region, Italy

Uncompleted visits in the emergency department are a patient safety concern and the two types of uncompleted visits are patients who leave without being seen (LWBS) by a physician and patients who leave the ED against medical advice. This was a retrospective case–control study on administrative anonymous data using a population-based emergency department database including all patients admitted to 52 EDs of Veneto Region, North-East Italy, between 2011 and 2015. The LWBS rate is 13.4‰. Physician advice for ED admission and arriving by ambulance present major protective factors against LWBS. On the other hand the length of waiting time was the central issue for LWBS, justifying the high rate of hospitals with a large volume of ED activity and a consequent overcrowded environment.