Abstract
To clarify the scenario regarding the emergency medical treatment of patients undergoing otolaryngology in southeastern Okayama Prefecture in Japan, we evaluated the conditions in three hospitals that mainly provide emergency medical treatment to patients undergoing otorhinolaryngology at night or on holidays. The data (age, sex, type of disease, and address) of patients who visited Japanese Red Cross Okayama Hospital, Kawasaki Medical School General Medical Center, and Okayama Medical Center in 2018 were collected and compared. All three hospitals reported many cases of tonsillar abscess and nasal bleeding. In the study population, the number of patients aged ≤10 and 10-20 years were the lowest and highest, respectively. Patients residing in southern Okayama City and Tamano City tended to visit Japanese Red Cross Okayama Hospital or Kawasaki Medical School General Medical Center. Patients residing in northeastern Okayama Prefecture and northern Okayama City tended to visit Okayama Medical Center. A ceiling for the senior physicians’ capacity will be introduced in April 2020, and thus the number of otolaryngology-related treatments performed in Okayama Prefecture is expected to decrease. The otolaryngologyrelated emergency medical treatment in southeastern Okayama Prefecture may collapse. Emergency medical care systems must therefore be considered in the future.
