Introduction:

The aim of the emergency service is the reception, diagnosis and treatment of patients who have suffered accidents or sudden illness and who need rapid care. Reducing the mortality rate in the emergency services is a priority of enormous importance for the National Health Service.

Objetives:

To describe the clinical characteristics of people who die in the emergency service.

Methods:

Descriptive, qualitative and retrospective cohort study. The sample included people who died in the emergency service of a hospital in central Portugal during the year 2017.

Results:

The study sample included 250 people, of whom 114 were male and 136 female. The minimum age of admission to the emergency room was 27 years and the maximum age 101 years. The most commonly used flow chart for Manchester Triage System was for dyspnea (46.8%), the very urgent priority was 46.2% and the emerging priority 41.4%. The variables age, time elapsed from admission to screening, time elapsed between screening and the first medical evaluation, systolic blood pressure, Glasgow reactivity index, heart rate and body temperature were important in predicting deaths.

Conclusion:

Knowledge of the mortality rate in the emergency services, and of the respective variables influencing it, makes it possible to reorganise all intrinsic dynamics and thus improve existing structures for a more efficient response.

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