Top Reasons for Hospital ER Visits

This data is from over 180,000 patient intake records in U.S. hospitals: 2003-2007. From the Emergency Department part of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS).

Top reasons for visiting

Stomach and abdominal pain, cramps an... 15878
Fever 11829
Chest pain and related symptoms (not ... 11584
Vomiting 10745
Cough 9821
Accident, NOS 8364
Headache, pain in head 8192
Shortness of breath 7374
Back symptoms 7187
Nausea 6690
Pain, site not referable to a specifi... 5764
Symptoms referable to throat 5654
Vertigo - dizziness 4836
Leg symptoms 4359
Diarrhea 4120
Motor vehicle accident, type of injur... 3820
Neck symptoms 3702
Earache, or ear infection 3684
Nasal congestion 3633
Upper extremity lacerations and cuts 3427
Skin rash 3409
Arm symptoms 3271
General weakness 3187
Labored or difficult breathing 3168
Oth sympt/prob relat psychological an... 3047
Low back symptoms 2981
Shoulder symptoms 2889
Head, neck, and face injury, type uns... 2875
Hand and finger symptoms 2830
Knee symptoms 2811

Top causes for injuries

Other and unspecified fall 6682
Striking against or struck accidental... 5008
Accidents caused by cutting and pierc... 4155
Fall on same level from slipping, tri... 3230
Overexertion and strenuous movements 3208
Alcohol use/abuse 3167
Motor vehicle traffic accident of uns... 2402
Other motor veh traffic accident inv ... 2294
Other injury caused by animals 2084
Drug use/abuse 2054
Other fall from one level to another 1756
Other and unspecified environmental a... 1614
Fight, brawl, and rape 1503
Fall on or from stairs or steps 1400
Assault by other and unspecified means 1078
Surg operatn/oth surg procs as caus o... 1037
Venomous animals and plants as cause ... 783
Foreign body accidentally entering ot... 738
Pedal cycle accident 715
Caught accidentally in or between obj... 713
Other procs, w/o misadventure at time... 636
Foreign body accidentally entering ey... 615
Struck accidentally by falling object 554
Suicide and self-inflicted poisoning ... 538
Accident caus by hot substnce/objct, ... 518
Motr veh trffc acc due to loss of con... 515
Accidents caused by machinery 508
Fall on or from ladders or scaffolding 355
Accidental poisoning by other drugs 354
Motor vehicle traffic accident involv... 309

Top diagnoses

General symptoms 11541
Symptoms involving respiratory ... 10801
Other symptoms involving abdome... 8840
Other disorders of urethra and ... 5344
Acute upper respiratory infecti... 5268
Other and unspecified disorders... 4956
Symptoms involving digestive sy... 4574
Suppurative and unspecified oti... 4358
Essential hypertension 4346
Symptoms involving head and neck 4286
Asthma 4240
Other cellulitis and abscess 4088
Other open wound of head 4049
Disorders of fluid, electrolyte... 3988
Sprains and strains of other an... 3917
Injury, other and unspecified 3830
Contusion of lower limb and of ... 3691
Nondependent abuse of drugs 3589
Viral infection in conditns cla... 3466
Acute pharyngitis 3404
Pneumonia, organism unspecified 3091
Other disorders of soft tissues 2799
Other noninfective gastroenteri... 2798
Neurotic disorders 2726
Diabetes mellitus 2682
Other and unspecified disorder ... 2624
Bronchitis, not specified as ac... 2516
Sprains and strains of ankle an... 2515
Contusion of upper limb 2513
Open wound of finger(s) 2162