Leading Cause of Emergency Visits

Overall
By Sex
By Age Group

Overall

The leading causes of emergency visit used for this page are based on the chapters found in International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) and the International Shortlist for Hospital Morbidity Tabulation (ISHMT) adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) ¹ with modifications discussed and approved by the Leading Cause Group subcommittee of the Core Indicators Working Group, Association of Public Health Epidemiologist in Ontario (APHEO).

Emergency visits are counted at patient exit as recorded in the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS). Causes are based on the one main problem diagnosed by a physician during a given emergency visit. Emergency visits due to pregnancy and birth (ICD-10 Chapter 15) were excluded, because these do not represent burden of illness and are captured in the birth outcomes statistics (see Pregnancy and Before). Factors influencing health status & contact with health services (ICD-10 Chapter 21) were excluded as they do not represent diseases or conditions.

In 2021, there were over 257,500 emergency visits (as defined above) among residents of Simcoe Muskoka. The number one cause of visit, by ICD-10 chapter, in Simcoe Muskoka were injuries & poisonings, which accounted for nearly one-quarter of all visits. The other leading causes of emergency visits, by ICD-10 chapter, in Simcoe Muskoka in 2021 were: symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings (24%), diseases of respiratory system (8%) and diseases of musculoskeletal system (7%). The leading causes of emergency visits for Ontario overall in 2021 were similar to what was observed in Simcoe Muskoka.

When looking at the ISHMT causes ¹ of emergency visits in Simcoe Muskoka for 2021, addominal and pelvic pain was the leading cause, accounting for nearly 5% of all visits. Other leading causes include: acute upper respiratory illness, pain in throat and chest, skin infections, back pain, and soft tissue disorders.

By Sex

In Simcoe Muskoka in 2021, the leading cause of emergency visit, by ICD-10 chapter, for males was injuries and poisonings (28% of all visits) and the leading cause for females wassymptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings (24% of all visits). Diseases of respiratory system were third leading cause for both sexes. Emergency department visits for diseases of the genitourinary system (urinary and genital organs) were much more common among females when compared with males.

The leading cause of emergency visits, according to the ISHMT groupings ¹, for males in Simcoe Muskoka in 2021 were pain in throat and chest and acute upper respiratory illness which each accounted for 4% of all emergency visits. Skin infections, abdominal and pelvic pain, soft tissue disorders, back pain and diseases of the ear and mastoid process were also among the leading causes of emergency visits for Simcoe Muskoka males.

The leading cause ¹ of emergency visit among Simcoe Muskoka females in 2021 was abdominal and pelvic pain which accounted for 6% of all visits. Acute upper respiratory illness, pain in the throat and chest, soft tissue disorders, back pain and skin infections were also among the leading causes of emergency visits for females in 2021.

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By Age Group

In Simcoe Muskoka in 2021, the leading causes of emergency visit, by ICD-10 chapter, among infants less than one year were: symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical/lab findings, diseases of respiratory system and injuries and poisonings which accounted for about two-thirds of all visits. Also in 2021, among children one to nine years of age, injuries and poisonings were the leading causes of emergency visit, accounting for nearly one-third of all visits. 

Injuries and poisonings were the leading cause of emergency visit among youth and adolescents (between 10 and 19 years of age) in Simcoe Muskoka, accounting for more than one-third of all emergency visits in 2021. Injuries and poisonings were also the leading cause of emergency visit among young adults (20-44 years), accounting for about one-quarter of all visits.

Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical/lab findings was the leading cause of emergency visit for older adults and seniors in 2021, accounting for more than one-fifth of all emergency visits, followed by injuries & poisonings which accounted less than one-fifth of all visits. The table below provides age-specific leading causes of emergency visit using both ICD-10 chapters and ISHMT groupings ¹ for Simcoe Muskoka in 2021.

Leading Causes of ED Visits, Simcoe Muskoka Residents, by Age Group, 2021

References

1. Source: International Shortlist for Hospital Morbidity Tabulation, Eurostat, OECD, & WHO, November 2008. [cited 2010 December 13]. Available from: http://apps.who.int/classifications/apps/icd/implementation/ hospitaldischarge.htm Any single-cause diagnosis beginning with ‘Other’ was grouped together with ‘All Others’ (e.g. (120) Other Injuries).

Page last updated February 28, 2023