In 2012, more than 1 million patients were acutely admitted to Danish hospitals, [1] accounting for 76% of all admitted patients. From 2006 to 2012 the number of acute admissions in Denmark increased by 15%; this appears to be an international trend. [2] The recognition and interpretation of the symptoms leading to admission are the first and crucial steps in acute care settings and represent important parts of assessing the medical history. However, previous studies have shown that symptoms and complaints also contain prognostic information.
