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Table 1 Characteristics of Emergency Department patients who were admitted to the hospital, by presence or absence of admission delay.†

From: The impact of delays to admission from the emergency department on inpatient outcomes

Characteristic (n,% *)

All

No Delay

Delay

p value

 

N = 13460

N = 11902

N = 1558

 

Unique patients

10846

   

Age, yr (mean, SD)

62.6 (20)

62.3 (20)

64.4 (19.7)

p < .0001

Sex, male

5390 (50)

6082 (51)

684 (44)

p < .0001

ED EPISODE

Mode of arrival to ED

    

   Ambulance

7310 (54)

6397 (54)

810 (52)

0.19

   Ambulatory ("Walk-in")

6067 (45)

   

   Not available

78 (0.5)

   

ED Triage Category by CTAS Level

CTAS level 1 - Resuscitation

623 (4.6)

606 (5.1)

17 (1.1)

p = 0.04

CTAS level 2 - Emergent

3898 (29)

3540 (29.7)

358 (2.7)

 

CTAS level 3 - Urgent

7613 (56.6)

6654 (55.9)

959 (61.6)

 

CTAS level 4 - Less Urgent (Semi-Urgent)

1307 (9.7)

1086 (9.1)

221 (14.2)

 

CTAS level 5 - Non-Urgent

19 (0.14)

16 (0.13)

3 (0.19)

 

Total cost of Emergency Department stay (mean, SD)

1027 (760)

948 (701)

1,631 (914)

p < .0001

ED LOS, minutes (mean, SD)

419 (307)

336 (174)

1059 (348)

p < .0001

ICU or surgery admission

1936 (14)

1827 (15)

109 (7)

p < .0001

IN-PATIENT EPISODE

Destination after hospital stay

    

   Transfer to in-patient facility

372 (3)

355 (3)

17 (1)

p < .0001

   Transfer to long term care

1780 (13)

1530 (13)

250 (16)

 

   Transfer to nursing home

14 (0.10)

14 (0.11)

1 (0.06)

 

   Discharged home with support

2385 (18)

2068 (17)

317 (20)

 

   Discharged home

7598 (56)

6756 (57)

842 (54)

 

   Left against medical advice

142 (1)

125 (1)

17 (1)

 

   Died in hospital

1169 (9)

1055 (9)

114 (7)

 

Hospital length of stay, days (mean, SD)

8.8 (15)

8.5 (13.9)

11.3 (20.7)

p < .0001

Total cost of hospital stay (mean, SD)

11,064 (13,917)

10,902 (19,991)

12,307 (24,438)

p = 0.03

Mortality, %

1169 (9)

1055 (9)

114 (7)

p = 0.04

  1. SD = standard deviation.
  2. † As defined by pre-admission length of stay of greater than 12 hours in the Emergency Department†
  3. * Unless stated otherwise