Table 1 Patient Characteristics Stratified by Age Group*
From: Quality of care in elder emergency department patients with pneumonia: a prospective cohort study
Entire study population | Patients <65 years old | Patients ≥65 years old | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Patient Characteristics | (n = 1,370) | (n = 810) | (n = 560) | |||
Demographics | ||||||
Male sex | 56.8% | (54.2–59.5) | 60.0% | (56.6–63.4) | 52.2% | (48.1–56.4) |
White race | 66.8% | (64.2–69.3) | 60.9% | (57.4–64.2) | 75.4% | (71.6–78.9) |
Presence of patient complaints | ||||||
Cough | 60.4% | (57.8–63.0) | 63.8% | (60.5–67.1) | 55.4% | (51.2–59.5) |
Fever | 44.0% | (41.4–46.6) | 50.1% | (46.7–53.6) | 35.2% | (31.2–39.1) |
Sputum production | 34.2% | (31.6–36.7) | 36.4% | (33.1–39.7) | 30.9% | (27.1–34.7) |
Shortness of breath | 66.9% | (64.4–69.4) | 70.4% | (67.2–73.5) | 61.8% | (57.7–65.8) |
Abdominal pain | 6.4% | (5.1–7.6) | 7.4% | (5.6–9.2) | 4.8% | (3.0–6.6) |
Confusion/altered mental status | 12.2% | (10.5–13.9) | 6.8% | (5.1–8.5) | 20.0% | (16.7–23.3) |
Chest pain | 29.8% | (27.4–32.2) | 35.1% | (31.8–38.4) | 22.1% | (18.7–25.6) |
Nausea | 4.5% | (3.4–5.5) | 4.7% | (3.2–6.2) | 4.1% | (2.5–5.8) |
Diarrhea | 5.2% | (4.0–6.4) | 6.4% | (4.7–8.1) | 3.4% | (1.9–4.9) |
Presence of co-morbidities | ||||||
Neoplasm | 23.1% | (20.9–25.4) | 19.4% | (16.7–22.1) | 28.6% | (24.8–32.3) |
Congestive heart failure | 10.9% | (9.2–12.5) | 7.3% | (5.5–9.1) | 16.1% | (13.0–19.1) |
Renal failure | 9.3% | (7.8–10.9) | 9.3% | (7.3–11.3) | 9.5% | (7.0–11.9) |
Liver disease | 3.6% | (2.6–4.6) | 5.6% | (4.0–7.1) | 0.7% | (0.0–1.4) |
Cerebrovascular disease | 8.1% | (6.7–9.5) | 5.4% | (3.9–7.0) | 12.0% | (9.3–14.7) |
HIV/AIDS | 5.0% | (3.9–6.2) | 8.5% | (6.6–10.4) | 0.0% | (0.0–0.0) |
Asthma | 9.3% | (7.8–10.9) | 12.8% | (10.5–15.1) | 4.3% | (2.6–6.0) |
Steroids | 7.7% | (6.3–9.2) | 9.0% | (7.0–11.0) | 5.9% | (3.9–7.38) |
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 20.4% | (18.3–22.6) | 17.3% | (14.7–19.9) | 25.0% | (21.4–28.6) |
Diabetes | 24.2% | (21.9–26.4) | 21.2% | (18.4–24.1) | 28.4% | (28.4–32.1) |
Organ transplant | 1.9% | (1.2–2.6) | 2.8% | (1.7–4.0) | 0.5% | (0.0–1.1) |
Mean initial ED vital signs | ||||||
Temperature (°F) | 98.9 | (98.8–99.0) | 99.0 | (98.8–99.1) | 98.7 | (98.6–98.9) |
Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 129.1 | (127.6–130.7) | 125.4 | (123.5–127.3) | 134.5 | (132.1–136.9) |
Respiratory rate (breaths/minute) | 22.8 | (22.5–23.2) | 23.0 | (22.5–23.4) | 22.6 | (22.1–23.2) |
Pulse (bpm) | 102.8 | (101.6–103.9) | 107.5 | (106.1–109.0) | 95.9 | (94.2–97.6) |
Diagnostic findings | ||||||
Lung Exam Normal | 19.5% | (17.3–21.6) | 19.8% | (16.9–22.6) | 19.1% | (15.7–22.5) |
White blood cell count (cells/mm3) | 12.5 | (12.2–12.9) | 12.5 | (12.0–13.0) | 12.6 | (12.0–13.2) |
Sodium (mmol/L) | 135.6 | (135.4–135.9) | 135.3 | (134.9–135.7) | 136.1 | (135.7–136.5) |
Blood urea nitrogen (mg/dL) | 22.0 | (21.1–22.9) | 20.0 | (18.8–21.3) | 24.7 | (23.3–26.0) |
Creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.52 | (1.43–1.62) | 1.53 | (1.38–1.67) | 1.52 | (1.4–1.6) |
Glucose (mg/dL) | 138.7 | (134.9–142.6) | 135.9 | (130.6–141.3) | 142.6 | (137.3–147.9) |
Pneumonia severity index | ||||||
1–2 | 34.4 | (31.9–36.9) | 51.0 | (47.6–54.4) | 10.3 | (8.1–13.2) |
3 | 21.4 | (19.3–23.6) | 22.5 | (19.4–25.5) | 19.8 | (16.7–23.3) |
4 | 33.8 | (31.3–36.3) | 21.7 | (19.0–24.7) | 51.2 | (51.2–55.4) |
5 | 10.4 | (8.9–12.2) | 4.8 | (3.5–6.5) | 18.6 | (15.6–22.0) |