Table 1 Characteristics of emergency department (ED) visits by elderly patients
Week admission (N = 2114) | Weekend admission (N = 629) | |
|---|---|---|
Mean age (SD) | 78.2 (7.8) | 78.0 (7.5) |
No. of male participants (%) | 943 (44.6) | 291 (46.3) |
CCI, mean (SD)* | 2.4 (2.1) | 2.6 (2.3) |
Unknown CCI (%) | 6 (0.3) | 5 (0.8) |
Number of drugs, mean (SD) | 7.0 (4.1) | 6.8 (4.0) |
Unknown medication use (%) | 348 (16.4) | 82 (13.0) |
Time of presentation ** | ||
Daytime (8 am – 5 pm) (%) | 1356 (64.1) | 341 (54.2) |
Evening (5 pm – 23 pm) (%) | 602 (28.5) | 211 (33.5) |
Night (23 pm – 8 am) (%) | 156 (7.4) | 77 (12.2) |
Mode of presentation ** | ||
General practitioner (%) | 1628 (77.0) | 437 (69.5) |
Ambulance (%) | 181 (8.6) | 87 (13.8) |
Specialist (%) | 170 (8.0) | 40 (6.3) |
Self-referral (%) | 135 (6.4) | 65 (10.3) |
Seniority of first physician on ED** | ||
Medical student (%) | 177 (6.3) | 12 (1.4) |
Non-trainee resident (%) | 883 (31.2) | 271 (30.8) |
Trainee resident (%) | 1561 (55.2) | 538 (61.1) |
Medical specialist (%) | 160 (5.7) | 43 (4.9) |
Unknown (%) | 45 (1.6) | 17 (1.9) |
Number of diagnostic tests, mean (SD)* | 3.4 (1.9) | 3.6 (2.0) |
ED-LOS in minutes (IQR) | 165 (130–204) | 162 (129–201) |
Hospital LOS in days (IQR) * | 6 (2–12) | 5 (2–11) |