Association between emergency department length of stay and adverse perioperative outcomes in emergency surgery: a cohort study in two Colombian University hospitals

Table 2 Patient characteristics according to emergency department length of stay

	ED-LOS ≤ 48 h (n = 905)	ED-LOS > 48 h (n = 582)	P
Gender, male	469 (51.8)	294 (50.5)	0.622
Age (years)	62.6 (53.1–73.6)	68.4 (57.8–77.2)	< 0.001
Medical center			0.481
Center A	603 (60.2)	398 (39.8)
Center B	302 (62.1)	184 (37.9)
Preoperative medical conditions
Hypertension	361 (39.9)	307 (52.8)	< 0.001
Diabetes mellitus	121 (13.4)	137 (23.6)	< 0.001
Chronic renal disease	53 (5.9)	69 (11.9)	< 0.001
Major cardiovascular disease^a	118 (13.0)	134 (23.0)	< 0.001
COPD	57 (6.3)	62 (10.7)	0.002
Active cancer	76 (8.4)	121 (20.8)	< 0.001
Major general surgery	132 (14.6)	104 (17.9)	0.090
Risk factors for 30-day mortality^b			0.006
No risk factors	377 (41.7)	141 (24.2)
1 or 2 risk factors	403 (44.5)	289 (49.6)
≥ 3 risk factors	125 (13.8)	152 (26.1)
Preoperative interventions
Medical assessments	5 (4–7)	16 (10–30)	< 0.001
Laboratories	8 (4–14)	27.5 (12–60)	< 0.001
Diagnostic images	2 (1–3)	4 (2.5–7)	< 0.001
Type of surgery			< 0.001
General	700 (77.3)	403 69.2)
Orthopedic	205 (22.7)	179 (30.8)
Duration of surgery (hours)	1.8 (1.3–2.4)	2 (1.3–2.8)	< 0.001

Data are presented as median (interquartile range), or absolute number (%). ED-LOS Emergency department length of stay, COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
^aIncludes history of coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, peripheral vascular disease
^bRisk factors as defined by VISION study [3]: Age ≥ 65 years, history of coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, PVD, stroke, COPD, active cancer and major general surgery

ISSN: 1471-227X