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Table 3 Clinical characteristics of study participants (n = 174) a

From: The impact of COVID-19 on an Irish Emergency Department (ED): a cross-sectional study exploring the factors influencing ED utilisation prior to and during the pandemic from the patient perspective

Category

Variable

TOTAL

(n = 174)

DEC

(n = 47)

FEB

(n = 57)

JUL

(n = 70)

p value

Presenting Complaint

Abdominal Pain

20, 12%

5, 11%

10, 18%

5, 7%

p = 0.556

Chest Pain

23, 13%

4, 9%

12, 21%

7, 10%

Limb Problem

22, 13%

6, 13%

9, 16%

7, 10%

Shortness of Breath

14, 8%

4, 9%

7, 12%

3, 4%

Unwell Adult

34, 20%

9, 19%

8, 14%

17, 24%

Wound

10, 6%

3, 6%

1, 2%

6, 9%

Other*

51, 28%

16, 33%

10, 17%

25, 36%

Duration of Complaint

< 1 day

57, 33%

18, 38%

16, 28%

23, 33%

p = 0.327

1–2 days

22, 13%

2, 4%

7, 12%

13, 19%

3–7 days

35, 20%

6, 13%

12, 21%

17, 24%

> 7 days

60, 35%

21, 45%

22, 39%

17, 24%

Worry Scale (1–10)

Median

7

8

7

6

p ≤ 0.005

IQR

5–8

5–10

5–8

3–8

Pain Scale (1–10)

Median

6

7

6

5

p = 0.056

IQR

2–8

4–8

3–8

1–7

Triage Category (MTS 2–5)

Very Urgent (MTS 2)

26, 15%

2, 5%

16, 28%

8, 12%

p ≤ 0.05

Urgent (MTS 3)

126, 74%

37, 84%

35, 61%

54, 78%

Standard (MTS 4)

17, 10%

5, 11%

5, 9%

7, 10%

Non-Urgent (MTS 5)

1, 1%

0, 0%

1, 2%

0, 0%

Length of Stay (LOS)

Median

6.17

7.17

7.25

3.86

p ≤ 0.005

IQR

2.39–10.11

3.39–9.59

4.18–11.22

0.41–9.14

Range

0.07–67.12

0.49–50.22

0.25–67.12

0.07–38.27

< 1 h

26, 16%

1, 2%

2, 4%

23, 33%

1-2 h

12, 7%

5, 11%

2, 4%

5, 7%

2-4 h

23, 13%

8, 17%

8, 14%

7, 10%

4-8 h

44, 25%

14, 30%

19, 33%

11, 16%

8-16 h

50, 29%

13, 28%

21, 37%

16, 23%

16-24 h

9, 5%

1, 2%

4, 7%

4, 6%

> 24 h

9, 5%

5, 11%

1, 2%

3, 4%

Disposition

Admitted

43, 25%

12, 26%

19, 33%

12, 17%

p ≤ 0.001

Discharged

123, 72%

31, 68%

34, 60%

57, 82%

- ED

97, 56%

31, 66%

32, 56%

34, 49%

- AMUb

13, 8%

1, 2%

2, 4%

10, 14%

- SAUc

13, 8%

0, 0%

0, 0%

13, 19%

Hospital Transfer

2, 1%

0, 0%

1, 2%

1, 1%

Did Not Wait

6, 3%

3, 6%

3, 5%

0, 0%

  1. aIndividual cases of missing data were excluded from analysis, this occurred in a small number of cases E.g. Data was not traceable on hospital systems or in the event a participant chose not to respond to a question on the survey
  2. bThe Acute Medical Unit (AMU) assesses and treats acutely unwell medical patients who have been referred by a medical practitioner
  3. cThe Surgical Assessment Unit (SAU) provides a rapid access facility for acute surgical patients who have been assessed by a medical practitioner
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