Table 1 Characteristics of critically ill patients directly admitted to the ICU from the ED according to EDLOS
|  | Overall (n = 657,622) | EDLOS < 6 h (n = 491,094) | EDLOS ≥ 6 h (n = 166,528) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Patient variables | ||||
 Age ≥ 65 y | 386,687 (58.8) | 287,282 (58.5) | 99,405 (59.7) | < 0.0001 |
 Median (IQR) | 69 (56–80) | 69 (56–80) | 70 (57–79) | 0.110 |
 Female | 268,064 (40.8) | 200,284 (40.8) | 67,780 (40.7) | 0.559 |
Insurance type | ||||
 National health insurance | 536,123 (81.5) | 398,242 (81.1) | 137,881 (82.8) | < 0.0001 |
 Medical aid | 81,099 (12.3) | 59,750 (12.2) | 21,349 (12.8) |  |
 Uninsured or other | 40,400 (6.2) | 33,102 (6.7) | 7,298 (4.4) |  |
 Injury-related presentation | 99,695 (15.2) | 80,216 (16.3) | 19,479 (11.7) | < 0.0001 |
 Arrival via emergency ambulance | 283,399 (43.1) | 214,615 (43.7) | 68,784 (41.3) | < 0.0001 |
 Transferred-in | 230,098 (35.0) | 168,167 (34.2) | 61,931 (37.2) | < 0.0001 |
Time of presentation | ||||
 Day | 286,545 (43.6) | 218,704 (44.5) | 67,841 (40.7) | < 0.0001 |
 Evening | 264,295 (40.2) | 198,895 (40.5) | 65,400 (39.3) |  |
 Night | 106,782 (16.2) | 73,495 (15.0) | 33,287 (20.0) |  |
KTAS score | ||||
 1 | 60,253 (9.2) | 42,731 (8.7) | 17,522 (10.5) | < 0.0001 |
 2 | 217,028 (33.0) | 161,540 (32.9) | 55,488 (33.3) |  |
 3 | 266,146 (40.5) | 190,774 (38.8) | 75,372 (45.3) |  |
 4 | 49,610 (7.5) | 36,499 (7.4) | 13,111 (7.9) |  |
 5 | 6,928 (1.1) | 5,431 (1.2) | 1,497 (0.9) |  |
 Unidentified | 57,657 (8.7) | 54,119 (11.0) | 3,538 (2.1) |  |
 Artificial ventilation in the ED | 37,236 (5.7) | 27,491 (5.6) | 9,745 (5.9) | 0.0001 |
CCI score | ||||
 0 | 442,997 (67.4) | 340,937 (69.4) | 102,060 (61.3) | < 0.0001 |
 1 | 46,805 (7.1) | 33,096 (6.7) | 13,709 (8.2) |  |
 2 | 112,117(17.0) | 79,477 (16.2) | 32,640 (19.6) |  |
 ≥ 3 | 55,703 (8.5) | 37,584 (7.7) | 18,119 (10.9) |  |
Season | ||||
 Spring | 164,752 (25.1) | 122,763 (25.0) | 41,989 (25.2) | < 0.0001 |
 Summer | 165,635 (25.2) | 124,844 (25.4) | 40,791 (24.5) |  |
 Fall | 166,611 (25.3) | 125,244 (25.5) | 41,367 (24.8) |  |
 Winter | 160,624 (24.4) | 118,243 (24.1) | 42,381 (25.4) |  |
Year | ||||
 2017 | 216,632 (32.9) | 164,451 (33.5) | 52,181 (31.3) | < 0.0001 |
 2018 | 218,519 (33.2) | 161,159 (32.8) | 57,360 (34.4) |  |
 2019 | 222,471 (33.8) | 165,484 (33.7) | 56,987 (34.2) |  |
Hospital variables | ||||
 Hospital staffed beds | ||||
 ≥ 1,000 | 113,419 (17.2) | 66,518 (13.5) | 46,901 (28.2) | < 0.0001 |
 800–999 | 155,278 (23.6) | 103,283 (21.0) | 51,995 (31.2) |  |
 600–799 | 128,668 (19.6) | 89,003 (18.1) | 39,665 (23.8) |  |
 300–599 | 152,294 (23.2) | 130,977 (26.7) | 21,317 (12.8) |  |
 < 300 | 107,963 (16.4) | 101,313 (20.7) | 6,650 (4.0) |  |
Level of ED | ||||
 Level 1 | 253,879 (38.6) | 169,283 (34.5) | 84,596 (50.8) | < 0.0001 |
 Level 2 | 298,988 (45.5) | 224,332 (45.7) | 74,656 (44.8) |  |
 Level 3 | 104,755 (15.9) | 97,479 (19.8) | 7,276 (4.4) |  |
Location | ||||
 Metropolitan city | 305,370 (46.4) | 216,327 (44.1) | 89,043 (53.5) | < 0.0001 |
 Provincial area | 352,252 (53.6) | 274,767 (55.9) | 77,485 (46.5) |  |