TABLE 2.
Clinical characteristics and disposition of older adults (65+) presenting to US EDs, Comparing survey-weighted visits for a chief complaint of abdominal pain to other visits in NHAMCS, 2013–2017
| Variable Weighted 5-year incidence of ED visits (N)a | Other chief complaint (n = 15,398) | Abdominal pain chief complaint (n = 1042) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100,830,667 | 7,524,043 | ||
| Triage status, %b | <0.001 | ||
| Emergent (ESI 2) | 14.8 | 7.1 | |
| Urgent (ESI 3) | 38.4 | 56.2 | |
| Semi-urgent (ESI 4) | 15.3 | 9.3 | |
| Nonurgent (ESI 5) | 2.2 | 1.2 | |
| Unspecified/Other | 29.4 | 26.2 | |
| Wait time (minutes), mean | 30.9 | 36.4 | 0.068 |
| Discharged from ED, %c | 65.9 | 65.7 | 0.99 |
| Admitted to operating room, % | 0.8 | 3.6 | <0.001 |
| Admitted to critical care, % | 4.0 | 2.2 | 0.21 |
| Died during care episode, %d | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 |
Abbreviations: ED, emergency department; M, mean; N, number of visits; n, number of observations; NHAMCS, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey; SD, standard deviation.
Estimate of number of ED visits nationally, using survey weights provided by the nationally representative survey NHAMCS. All estimates and percentages in this table are similarly nationally representative.
Visits from patients triaged to ESI 1 are excluded as they are of sufficient acuity as to not systematically afford patients time to state a chief complaint.
Includes patients fully evaluated and discharged, as well as patients transferred to a nursing home.
Dead on arrival, died in ED, or died during hospitalization. Power is limited due to the small number of observations. For instance, a post hoc power analysis indicated that abdominal pain death rate would need to be 1.9 percentage points higher to detect a difference at 80% power.