Table 2.
Sample characteristics and univariate odds ratios associated with high-acuity outcomes among 10–17-year-old adolescents utilizing pediatric emergency services in Taiwan
| Variable | Total (N = 16,910) |
High-acuity outcomea (N = 2,508) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | Col % | n HAO | Row % | OR (95% CI) | |
| Sex | |||||
| Female | 7,555 | 44.7 | 1,170 | 15.5 | Ref |
| Male | 9,355 | 55.3 | 1,338 | 14.3 | 0.91 (0.84–0.99) |
| Age Group (years) | |||||
| 10–12 | 6,622 | 39.2 | 930 | 14.0 | Ref |
| 13–15 | 6,199 | 36.7 | 907 | 14.6 | 1.05 (0.95–1.16) |
| 16–17 | 4,089 | 24.2 | 671 | 16.4 | 1.20 (1.08–1.34) |
| Triage Level b | |||||
| Level 1 | 426 | 2.5 | 91 | 21.4 | Ref |
| Level 2 | 1,217 | 7.2 | 222 | 18.2 | 0.82 (0.63–1.08) |
| Level 3 | 12,726 | 75.3 | 1,969 | 15.5 | 0.67 (0.53–0.85) |
| Level 4 | 2,499 | 14.8 | 225 | 9.0 | 0.36 (0.28–0.48) |
| Level 5 | 42 | 0.3 | 1 | 2.4 | 0.09 (0.01–0.66) |
| Time of the ED Visit | |||||
| 08:00–15:59 | 5,646 | 33.4 | 941 | 16.7 | Ref |
| 16:00–23:59 | 7,856 | 46.5 | 1,051 | 13.4 | 0.77 (0.70–0.85) |
| 00:00–07:59 | 3,408 | 20.2 | 516 | 15.1 | 0.89 (0.79–1.00) |
| Number of Abnormal Vital Signs c | |||||
| 0 | 5,284 | 31.3 | 617 | 11.7 | Ref |
| 1 | 5,868 | 34.7 | 920 | 15.7 | 1.41 (1.26–1.57) |
| 2 | 4,332 | 25.6 | 751 | 17.3 | 1.59 (1.41–1.78) |
| ≥ 3 | 1,426 | 8.4 | 220 | 15.4 | 1.38 (1.17–1.63) |
| Glasgow Coma Scale d | |||||
| 15 | 16,373 | 96.8 | 2,363 | 14.4 | Ref |
| 13–14 | 408 | 2.4 | 74 | 18.1 | 1.31 (1.02–1.70) |
| 9–12 | 116 | 0.7 | 61 | 52.6 | 6.58 (4.56–9.49) |
| 3–8 | 13 | 0.1 | 10 | 76.9 | 19.76 (5.44–71.86) |
a The four high-acuity outcomes include: (1) intensive care unit (ICU) admission or in-ED death; (2) inpatient ward admission; (3) return to the ED within 72 h for the same presenting complaint; and (4) ED length of stay exceeding 6 h. Col % represents the proportion of cases within each category of the variable, calculated as (n for the category/Total N) × 100. The percentages are specific to each variable and sum to 100% within each variable because all cases are distributed across the defined categories. nHAO represents the number of ED visits listed in that row that resulted in any high-acuity outcome. Row % indicates thepercentage of ED visits listed in that row that resulted in any high-acuity outcome, calculated as (nHAO/n) x 100. OR: univariate odds ratio; Ref: Reference
b Level 1 indicates the most urgent condition that requires immediate treatment. Level 5 indicates the least urgent condition
c Vital signs include: heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and respiratory rate
d A neurological scale consisting of three tests: eye, verbal, and motor responses, with a score of 3 indicating the most severe condition