Table 3 Univariate and multivariate analysis of predictor variables of E‐code specificity on chart review (n = 393).
| E‐code determined from chart review | Unadjusted OR (95% CI) | Adjusted OR (95% CI) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specified E‐code (n = 184) | E‐code remained unspecified (n = 209) | |||
| Demographics | ||||
| Age (years) (mean (SD)) | 9.31 (5.80) | 8.59 (5.59) | 1.02 (0.99 to 1.06) | 1.03 (0.99 to 1.08) |
| Sex | 1.04 (0.70 to 1.56) | 1.02 (0.67 to 1.57) | ||
| Male | 59% | 58% | ||
| Female | 41% | 42% | ||
| Characteristics of the ED visit | ||||
| ED site | ||||
| A | 21% | 14% | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| B | 17% | 16% | 0.74 (0.37 to 1.47) | 1.17 (0.55 to 2.47) |
| C | 39% | 38% | 0.69 (0.38 to 1.23) | 1.98 (0.96 to 4.08) |
| D | 23% | 33% | 0.48 (0.26 to 0.89) | 0.93 (0.47 to 1.86) |
| Day of visit | 1.32 (0.85 to 2.04) | 1.28 (0.80 to 2.03) | ||
| Weekend | 32% | 26% | ||
| Weekday | 68% | 74% | ||
| Season of ED visit | ||||
| Summer | 26% | 20% | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Autumn | 28% | 28% | 0.77 (0.44 to 1.35) | 0.82 (0.45 to 1.49) |
| Winter | 22% | 25% | 0.69 (0.38 to 1.24) | 0.74 (0.40 to 1.40) |
| Spring | 25% | 28% | 0.68 (0.38 to 1.20) | 0.81 (0.44 to 1.48) |
| Time of ED visit | ||||
| Midnight to 07:59 | 7% | 6% | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 08:00 to 15:59 | 36% | 37% | 0.85 (0.36 to 2.01) | 1.00 (0.38 to 2.58) |
| 16:00 to 23:59 | 58% | 57% | 0.89 (0.38 to 2.07) | 1.17 (0.46 to 2.95) |
| Means of arrival | 5.95 (1.29 to 27.8) | 5.41 (1.07 to 27.0) | ||
| Ambulance | 5% | 1% | ||
| Self/parent | 95% | 99% | ||
| Discharge status* | 9.37 (1.16 to 76.9) | N/A‡ | ||
| Admitted to hospital | 4% | 0.5% | ||
| Treated and discharged | 96% | 99.5% | ||
| Severity of injury† | 1.63 (1.08 to 2.47) | 1.75 (1.11 to 2.78) | ||
| Severe | 42% | 31% | ||
| Not severe | 58% | 69% | ||
| Characteristics of the chart | ||||
| Documentation in chart | 2.56 (1.65 to 3.97) | 3.75 (2.17 to 6.45) | ||
| ED physician notes and nurse's notes or triage form | 77% | 57% | ||
| Only ED physician notes | 23% | 43% | ||
*Includes only those charts with discharge status information (n = 389).
†Severe injuries were defined as an injury with any of the following characteristics: concussion or other head injury (including lacerations to the head); fracture; neck sprain/strain; requiring admission to hospital or transfer to a different hospital.
‡Discharge status was not included in the multivariable logistic regression model because of high colinearity with severity of injury and because of the relatively small number of hospital admissions.
Totals may add up to more than 100% owing to rounding.
CI, confidence interval; ED, emergency department; OR, odds ratio.