Table 1.
Comparison of sample characteristics
| No delay | Delay | p | |
| Age (yrs) | 81.3 (7.4) | 84.4 (7.2) | 0.012* |
| Sex | 0.73 | ||
| Male | 43 (51.2) | 28 (48.3) | |
| Female | 41 (48.8) | 30 (51.7) | |
| Residence | 0.36 | ||
| Home | 65 (77.4) | 42 (72.4) | |
| Residential home | 13 (15.5) | 7 (12.1) | |
| Nursing home | 3 (3.6) | 6 (10.3) | |
| Sheltered accommodation | 2 (2.4) | 3 (5.2) | |
| Psychiatric unit | 1 (1.2) | 0 | |
| Mobility | 0.05* | ||
| Independent (>= 50 yards) | 40 (50.6) | 17 (29.8) | |
| Independent (< 50 yards) | 7 (8.9) | 15 (26.3) | |
| Walk with stick | 13 (16.5) | 5 (8.8) | |
| Uses walking frame | 13 (16.5) | 12 (21.1) | |
| Uses wheel chair | 1 (0.7) | 2 (1.5) | |
| Hoisted | 2 (2.5) | 2 (3.5) | |
| Bed bound | 3 (3.8) | 3 (5.3) | |
| Weight bear/transfer only | 0 | 1 (0.7) | |
| Symptom duration (days) | 6.5 (20) | 8.3 (25) | 0.64 |
| Number of co-morbidities | 3.0 (1.5) | 2.8 (1.7) | 0.64 |
| Effort tolerance (metres) | 113 (304) | 39 (52) | 0.18 |
| Presence of confusion | 9 (10.7) | 18 (31.0) | 0.002* |
| Systolic BP (mmHg) | 134 (31) | 129 (29) | 0.34 |
| Pulse rate (beats/min) | 80 (16) | 81 (18) | 0.84 |
| C-reactive protein | 82 (84) | 52 (64) | 0.026* |
| Urea (mmol/L) | 10.9 (7.2) | 9.3 (5.6) | 0.16 |
| Creatinine | 139 (76) | 131 (77) | 0.53 |
| Albumin | 31.0 (5.3) | 32.3 (4.4) | 0.16 |
| Number of medications | 6.5 (3.7) | 7.4 (3.8) | 0.14 |
Comparison of baseline characteristics between those whose discharges were delayed and those who did not in 158 elderly inpatients. Values presented are means (sd) for continuous data and number (%) for categorical data. * = statistically significant differences in sample characteristics between two groups