Table 1.
Characteristics of Emergency Department patients who were admitted to the hospital, by presence or absence of admission delay.†¶
| Characteristic (n,% *) | All | No Delay | Delay | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N = 13460 | N = 11902 | N = 1558 | ||
| Unique patients | 10846 | |||
| Age, yr (mean, SD) | 62.6 (20) | 62.3 (20) | 64.4 (19.7) | p < .0001 |
| Sex, male | 5390 (50) | 6082 (51) | 684 (44) | p < .0001 |
| ED EPISODE | ||||
| Mode of arrival to ED | ||||
| Ambulance | 7310 (54) | 6397 (54) | 810 (52) | 0.19 |
| Ambulatory ("Walk-in") | 6067 (45) | |||
| Not available | 78 (0.5) | |||
| ED Triage Category by CTAS Level | ||||
| CTAS level 1 - Resuscitation | 623 (4.6) | 606 (5.1) | 17 (1.1) | p = 0.04 |
| CTAS level 2 - Emergent | 3898 (29) | 3540 (29.7) | 358 (2.7) | |
| CTAS level 3 - Urgent | 7613 (56.6) | 6654 (55.9) | 959 (61.6) | |
| CTAS level 4 - Less Urgent (Semi-Urgent) | 1307 (9.7) | 1086 (9.1) | 221 (14.2) | |
| CTAS level 5 - Non-Urgent | 19 (0.14) | 16 (0.13) | 3 (0.19) | |
| Total cost of Emergency Department stay (mean, SD) | 1027 (760) | 948 (701) | 1,631 (914) | p < .0001 |
| ED LOS, minutes (mean, SD) | 419 (307) | 336 (174) | 1059 (348) | p < .0001 |
| ICU or surgery admission | 1936 (14) | 1827 (15) | 109 (7) | p < .0001 |
| IN-PATIENT EPISODE | ||||
| Destination after hospital stay | ||||
| Transfer to in-patient facility | 372 (3) | 355 (3) | 17 (1) | p < .0001 |
| Transfer to long term care | 1780 (13) | 1530 (13) | 250 (16) | |
| Transfer to nursing home | 14 (0.10) | 14 (0.11) | 1 (0.06) | |
| Discharged home with support | 2385 (18) | 2068 (17) | 317 (20) | |
| Discharged home | 7598 (56) | 6756 (57) | 842 (54) | |
| Left against medical advice | 142 (1) | 125 (1) | 17 (1) | |
| Died in hospital | 1169 (9) | 1055 (9) | 114 (7) | |
| Hospital length of stay, days (mean, SD) | 8.8 (15) | 8.5 (13.9) | 11.3 (20.7) | p < .0001 |
| Total cost of hospital stay (mean, SD) | 11,064 (13,917) | 10,902 (19,991) | 12,307 (24,438) | p = 0.03 |
| Mortality, % | 1169 (9) | 1055 (9) | 114 (7) | p = 0.04 |
SD = standard deviation.
† As defined by pre-admission length of stay of greater than 12 hours in the Emergency Department†
* Unless stated otherwise