Table 1.
Characteristics of Patients and Hospitals With and Without A Critical Pathway
| Characteristics | Critical Pathway N (%) |
No Critical Pathway N (%) |
P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patients | 7,440 (81.2) | 1,717 (18.8) | |
| Age, mean (SD), years | 74.3 (+/-5.8) | 73.9(+/-5.7) | NS |
| Gender, male | 2,276(31) | 535(31) | NS |
| Number of comorbid illnesses | |||
| 0 | 4680 (63) | 1,116(65) | NS |
| 1 | 1741 (23) | 378(22) | NS |
| > 1 | 1019(14) | 223(13) | NS |
| Medicaid eligible | 476(6.4) | 149(8.6) | p = 0.04 |
| Adverse events | |||
| Death | 40(0.5) | 18 (1.1) | p = 0.02 |
| Acute myocardial infarction | 59(0.8) | 22 (1.3) | p = 0.05 |
| Pneumonia | 102 (1.4) | 37 (2.2) | p = 0.02 |
| Pulmonary embolus | 58(0.8) | 22 (1.3) | p = 0.04 |
| Deep wound infection | 26 (.4) | 6 (.4) | NS |
| Hospitals |
Critical Pathway N = 204 |
No Critical Pathway N = 91 |
|
| Length of Stay | 5.8 (2.4) | 5.3 (2.0) | p = .00001 |