Table 1:
Baseline characteristics of the study cohort (patients with a primary emergency department diagnosis of a mood [affective] disorder or psychotic disorder and a related chief complaint)
| Characteristic | Primary diagnosis of mental illness | Other diagnosis |
|---|---|---|
| Index visits, no. | 51 381 | 3 551 413 |
| Age, mean ± SD | 40.0 ± 15.3 | 48.0 ± 19.7 |
| Female (%) | 26 252 (51.1) | 1 855 625 (52.3) |
| Arrived by ambulance (%) | 8 270 (16.1) | 499 071 (14.1) |
| Time to physician assessment,* median (IQR), min | 82 (41–147) | 75 (36–140) |
| Time to physician assessment, mean ± SD, min | 110 ± 107 | 103 ± 387 |
| Length-of-stay, median (IQR), min | 266 (147–493) | 171 (92–302) |
| Admissions, no. (%) | 21 089 (41.0) | 362 209 (10.2) |
| Decision to admit time, median (IQR)†, min | 74 (15–215) | 152 (45–605) |
| Decision to admit time, mean ± SD, min | 374 ± 1 639 | 531 ± 2 467 |
| Crowding status, no (%) | ||
| No crowding‡ | 14 151 (28.5) | 1 585 295 (48.1) |
| Mild crowding | 28 026 (56.5) | 1 429 061 (42.2) |
| Moderate crowding | 6 496 (13.1) | 287 056 (8.5) |
| Severe crowding | 966 (1.9) | 38 848 (1.1) |
Note: IQR = interquartile range, SD = standard deviation.
*
20.8% of patients had missing or unknown values.
†
10.2% of patients had missing or unknown values.
‡
A small proportion (3.4%) of visits could not be assigned to a crowding level because of low numbers of patients in that emergency department during a specific period.