Table 1.

Demographic, comorbid, and imaging use characteristics of patients with an ED diagnosis of Bell’s palsy in California, 2005–2011, stratified by 90–day alternative diagnosis.

	No alternative diagnosis made		Alternative diagnosis made
	n = 43,623		n = 356
	No.	% (95% CI)	No.	% (95% CI)
Age quartile
18–31	10,890	25.0 (24.6–25.4)	70	19.7 (15.9–24.1)
32–44	10,748	24.6 (24.2–25.0)	69	19.4 (15.6–23.8)
45–56	11,339	26.0 (25.6–26.4)	93	26.1 (21.8–30.9)
≥ 57	10,646	24.4 (24.0–24.8)	124	34.8 (30.1–39.9)
Sex
Male	21,280	48.8 (48.3–49.2)	166	46.6 (41.5–51.8)
Female	22,343	51.2 (50.8–51.7)	190	53.4 (48.2–58.5)
Race
White	15,164	38.4 (38.0–38.9)	140	41.1 (36.0–46.4)
Black	2,545	6.45 (6.21–6.70)	38	11.1 (8.1–15.1)
Hispanic	17,900	45.4 (44.9–45.9)	134	39.3 (34.3–44.6)
Asian	2,492	6.32 (6.08–6.56)	18	5.28 (3.37–8.19)
Other	1,341	3.40 (3.23–3.58)	11	3.23 (1.81–5.69)
Insurance status
Medicare	6,845	15.7 (15.4–16.0)	92	25.8 (21.6–30.6)
Medicaid	6,123	14.0 (13.7–14.4)	69	19.4 (15.6–23.8)
Private	19,502	44.7 (44.2–45.2)	117	32.9 (28.2–37.9)
Self–pay	8,725	20.0 (19.6–20.4)	57	16.0 (12.6–20.2)
Other	2,415	5.54 (5.33–5.76)	21	5.90 (3.89–8.85)
Visit day
Weekday	30,842	70.7 (70.3–71.1)	245	68.8 (63.8–73.4)
Weekend	12,781	29.3 (28.9–29.7)	111	31.2 (26.6–36.2)
Comorbidity
Hypertension	8,439	19.3 (19.0–19.7)	105	29.5 (25.0–34.4)
Diabetes Mellitus	5,169	11.8 (11.6–12.1)	73	20.5 (16.6–25.0)
Coronary heart disease	666	1.53 (1.42–1.65)	6	1.69 (0.78–3.63)
Congestive heart failure	170	0.39 (0.34–0.45)	1	0.28 (0.05–1.57)
Chronic kidney disease	281	0.64 (0.57–0.72)	5	1.40 (0.60–3.24)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	250	0.57 (0.50–0.65)	4	1.12 (0.44–2.85)
Imaging
CT and/or MRI	6,149	14.1 (13.8–14.4)	75	21.1 (17.2–25.6)