Table 3.
Characteristics of Cirrhotic Patients Who Received a Paracentesis, Early versus Delayed
| ≤ 1 Day After Admission (n = 6,479) | > 1 Day After Admission (n = 3,340) | p-valuea | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age in years, mean (95% CI) | 57.2 (56.4–58.1) | 58.9 (58.0–59.9) | 0.005 |
| < 55, % | 44.1 | 40.6 | 0.04 |
| 55–64, % | 31.1 | 29.0 | |
| ≥ 65, % | 24.7 | 30.5 | |
| Male, % | 67.4 | 58.8 | <0.001 |
| Race/ethnicity | |||
| White, % | 66.3 | 64.9 | 0.48 |
| Black, % | 9.4 | 11.7 | |
| Hispanic, % | 18.0 | 17.2 | |
| Other, % | 6.3 | 6.2 | |
| Weekend admission, % | 19.4 | 28.7 | <0.001 |
| Elective admission, % | 6.7 | 6.9 | 0.88 |
| Primary payer | |||
| Medicare, % | 35.4 | 45.1 | 0.003 |
| Medicaid, % | 26.3 | 22.1 | |
| Private, % | 23.9 | 22.5 | |
| Self-pay, % | 9.9 | 7.5 | |
| Other, % | 4.5 | 2.8 | |
| Median zip code income | |||
| 1st quartile, % | 27.6 | 27.5 | 0.30 |
| 2nd quartile, % | 25.0 | 28.1 | |
| 3rd quartile, % | 26.6 | 22.8 | |
| 4th quartile, % | 20.8 | 21.7 | |
| Elixhauser index, mean (95% CI) | 3.4 (3.3–3.5) | 4.0 (3.8–4.1) | <0.001 |
| Sepsis, % | 8.2 | 9.4 | 0.36 |
| Acute renal failure, % | 26.2 | 35.1 | <0.001 |
| Hospital size | |||
| Small, % | 10.1 | 7.6 | 0.16 |
| Medium, % | 27.1 | 24.7 | |
| Large, % | 62.8 | 67.7 | |
| Ownership/control | |||
| Government, non-federal, % | 18.3 | 12.2 | 0.016 |
| Private, non-profit, % | 66.6 | 73.8 | |
| Private, investor-owned, % | 15.0 | 14.1 | |
| Hospital region | |||
| Northeast, % | 19.4 | 22.1 | 0.09 |
| Midwest, % | 14.7 | 17.9 | |
| South, % | 35.7 | 35.7 | |
| West, % | 30.2 | 24.3 | |
| Teaching hospital, % | 54.2 | 48.4 | 0.046 |
| Rural (vs. urban) location, % | 9.9 | 7.9 | 0.17 |
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval.
a
Student’s t-test used to compare means; Pearson’s χ2 test used to compare proportions.