Table 2.

Hospital Admission and LOS Before and After Implementation of the OU for Selected Complaints

Chief Complaint‡	Before Implementation*		After Implementation†
	% Admitted of UCC Visits	Median Total LOS (hr)	% Seen in OU of UCC Visits	% Admitted of UCC Visits§	Median Total LOS (hr)∥
Chest pain¶	41	69	12	22	54
Dyspnea¶	68	99	10	58	99
Failure to thrive¶	63	118	3	71	123
Fever	56	91	5	54	96
Fluid and electrolyte disorder¶	55	98	17	47	85
Nausea and vomiting¶	69	100	13	54	90
Neurologic abnormality	57	120	8	56	95
Uncontrolled back or limb pain	44	135	11	47	138
Syncope	59	70	15	47	68

Abbreviations: LOS, length of stay; OU, observation unit; UCC, Urgent Care Center.

^*Pre-OU implementation period: July 9, 2012–December 31, 2012.

^†Post-OU implementation period: July 9, 2013–December 31, 2013.

^‡UCC presenting complaint; the proportion of patients presenting with each complaint was similar between the pre- and post-OU periods.

^§Includes patients directly admitted from the UCC and admitted from the OU.

^∥Total LOS includes inpatient and OU time.

^¶Statistically significant differences in percent admitted based on χ² tests, pre versus post; P < .05.