Table 1.
Summary of patient characteristics
| Demographic characteristic | Patients who did not develop incident delirium (N = 868) | Patients who developed incident delirium (N = 126) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (mean, standard deviation) | 81.0 (6.5) | 82.7 (6.5) | 0.0004 |
| Female Gender (Percent) | 498 (57.4 %) | 67 (53.2 %) | 0.37 |
| Non-english speakers (Percent) | 155 (17.9 %) | 25 (19.9 %) | 0.03 |
| Mean length of stay | 7.8 days | 11.6 days | <0.0001 |
| Mean of the number of room transfers for patients during the period of hospitalization (SD) | 1.86 (1.19) | 2.67 (1.59) | <0.0001 |
| Mean number of room transfers within first week of hospital stay (SD) | 1.68 (0.93) | 2.21 (1.28) | <0.0001 |
| Mean number of room transfers before the onset of delirium (SD)* | 1.68 (0.93) | 1.60 (0.90) | 0.40** |
| Mean number of room transfers per patient days before delirium onset (SD)*** | 0.43 | 1.03 | <0.0001 |
| Number (percentage) of patients transferred between the emergency department and the ward | 868 (100 %) | 126 (100 %) | - |
| Number (percentage) of patients transferred between the medical floor and other floors in the hospital | 145 (16.71 %) | 12 (9.52 %) | 0.04 |
| Number (percentage) of patients transferred between different rooms on the same floor | 394 (45.39 %) | 56 (44.44 %) | 0.84 |
| Number (percentage) of patients transferred between different beds in the same room | 51 (5.88 %) | 8 (6.35 %) | 0.83 |
| Number (percentage) of patients transferred at least once (excluding ER to ward transfer) | 435 (50.12 %) | 92 (73.02) | <0.0001 |
| In Total | |||
| Within the first week of Hospitalization | 396 (45.62 %) | 83 (67.87 %) | <0.0001 |
| Number (percentage) of patients transferred more than once (excluding ER to ward transfer) | 171 (19.70 %) | 57 (45.24 %) | <0.0001 |
| In Total | |||
| Within the first week of Hospitalization | 135 (15.55 %) | 38 (30.16 %) | <0.0001 |
* For control groups this is the same as the number of room changes within the first week
** Note that the number of transfers after onset of delirium is not included in this comparison and hence comparison is not appropriate
*** Since the time periods where number of room transfers were observed are different for each patient, we adjusted it by taking the number of transfers per patient days, which is our primary outcome