Table 1.
Comparison of study variables by department
| Items | Department in which patients were treated | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obstetrics and gynecology | Internal medicine | Surgery | p-value * | |
| Patient characteristics | ||||
| Age (years ± SD) | 16.3 ± 19.4 | 37.6 ± 27.0 | 46.3 ± 20.7 | <0.001 |
| Gender: Male only/Male + Female or Female only | 17 (27.4)/45 (72.6) | 48 (62.3)/29 (37.7) | 84 (57.1)/63 (42.9) | <0.001 |
| Type of treatment: Elective or not urgently necessary/Othera | 5 (8.1)/57 (91.9) | 3 (3.9)/74 (96.1) | 2 (1.3)/147 (98.7) | 0.051 |
| Severity of injury: Death/Otherb | 20 (32.3)/42 (67.7) | 41 (53.2)/36 (46.8) | 77 (51.7)/72 (48.3) | 0.020 |
| Physician characteristics | ||||
| Type of medical facility: Clinic/Hospital | 21 (33.9)/41 (66.1) | 14 (18.2)/63 (81.8) | 12 (8.1)/137 (91.9) | <0.001 |
| Gender: Male only/Male + Female or Female only | 45 (84.9)/8 (15.1) | 57 (86.4)/9 (13.6) | 127 (94.1)/8 (5.9) | 0.080 |
| Number of physicians: 1/2 or more | 44 (71.0)/18 (29.0) | 46 (59.7)/31 (40.3) | 47 (31.8)/101 (68.2) | <0.001 |
| Medical standard: Standard care/Not standard care | 40 (64.5)/22 (35.5) | 61 (80.3)/15 (19.7) | 139 (93.3)/10 (6.7) | <0.001 |
| Acknowledgement of physician fault: yes/no | 28 (45.2)/34 (54.8) | 29(37.7)/48(62.3) | 59 (39.6)/90 (60.4) | 0.650 |
| Litigation | ||||
| Judgment intervals: 1979–1996/1997–2008 | 42 (67.7)/20 (32.3) | 38 (49.4)/39 (50.6) | 73 (49.0)/76 (51.0) | 0.034 |
| Use of a medical expert witness: yes/no | 18 (29.0)/44 (71.0) | 26 (33.8)/51 (66.2) | 67 (45.0)/82 (55.0) | 0.058 |
| Type of plaintiff: patient only/ patient & family, family only | 8 (12.9)/54 (87.1) | 10 (13.0)/67 (87.0) | 51 (34.2)/98 (65.8) | <0.001 |
| Number of issues being litigated: 0–3/4+ | 28 (45.2)/34 (54.8) | 51(66.2)/26(33.8) | 76 (51.0)/73 (49.0) | 0.028 |
| Concession rate | 21.30 ± 27.29 | 18.15 ± 25.48 | 28.60 ± 52.02 | 0.179 |
* t-test or χ2 test; results printed in bold are significant (p <0.05)
a“Other” includes “treatment is urgently necessary”
b“Other” includes temporary or permanent injury