Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients who died within 72 h of ED presentation
| Characteristic | Sub categories | N (%)a | N (%)a | N (%)a |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total sample | Dead on arrival | Alive on arrival | ||
| N = 220 | N = 34 | N = 186 | ||
| Baseline characteristics | ||||
| Age (years) | <30 | 66 (30.0) | 15 (44.1) | 51 (27.4) |
| 30–50 | 64 (29.1) | 12 (35.3) | 52 (28.0) | |
| >50 | 90 (40.9) | 7 (20.6) | 83 (44.6) | |
| Gender | Male | 135 (61.9) | 27 (79.4) | 108 (58.7) |
| Female | 83 (38.1) | 7 (20.6) | 76 (41.3) | |
| Cause of death | Congestive heart failure | 26 (11.8) | 4 (11.8) | 22 (11.8) |
| Traumatic head injury | 45 (20.5) | 5 (14.7) | 40 (21.5) | |
| Other medical causes | 26 (11.8) | 3 (8.8) | 23 (12.4) | |
| Polytrauma/non-head trauma | 21 (9.6) | 4 (11.8) | 17 (9.1) | |
| Respiratory failure | 28 (12.7) | 0 (0) | 28 (15.1) | |
| Sepsis/infection | 37 (16.8) | 2 (5.9) | 35 (18.8) | |
| Stroke | 15 (6.8) | 1 (2.9) | 14 (7.5) | |
| Unknown | 22 (10.0) | 15 (44.1) | 7 (3.8) | |
| Triage level | Red | 73 (34.0) | 0 (0) | 72 (39.3) |
| Orange | 89 (41.4) | 0 (0) | 89 (48.6) | |
| Yellow | 20 (9.3) | 0 (0) | 20 (10.9) | |
| Green | 2 (0.9) | 0 (0) | 2 (1.1) | |
| Blue (dead on arrival) | 31 (14.4) | 34 (100.0) | 0 (0) | |
| Method of referral | Referred from clinic or health post/centre | 23 (11.2) | 1 (3.5) | 22 (12.4) |
| Referred from hospital (all) | 114 (55.3) | 11 (37.9) | 103 (58.2) | |
| Self referral | 69 (33.5) | 17 (58.6) | 52 (29.4) | |
| Duration of symptoms | <4 h | 53 (25.7) | 17 (70.8) | 36 (19.8) |
| 4–24 h | 56 (27.2) | 4 (16.7) | 52 (28.6) | |
| >24–48 h | 15 (7.3) | 0 (0) | 15 (8.2) | |
| >48 h–1 week | 27 (13.1) | 1 (4.2) | 26 (14.3) | |
| >1 week | 55 (26.7) | 2 (8.3) | 53 (29.1) | |
| Mode of transportation to ED | Ambulance | 45 (21.5) | 6 (19.4) | 39 (21.9) |
| Car/truck | 23 (11.0) | 4 (12.9) | 19 (10.7) | |
| Taxi | 130 (62.2) | 20 (64.5) | 110 (61.8) | |
| Walk-in/carried | 11 (5.0) | 1 (3.2) | 10 (5.6) | |
| # Prior ED visits in past 30 days | 0 | 179 (83.3) | 28 (87.4) | 151 (82.5) |
| 1 | 19 (8.8) | 2 (6.3) | 17 (9.3) | |
| ≥2 | 17 (7.9) | 2 (6.3) | 15 (8.2) | |
| Day of ED presentation | Weekday | 149 (68.7) | 24 (72.7) | 125 (67.9) |
| Weekend | 68 (31.3) | 9 (27.3) | 59 (32.1) | |
| Type of Payment | Free | 35 (16.0) | 3 (9.1) | 32 (17.3) |
| Non-free (self-pay) | 183 (83.9) | 30 (90.9) | 153 (82.7) | |
| Timing and location of death | ||||
| Time of presentation to ED | Daytime | 114 (52.5) | 21 (61.7) | 93 (50.8) |
| Evening | 45 (20.7) | 5 (14.7) | 40 (21.9) | |
| Overnight | 58 (26.7) | 8 (23.6) | 50 (27.3) | |
| Time of death | Daytime | 87 (40.1) | 21 (61.8) | 66 (36.1) |
| Evening | 54 (24.9) | 5 (14.7) | 49 (26.8) | |
| Overnight | 76 (35.0) | 8 (23.5) | 68 (37.1) | |
| Location of death | In the ED | 204 (94) | 34 (100) | 170 (92.9) |
| On the ward (any) | 13 (6) | 0 (0) | 13 (7.1) | |
aCell totals may vary slightly due to missing data