Table 1.
Patient Characteristics by Admission to the ICU vs General Ward
| Characteristics | Patients, No. (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| ICU | General Ward | |
| Patients, No.a | 328 404 | 783 990 |
| Age, mean (SD), y | 78 (8) | 80 (8) |
| 65–74 | 120 106 (36.6) | 223 187 (28.5) |
| 75–84 | 120 814 (36.8) | 276 773 (35.3) |
| ≥85 | 87 484 (26.6) | 284 030 (36.2) |
| Women | 169 078 (51.5) | 437 085 (55.8) |
| Race/ethnicity | ||
| White | 273 507 (83.3) | 688 644 (87.8) |
| Black | 35 696 (10.9) | 60 951 (7.8) |
| Other | 19 201 (5.9) | 34 395 (4.4) |
| Urbanitya | ||
| Large central metropolitan | 81 986 (25.0) | 145 992 (18.7) |
| Large suburban metropolitan | 77 100 (23.5) | 181 996 (23.3) |
| Medium metropolitan | 67 596 (20.6) | 172 286 (22.0) |
| Small metropolitan | 34 888 (10.7) | 100 057 (12.8) |
| Micropolitan | 37 660 (11.5) | 107 401 (13.7) |
| Noncore | 28 398 (8.7) | 74 604 (9.5) |
| Median household income by zip code, $ | ||
| <40 000 | 91 285 (27.8) | 203 080 (25.9) |
| 40 000–100 000 | 218 521 (66.5) | 535 203 (68.3) |
| >100 000 | 18 598 (5.7) | 45 707 (5.8) |
| Elixhauser comorbidities count, mean (SD)b | 2.6 (1.3) | 2.9 (1.3) |
| Admission source | ||
| Outpatient | 250 420 (76.3) | 619 027 (79.0) |
| Emergency department | 76 391 (23.3) | 162 503 (20.7) |
| Hospital diagnosesa | ||
| Pneumonia as primary diagnosis | 111 315 (33.9) | 643 237 (82.1) |
| Respiratory failure | 221 308 (67.4) | 126 661 (16.2) |
| Sepsis | 143 093 (43.6) | 102 998 (13.1) |
| Shock | 90 392 (27.5) | 9325 (1.2) |
| Cardiac or respiratory arrest | 9421 (2.9) | 1901 (0.2) |
| Type of pneumonia | ||
| Unspecified | 267 864 (81.6) | 695 069 (88.7) |
| Viral | 2904 (0.9) | 8348 (1.1) |
| Bacterial | 57 636 (17.6) | 80 573 (10.3) |
| Procedures performed during hospitalization | ||
| Mechanical ventilation | 159 346 (48.5) | 22 525 (2.9) |
| Cardiopulmonary resuscitation | 9229 (2.8) | 1843 (0.2) |
| Angus organ failure scorec | ||
| 0 | 98 547 (30.0) | 607 759 (77.5) |
| 1 | 107 979 (32.9) | 154 269 (19.7) |
| ≥2 | 121 878 (37.1) | 21 962 (2.8) |
| Year of admission | ||
| 2010 | 108 136 (29.4) | 260 229 (70.6) |
| 2011 | 112 625 (29.4) | 270 888 (70.6) |
| 2012 | 107 643 (29.9) | 252 873 (70.1) |
Abbreviation: ICU, intensive care unit.
a
There were 11 703 patients (1%) excluded from regression models due to missing differential distance (n = 5166), admission source (n = 4053), urban/rural (n = 2430), and pneumonia volume (n = 107).
b
All 29 Elixhauser comorbidities are listed in eTable 8 in the Supplement.
c
The Angus organ failure score identifies severity of illness by patient organ failures derived from the administrative record with a maximum score of 6, and higher scores indicating more organ failures.