Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the study population
| Characteristics | N = 517 |
|---|---|
| Male, n (%) | 269 (52.0 %) |
| Age, mean (SD) | 78.3 (6.2) |
| Admitted from, n (%) | |
| Emergency department | 467 (90.3 % ) |
| Outpatient clinic | 42 (8.1 %) |
| Other | 8 (1.6 %) |
| Clinical specialism, n (%) | |
| Internal medicine | 367 (71.0 %) |
| Surgery | 74 (14.3 %) |
| Pulmonary diseases | 34 (6.6 %) |
| Other | 42 (8.1 %) |
| Severity of disease | |
| Vital parametersa | |
| Oxygen saturation (%), median (IQR) | 98 (96–99) |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg), mean (SD) | 132.9 (23.3) |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg), mean (SD) | 67.6 (13.9) |
| Heart rate (/min), mean (SD) | 83.2 (16.6) |
| Laboratory results | |
| Sodium (mmol/L), mean (SD) | 138.6 (5.4) |
| Potassium (mmol/L), mean (SD) | 4.3 (0.7) |
| Urea (mmol/L), median (IQR) | 9.4 (6.7–14.7) |
| eGFR (ml/min/1.73 m2), mean (SD) | 64.8 (34.5) |
| Leukocytes (×109/L), mean (SD) | 11.3 (5.3) |
| Thrombocytes (×109/L), mean (SD) | 241 (119) |
| C-reactive protein (mg/L), median (IQR) | 41 (8–110) |
| Non-fasted glucose (mmol/L), mean (SD) | 8.1 (3.6) |
| Haemoglobin (mmol/L), mean (SD) | 7.6 (1.5) |
| Geriatric factors | |
| Charlson comorbidity index, median (IQR)b | 2 (1–4) |
| Number of medications, median (IQR) | 7 (4–11) |
eGFR estimated glomerular filtration rate; SD standard deviation, IQR inter quartile range
aRespiratory rate and body temperature were excluded from further analysis, because the measurement was not performed or noted in >50 %
bIncorporates weighted scores for 19 medical conditions, higher scores indicating worse history of disease