Table 1. Emergency department (ED) visits for gout as the primary diagnosis in year 2009, 2010 and 2012.
| 2009 NEDS | 2010 NEDS | 2012 NEDS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ED visits for gout (% of all ED visits) | 180,789 (0.14) | 201,044 (0.16) | 205,152 (0.15) |
| Age, in years | |||
| Mean [sd] | 55.35 [68.06] | 55.35 [71.74] | 55.44 [72.47] |
| Median (IQR) | 53.50 (42.68, 66.73) | 53.61 (42.84, 66.53) | 53.71 (43.31, 66.27) |
| Sex, n (%) | |||
| Female | 41,543 (23.00) | 46,213 (22.99) | 46,839 (22.83) |
| Patient location (residence), n (%) | |||
| Micropolitan/not metro | 45,778 (25.51) | 50,593 (25.32) | 47,371 (23.19) |
| Metropolitan (large or small) | 135,683 (74.49) | 151,287 (74.68) | 158,918 (76.81) |
| Median house hold income, n (%) | |||
| 1st quartile | 65,831 (37.46) | 79,371 (40.55) | 81,588 (40.71) |
| 2nd quartile | 49,752 (28.31) | 50,845 (25.97) | 48,791 (24.35) |
| 3rd quartile | 34,935 (19.88) | 37,055 (18.93) | 40,462 (20.19) |
| 4th quartile | 25,208 (14.34) | 28,487 (14.55) | 29,554 (14.75) |
| Primary payer, n (%) | |||
| Medicare | 62,176 (34.5) | 69,960 (34.92) | 72,568 (35.41) |
| Medicaid | 19,605 (10.89) | 23,724 (11.84) | 27,556 (13.45) |
| Private insurance | 55,803 (31) | 57,115 (28.51) | 51,329 (25.05) |
| Self-pay | 35,608 (19.78) | 42,116 (21.03) | 44,042 (21.49) |
| Uninsured/no charge | 1,654 (0.92) | 1,525 (0.76) | 1,199 (0.58) |
| Other | 5,175 (2.87) | 5,872 (2.93) | 8,254 (4.03) |
| Hospital Region, n (%) | |||
| Northeast | 31,220 (17.27) | 34,870 (17.34) | 35,976 (17.54) |
| Midwest | 35,146 (19.44) | 39,931 (19.86) | 40,729 (19.85) |
| South | 87,427 (48.36) | 98,323 (48.91) | 97,904 (47.72) |
| West | 26,997 (14.93) | 27,919 (13.89) | 30,543 (14.89) |
| Teaching status of hospital, n (%) | |||
| Metropolitan non -teaching or non-metro | 123,559 (74.77) | 124,746 (64.19) | 125,106 (60.98) |
| Metropolitan teaching | 57,230 (25.23) | 71,997 (35.81) | 80,047 (39.02) |
IQR, inter-quartile range; SD, standard deviation