Table 1.
Descriptive statistics by study population, defined by vital sign missingness
| % (n) | All five vital signs available (n=339) | Missing vital sign(s) (n=248) | p Value |
| Demographics | |||
| Age, years* | 54 (35–74) | 57 (40.5–78) | 0.05 |
| Male | 62.2 (211) | 56.9 (141) | 0.19 |
| White race | 73.5 (249) | 78.2 (194) | 0.18 |
| Fall cause of injury | 55.5 (188) | 58.1 (144) | 0.89 |
| Head injury | 44.0 (149) | 48.9 (121) | 0.25 |
| Neck or spine injury | 14.5 (49) | 16.5 (41) | 0.49 |
| Chest injury | 9.7 (33) | 9.7 (24) | 0.98 |
| Limb injury | 27.7 (94) | 25.4 (63) | 0.53 |
| MEWS subscore change from transferring to receiving facility | |||
| Deterioration in SBP | 3.83 (13) | 3.23 (8) | 0.76 |
| Deterioration in HR | 11.80 (40) | 14.11 (35) | 0.34 |
| Deterioration in RR | 9.44 (32) | 8.87 (22) | 1.0 |
| Deterioration in Temp | 0.29 (1) | 0 (0) | 1.0 |
| Deterioration in GCS | 6.49 (22) | 2.02 (5) | 0.07 |
| Outcomes | |||
| In-hospital mortality | 5.6 (19) | 8.1 (20) | 0.24 |
| ICU admission | 50.2 (170) | 51.2 (127) | 0.80 |
| Surgical procedure | 35.4 (120) | 29.4 (73) | 0.13 |
| Air transport, interfacility | 18.6 (63) | 18.2 (45) | 0.91 |
| MEWS deterioration | 21.9 (72) | 21.2 (52) | 0.99 |
| Secondary overtriage | 21.5 (73) | 22.2 (55) | 0.85 |
| Severe injury (ISS≥16) | 30.75 (103) | 32.39 (80) | 0.67 |
*
Data are presented as median (IQR).
GCS, Glasgow Coma Scale; GSW, gunshot wound; HR, heart rate; ICU, intensive care unit; ISS, injury severity score; RR, respiratory rate; SBP, systolic blood pressure; Temp, temperaute. Secondary overtriage: ISS <10, hospital LOS<1 day and discharged home.