Table 1.
Characteristics of patient population by age group. All data are presented as n (%) unless otherwise noted
| Characteristic | All patients (n=402) | <5 years (n=22) | ≤17 years (n=48) | 18–64 years (n=302) | ≥65 years (n=44) |
| Age, mean (SD) (n=394) | 36 (19) | 1 (2) | 7 (6) | 35 (12) | 75 (7) |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 201 (50) | 12 (55) | 29 (60) | 146 (48) | 23 (52) |
| Female | 201 (50) | 10 (45) | 19 (40) | 156 (52) | 21 (48) |
| Mode of arrival | |||||
| Private vehicle | 16 (4) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 12 (4) | 4 (9) |
| Taxi/bus | 156 (39) | 8 (36) | 19 (40) | 114 (38) | 21 (48) |
| Ambulance | 69 (17) | 5 (23) | 7 (15) | 53 (18) | 5 (11) |
| Walked | 113 (28) | 0 (0) | 8 (17) | 96 (32) | 8 (18) |
| Carried | 30 (8) | 8 (36) | 12 (25) | 16 (5) | 2 (5) |
| Wheelchair | 10 (3) | 0 (0) | 1 (2) | 4 (1) | 4 (9) |
| Unknown/blank | 5 (1) | 1 (5) | 1 (2) | 4 (1) | 0 (0) |
| Transferred | |||||
| Yes | 147 (37) | 13 (59) | 20 (43) | 104 (35) | 20 (45) |
| No | 238 (60) | 8 (36) | 25 (53) | 188 (63) | 21 (48) |
| Unknown | 13 (3) | 1 (5) | 2 (4) | 7 (2) | 3 (7) |
| Acuity level (estimated)* | |||||
| Emergency (red) | 29 (7) | 3 (14) | 5 (11) | 20 (7) | 4 (9) |
| Very urgent (orange) | 55 (14) | 4 (18) | 11 (23) | 39 (13) | 4 (9) |
| Urgent (yellow) | 140 (35) | 8 (36) | 12 (26) | 107 (35) | 18 (41) |
| Routine | 141 (35) | 3 (14) | 14 (30) | 110 (37) | 14 (32) |
| Not assigned/unknown/other | 36 (9) | 4 (18) | 5 (11) | 26 (9) | 4 (9) |
| Trauma history† | |||||
| Any | 98 (24) | 8 (36) | 20 (42) | 72 (24) | 4 (9) |
| Road traffic accident | 32 (8) | 1 (5) | 3 (6) | 28 (9) | 1 (3) |
| Motor or bicyclist | 5 (1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (1) | 2 (5) |
| Assault | 27 (7) | 0 (0) | 3 (6) | 23 (8) | 0 (0) |
| Pedestrian | 1 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Burn | 8 (2) | 3 (14) | 5 (10) | 3 (1) | 0 (0) |
| Self-inflicted | 4 (1) | 2 (9) | 2 (4) | 2 (1) | 0 (0) |
| Fall | 21 (5) | 2 (9) | 7 (15) | 12 (4) | 1 (2) |
| Disposition | |||||
| Discharge from A&E | 250 (62) | 13 (59) | 25 (52) | 192 (64) | 30 (68) |
| Admit to hospital | 67 (17) | 5 (23) | 10 (21) | 45 (15) | 8 (18) |
| DOA | 2 (1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (1) | 0 (0) |
| Death in A&E | 2 (1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0) | 1 (2) |
| DAMA/eloped | 15 (4) | 0 (0) | 1 (2) | 13 (4) | 1 (2) |
| Transfer to outside hospital | 2 (1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (1) | 0 (0) |
| Consultant ‘review’ | 25 (6) | 1 (5) | 5 (10) | 18 (6) | 2 (5) |
| ‘Missing/incomplete’ or disposition field blank | 39 (10) | 3 (14) | 7 (15) | 29 (10) | 2 (5) |
*Determined by research assistants and/or primary investigator utilising the South African Triage Scale(SATS).20
†Patient reported.
A&E, accident and emergency department; DOA, death on arrival; DAMA, discharged against medical advice.