TABLE 3.
Patient Characteristics, ED Treatment, and Hospital LOS by Significant Intervention After Hospital Admission
| No Significant Interventions | Significant Interventiona | Pb | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. patients | 486 | 142 | |
| Girls, n (%) | 165 (34.0) | 60 (42.3) | .070 |
| Age, mo | .624 | ||
| Mean (SD) | 17.9 (7.3) | 17.6 (6.8) | |
| Median (range) | 17.1 (6.0–45.7) | 16.5 (7.1–5.9) | |
| Age-defined tachycardia (n = 602c), n (%) | 211 (45.5) | 76 (55.1) | .048 |
| Age-defined tachypnea (n = 595c), n (%) | 316 (68.9) | 114 (83.8) | <.001 |
| ED triage temperature ≥38°C (n = 553c), n (%) | 132 (30.8) | 37 (29.8) | .843 |
| ED triage O2 saturation (n = 572c) | .728 | ||
| Mean (SD) | 97.9 (1.7) | 97.9 (1.7) | |
| Median (range) | 98.0 (91–100) | 98.0 (92–100) | |
| No. RE in ED | .143 | ||
| Mean (SD) | 1.7 (0.6) | 1.8 (0.6) | |
| Median (range) | 2.0 (1–3) | 2.0 (1–3) | |
| RE in ED group, n (%) | .182 | ||
| 1 RE | 164 (33.7) | 42 (29.6) | |
| 2 RE | 281 (57.8) | 81 (57.0) | |
| 3 RE | 41 (8.4) | 19 (13.4) | |
| Imaging, n (%) | .006 | ||
| Radiograph of neck or chest | 181 (37.2) | 71 (50.0) | |
| No radiograph | 305 (62.8) | 71 (50.0) | |
| Steroids in ED, n (%) | .241 | ||
| No steroid treatment | 85 (17.5) | 31 (21.8) | |
| Any steroids in ED | 401 (82.5) | 111 (78.2) | |
| Hospital LOS | <.0001 | ||
| Mean (SD) | 18.8 (9.3) | 36.5 (29.6) | |
| Median (range) | 17.0 (1.2–111.4) | 27.7 (6.7–285.8d) |
Significant intervention includes additional RE, transfer to PICU, or heliox (5 patients had additional RE and were transferred to the PICU, 137 patients had additional RE only, no patients were treated with heliox).
P values are from χ2 tests for categorical variables, 2-sample t tests of mean for patient age and O2 saturation, and Wilcoxon rank-sum test for RE in ED and hospital LOS.
The number for initial vitals is <628 because of missing data for some patients.
Without the outlier value of 285.8 for hospital LOS, mean (SD) and median (range) for those with significant interventions were 34.8 (20.8) and 27.4 (6.7, 119.8), respectively. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test for hospital LOS was still significant when the outlier value was excluded (P < .0001).