Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics at index visit (N = 4,976)
| Characteristic | No-repeat within 6 months n = 3,888 (78%) |
Repeat within 6 months n = 1,088 (22%) |
p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient characteristics | |||
| Age (years) | 13.94 (SD = 2.8) | 14.35 (SD = 2.3) | <0.001 |
| Min-max = 6–17 | Min-max = 6–17 | ||
| Female sex | 2,332 (60%) | 772 (66.4%) | <0.001 |
| Mean number of repeat visits throughout entire study period | 1.32 (SD = 1.17) | 3.66 (SD = 3.45) | <0.001 |
| Min-max = 1–33 | Min-max = 2–52 | ||
| Discharge diagnosis | |||
| Depression | 1,715 (44.11%) | 586 (53.86%) | <0.001 |
| Acute stress reaction | 524 (13.48%) | 115 (10.57%) | 0.011 |
| Anxiety | 435 (11.19%) | 85 (7.81%) | 0.001 |
| Self-harm | 363 (9.34%) | 86 (7.9%) | 0.145 |
| Mania or psychosis | 112 (2.88%) | 36 (3.31%) | 0.462 |
| Substance usea | 87 (2.24%) | 25 (2.3%) | 0.906 |
| Behavioral | 62 (1.59%) | 25 (2.3%) | 0.118 |
| Violence | 38 (0.98%) | 9 (0.83%) | 0.651 |
| Eating disorder | 18 (0.46%) | 4 (0.37%) | 0.675 |
| Developmental or intellectual disability | 17 (0.44%) | 3 (0.28%) | 0.457 |
| Medical illness, not psychiatric | 120 (3.09%) | 18 (1.65%) | 0.011 |
| Other psychiatric diagnosisb | 397 (10.21%) | 96 (8.82%) | 0.176 |
| Visit characteristics | |||
| Triage acuity level (CTAS): | |||
| 1 | 8 (0.21) | 1 (0.09%) | |
| 2 | 1,367 (35.16%) | 446 (40.99%) | |
| 3 | 2,077 (53.42%) | 560 (51.47 %) | |
| 4 | 378 (9.72%) | 74 (6.8%) | |
| 5 | 58 (1.49%) | 7 (0.64%) | |
| Weekend presentation | 710 (18.26%) | 181 (16.64%) | 0.216 |
| Overnight presentation | 734 (18.88%) | 190 (17.46%) | 0.289 |
| Risk assessment completed by mental health team | 1,489 (38.3%) | 579 (53.22%) | <0.001 |
| Admission to hospital: | |||
| None | 2,541 (65.35%) | 581 (53.4%) | |
| Mental health assessment unit | 903 (23.23%) | 278 (25.55%) | |
| Inpatient psychiatry | 289 (7.43%) | 167 (15.35%) | |
| Other inpatient unit | 155 (3.99%) | 62 (5.7%) | |
| Length of admission (days)c | 1 (6) | 2 (7) | 0.026 |
| Median (IQR) | |||
CTAS = Canadian Triage Acuity Scale, Min-max = Minimum to maximum, IQR = Interquartile range
a
This does not reflect all ED presentations for substance use as triage chief complaints of substance intoxication, misuse, or withdrawal are not included in this study.
b
Other psychiatric diagnoses include: personality disorder, conversion disorder, sexual/physical abuse, social problems, and insomnia.
c
n = 1,848