Table 2.
Patients initially assessed to hospital and non-transport patients
| Initial assessment to hospital | Non-transport | P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| n=5340 | n = 1312 | ||
| Age – years (25th, 75th percentile) | |||
| Median | 68 (44,83) | 59 (34,78) | < 0.001 |
| Sex – n (%) | < 0.001 | ||
| Female | 2763 (51.7) | 762 (58.1) | |
| Dispatcher priority – n (%) (26,7)a | < 0.001 | ||
| Priority 1 | 2659 (50.0) | 590 (45.2) | |
| Priority 2 | 2444 (46.0) | 627 (48.0) | |
| Priority 3 | 211 (4.0) | 88 (6.7) | |
| Dispatch medical indexb – n (%) (31,0)a | |||
| Chest pain/cardiac disease | 747 (14.1) | 244 (18.7) | < 0.001 |
| Extremity/ wound/minor trauma | 699 (13.2) | 105 (8.1) | < 0.001 |
| Uncertain information/suspicion of severe illness | 574 (10.8) | 152 (11.6) | 0.401 |
| Respiratory difficulties | 554 (10.4) | 154 (11.7) | 0.162 |
| Abdominal/urinary tract symptoms | 618 (11.6) | 86 (6.6) | < 0.001 |
| Time of day – n (%) | < 0.001 | ||
| 08:00–16:00 | 2431 (45.5) | 475 (36.2) | |
| 16:00–24:00 | 1902 (35.6) | 536 (40.9) | |
| 24:00–08:00 | 1007 (18.9) | 301 (22.9) | |
| Time on scene – mins (25th, 75th percentile) | |||
| Median | 22 (14,30) | 27 (19,37) | < 0.001 |
| Medical historyc – n (%) | |||
| Diseases of the circulatory system I00-I99 | 5250 (29.4) | 887 (24.8) | < 0.001 |
| Mental and behavioural disorders F00-F99 | 3024 (16.9) | 787 (20.7) | < 0.001 |
| Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases E00-E89 | 1583 (8.9) | 323 (9.0) | 0.750 |
| Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue M00-M99 | 1212 (6.8) | 237 (6.8) | 0.768 |
| Diseases of the digestive system K00-K95 | 1055 (5.9) | 170 (4.8) | 0.007 |
| No medical history | 658 (12.3) | 246 (18.8) | < 0.001 |
| Initial vital signs – median (25th, 75th percentile) (% deviating)d | |||
| Respiratory rate/min (343,241)a | 18 (16,20) (11.4) | 16 (16,18) (1.6) | < 0.001 |
| Saturation % (282,210) | 97 (95,99) (5.4) | 98 (96,99) (0.9) | < 0.001 |
| Pulse rate/min (264,209) | 86 (75,101) (8.3) | 83 (74,93) (1.6) | < 0.001 |
| Systolic blood pressure – mm/hg (369,240) | 135 (120,150) (2.1) | 130 (120,150) (0.3) | 0.008 |
| Diastolic blood pressure – mm/hg (947,333) | 80 (70,90) (0.1) | 80 (70,85) (0.1) | < 0.001 |
| Temperature°C (762,332) | 36.9 (36.5,37.3) (0.6) | 36.8 (36.5,37.1) (0.1) | 0.019 |
| Level of consciousness – n (%) (20,37) | <0.001 | ||
| RLS 1/ GCS 15e | 4901 (92.1) | 1224 (96.0) | |
| RLS 2,3/ GCS 13–10 | 310 (5.9) | 43 (3.4) | |
| RLS ≥ 4/ GCS ≤ 8 | 109 (2.0) | 8 (0.6) | |
| Prehospital triage level according to RETTS-A – n (%) (172,379)a | <0.001 | ||
| Red | 597 (11.6) | 7 (0.8) | |
| Orange | 1854 (35.9) | 54 (5.8) | |
| Yellow | 2254 (43.6) | 341 (36.5) | |
| Green | 463 (9.0) | 531 (56.9) | |
| Prehospital field assessment according to RETTS-Af – n (%) (161,377)a | |||
| Chest thoracic pain | 512 (9.9) | 111 (11.9) | 0.069 |
| Abdominal/flank pain | 535 (10.3) | 59 (6.3) | <0.001 |
| Respiratory distress/dyspnoa/breathing difficulties | 454 (8.8) | 91 (9.7) | 0.350 |
| Unspecific condition | 349 (6.7) | 142 (15.2) | <0.001 |
| Injury/head trauma | 324 (6.3) | 28 (3.0) | <0.001 |
| Under the influence of substances (alcohol, drugs) – n (%) | 534 (10.0) | 135 (10.3) | 0.759 |
| Prehospital medication – n (%) | |||
| Any medication | 1825 (34.2) | 86 (6.6) | <0.001 |
| Intravenous medication | 1015 (19.0) | 18 (1.4) | <0.001 |
| All-cause mortality – n (%) | |||
| ≤ 7 days | 111 (2.1) | 16 (1.2) | 0.042 |
| ≤ 30 days | 243 (4.6) | 31 (2.4) | <0.001 |
| ≤ 365 days | 804 (15.1) | 122 (9.3) | <0.001 |
aMissing in each group respectively
bThe five most common dispatch medical indices
cThe five most common medical history ICD-10 chapters, a patient can have more than one diagnosis
dDeviating vital signs: respiratory rate/min > 25 or < 8, oxygen saturation < 90%, pulse rate/min > 120 or < 40, systolic blood pressure < 90 mm/hg, diastolic blood pressure > 140 mm/hg, body temperature Celsius > 41 or < 35
eRLS Reaction level scale 1–8, GCS Glasgow coma scale 15–3
fThe five most common EMS field assessments