Table 3.

Time from emergency department (ED) presentation to admission, number (%) of patients admitted to wards and the ICU, and mortality rates

Variable	Non-SARS viral respiratory tract infection (n = 253)	SARS respiratory tract infection (n = 322)	p-valuea
Time from first ED attendance to admission in days, mean±SD	1.0 ± 0	3.1 ± 4.0	<0.01
Admitted to ward, no. (%)	253 (100)	316 (98)	0.04
Admitted to ICU, no. (%)	6 (2)	61 (24)	<0.01
Mortality, no. (%)	8 (3)	33 (10)	<0.01

^aChi-square test, Fisher’s exact test or students t test, as appropriate.