Table 1. Baseline characteristics of patients in analysis.
| Characteristics | No. (%) of patients | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total (n = 1,385,579) | Eligible group for triage modification (n = 981,281) | ||
| Age, yr | 3 (1–6) | 3 (1–6) | |
| Male | 789,603 (57.0) | 559,393 (57.0) | |
| EMC class | |||
| District EMC | 460,606 (33.2) | 390,681 (39.8) | |
| Regional EMC | 924,973 (66.8) | 590,600 (60.2) | |
| Heart rate by age | |||
| < −3 SDs | 1,952 (0.1) | 1,864 (0.2) | |
| ≥ −3 SDs and < −2 SDs | 8,473 (0.6) | 8,075 (0.8) | |
| ≥ −2 SDs and < −1 SD | 52,806 (3.8) | 50,107 (5.1) | |
| ≥ −1 SD and ≤ 1 SD | 548,859 (39.6) | 524,326 (53.4) | |
| > 1 SD and ≤ 2 SDs | 223,717 (16.2) | 216,252 (22.0) | |
| > 2 SDs and ≤ 3 SDs | 107,343 (7.8) | 105,048 (10.7) | |
| > 3 SDs | 64,719 (4.7) | 64,059 (6.5) | |
| Unknown | 377,710 (27.3) | 11,550 (1.2) | |
| Respiratory rate by age | |||
| < −3 SDs | 742 (0.1) | 712 (0.1) | |
| ≥ −3 SDs and < −2 SDs | 39,390 (2.8) | 37,957 (3.9) | |
| ≥ −2 SDs and < −1 SD | 275,497 (19.9) | 266,204 (27.1) | |
| ≥ −1 SD and ≤ 1 SD | 419,131 (30.3) | 403,699 (41.1) | |
| > 1 SD and ≤ 2 SDs | 235,042 (17.0) | 224,078 (22.8) | |
| > 2 SDs and ≤ 3 SDs | 21,736 (1.6) | 21,027 (2.1) | |
| > 3 SDs | 16,128 (1.2) | 15,688 (1.6) | |
| Unknown | 377,913 (27.3) | 11,916 (1.2) | |
| Mental status | |||
| Alert | 1,373,154 (99.1) | 973,843 (99.2) | |
| Verbal responsive | 4,900 (0.4) | 4,091 (0.4) | |
| Pain responsive | 2,659 (0.2) | 2,258 (0.2) | |
| Unresponsive | 893 (0.1) | 339 (0.0) | |
| Unknown | 3,973 (0.3) | 750 (0.1) | |
| Triage provider's profession | |||
| Nurse | 1,198,875 (86.5) | 852,650 (86.9) | |
| EM specialist | 76,958 (5.6) | 51,804 (5.3) | |
| EM resident | 47,733 (3.4) | 32,015 (3.3) | |
| Paramedic | 59,173 (4.3) | 43,815 (4.5) | |
| Unknown | 2,840 (0.2) | 997 (0.1) | |
| Arrival mode | |||
| Air transport | 531 (0.0) | 343 (0.0) | |
| Ground ambulance | 79,215 (5.7) | 62,829 (6.4) | |
| Other vehicles | 1,294,185 (93.4) | 911,319 (92.9) | |
| Walk in | 7,205 (0.52) | 5,543 (0.6) | |
| Unknown | 4,443 (0.32) | 1,247 (0.1) | |
| Trauma | 370,127 (26.7) | 250,700 (25.5) | |
| Time to triage, min | 3 (1–7) | 4 (2–7) | |
| ED LOS, min | 79 (37–156) | 88 (44–170) | |
| Disposition | |||
| Admission | 153,390 (11.1) | 121,526 (12.4) | |
| Discharge | 1,226,090 (88.5) | 855,414 (87.2) | |
| Expired | 366 (0.0) | 28 (0.0) | |
| Transfer to other hospital | 5,733 (0.4) | 4,313 (0.4) | |
| Hospitalization | 159,123 (11.5) | 125,839 (12.8) | |
| ICU admission | 6,481 (0.5) | 5,095 (0.5) | |
The continuous variables were presented as median (interquartile range) and categorical variables were presented as number (%).
EMC = emergency medical center, SD = standard deviation, ED = emergency department, LOS = length of stay, ICU = intensive care unit.