Table 2.

Characteristics of study participants, n = 17

Patient characteristic	n (%)
Gender
Female	9 (52.9)
Male	8 (47.1)
Age group, years
20–39	5 (29.4)
40–59	6 (35.3)
≥ 60	6 (35.3)
Mean	50.9
Median	49.5
GP status
Yes	13 (76.5)
No	4 (23.5)
Morbidity*
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)	8 (47.1)
Asthma	2 (11.8)
Acute respiratory tract infection (RTI), e.g. bronchitis, pneumonia	4 (29.4)
Subjective dyspnoea, exclusion of serious illness (like e.g. pulmonary embolism)	3 (17.6)
ED consultation*
Out-of-hours	6 (35.3)
Referred by physician**	7 (41.2)
Triage category*†
2 very urgent	1 (5.9)
3 urgent	8 (47.1)
4 standard	6 (35.3)
5 non urgent	2 (11.8)
Subjective urgency*
1 must be seen immediately	5 (29.4)
2 must be seen as soon as possible	7 (41.2)
3 must be seen today	3 (17.7)
4 less urgent	2 (11.8)
Previous ED visit in past 6 months*‡	7 (41.2)
GP visit in past 6 months*‡	13 (76.5)

*Determined post hoc from quantitative cohort dataset, not a sampling criterion

**Six of these patients: ED consultation during practice office hours

^†Manchester triage system, categories 1–5. None of the participants had been triaged as category 1 (immediate)

^‡At least one visit of respective institution/health care provider