Table 3.
Results of single variable* logistic regression for adverse events (n=1319 patients)
| Characteristic | N | n (%) | OR | P value |
| Sex | 0.38 | |||
| Male | 668 | 19 (2.8) | Ref | |
| Female | 651 | 14 (2.2) | 0.73 (0.36–1.46) | |
| Both parents (or single parent) speak English or French | 0.44 | |||
| Yes | 1260 | 31 (2.5) | Ref | |
| No | 59 | 2 (3.4) | 1.74 (0.35–5.42) | |
| Both parents (or single parent) are immigrants† | 0.22 | |||
| No | 1244 | 33 (2.7) | Ref | |
| Yes | 71 | 0 (0.0) | 0.26 (0.00–1.84) | |
| Paediatric Canadian Triage Acuity Scale | 0.23 | |||
| 1, 2 Resus/emergent | 84 | 1 (1.2) | Ref | |
| 3 Urgent | 664 | 22 (3.3) | 1.96 (0.50–17.75) | |
| 4, 5 Semiurgent/non-urgent | 571 | 10 (1.8) | 1.07 (0.25–10.04) | |
| After hours | 0.47 | |||
| No (08:00 to 17:00) | 735 | 16 (2.2) | Ref | |
| Yes (>17:00 to <08:00) | 584 | 17 (2.9) | 0.64 (0.22–2.48) | |
| Weekend | 0.02 | |||
| No (Mon–Friday) | 915 | 29 (3.2) | Ref | |
| Yes (Saturday–Sunday) | 404 | 4 (1.0) | 0.35 (0.11–0.87) | |
| Disposition | 0.98 | |||
| Discharged | 1235 | 32 (2.6) | Ref | |
| Admitted | 66 | 1 (1.5) | 0.87 (0.10–3.39) | |
| Left without being seen or against medical advice | 18 | 0 (0.0) | 1.00 (0.01–7.65) | |
| Indwelling line or urinary catheter, or dialysis catheter or respiratory support needed | 0.74 (0.06–5.52) | 0.83 | ||
| No | 1294 | 33 (2.6) | Ref | |
| Yes | 25 | 0 (0.0) | 0.74 (0.06–5.52) | |
| Mental health visit | 0.04 | |||
| No | 1301 | 31 (2.4) | Ref | |
| Yes | 18 | 2 (11.1) | 5.68 (1.09–19.41) | |
| Patient has at least one chronic medical condition | 0.89 | |||
| No | 1043 | 26 (2.5) | Ref | |
| Yes | 276 | 7 (2.5) | 1.06 (0.43–2.29) | |
| Arrival by ambulance | ||||
| No | 1263 | 29 (2.3) | Ref | |
| Yes | 56 | 4 (7.1) | 3.39 (1.05–8.74) | |
| Initial ED location | 0.94 | |||
| Main ED | 324 | 10 (3.1) | Ref | |
| Ambulatory zone/minor treatment area | 995 | 23 (2.3) | 0.62 (0.08–79.79) | |
| Subspecialty services involved‡ | ||||
| No | 1250 | 30 (2.4) | Ref | 0.12 |
| Yes | 54 | 3 (5.6) | 2.78 (0.73–7.73) | |
| Primary assessor was ED staff§ | 0.38 | |||
| No | 769 | 22 (2.9) | Ref | |
| Yes | 524 | 11 (2.1) | 0.73 (0.34–1.47) | |
| Number of ED staff physicians involved in patient’s care§ | 0.59 | |||
| 1 | 1212 | 31 (2.6) | Ref | |
| 2 | 69 | 2 (2.9) | 1.42 (0.28–4.40) | |
| 3+ | 3 | 0 (0.0) | 5.43 (0.04–60.75) | |
| Continuous variables | ||||
| Patient level | ||||
| Age in years, median (IQR) | 11.87 (1.29–15.48) | <0.001 | ||
| Linear term | 0.96 (0.87–1.05) | |||
| Quadratic term | 1.02 (1.01–1.04) | |||
| Time to see doctor (hours), median (IQR) | 1.13 (0.78–1.95) | 0.97 (0.64–1.24) | 0.87 | |
| Number of patients waiting to be seen when registered, median (IQR) | 14 (11-20) | 0.55 | ||
| Linear term | 1.04 (0.98–1.10) | |||
| Quadratic term | 1.00 (0.99–1.00) | |||
| ED census at time of registration, median (IQR) | 31 (27–42) | 1.02 (0.99–1.06) | 0.18 | |
| Number of patients awaiting admission to the ward, median (IQR) | 2 (1–3) | 1.01 (0.81–1.23) | 0.49 | |
| LOS in the ED (hours) (time to discharge OR time to admission to floor), median (IQR) | 3.08 (1.87–4.28) | 1.10 (0.99–1.20) | 0.08 |
*All logistic regression analyses adjusted for shift (day, evening, night) to account for oversampling of night shifts.
†N is less than 1319 as this data were not collected for four enrolled patients.
‡N is less than 1319 as this does not include the 15 patients who left without being seen. Patients who were seen directly by subspecialty service (n=11) and those patients who were seen first by ED-specific services but for whom a referral to a subspecialty service was also made (n=43) were deemed as having subspecialty service involvement.
§N is less than 1319 as includes only the 1293 patients seen by ED-specific services (11 were seen by subspecialty services directly and 15 left without being seen).
¶N is less than 1319 as this includes only patients seen by an ED-specific service physician (9 of the 1293 patients seen by ED-specific services were managed by a mental health crisis worker with no ED physician involvement).
ED, emergency department; LOS, length of stay.