Table 2. Bivariate Analysis of Index Emergency Department Variables Associated With Hospitalization.
| Variable | Admission to hospital, No./total No. (%) | Model results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No (n = 1775) | Yes (n = 67) | Unadjusted OR (95% CI)a | P valueb | |
| Sex | ||||
| Boys | 971/1005 (96.6) | 34/1005 (3.4) | 1 [Reference] | .52 |
| Girls | 804/837 (96.1) | 33/837 (3.9) | 1.17 (0.72-1.92) | |
| Age group, mo | ||||
| 3.0 to <12.0 | 583/611 (95.4) | 28/611 (4.6) | 1 [Reference] | .48 |
| 12.0 to <24.0 | 655/678 (96.6) | 23/678 (3.4) | 0.79 (0.45-1.39) | |
| 24.0 to <36.0 | 326/337 (96.7) | 11/337 (3.3) | 0.70 (0.34-1.44) | |
| 36.0 to <48.0 | 211/216 (97.7) | 5/216 (2.3) | 0.50 (0.19-1.32) | |
| ED location | ||||
| Canada | 854/876 (97.5) | 22/876 (2.5) | 1 [Reference] | .15 |
| US | 921/966 (95.3) | 45/966 (4.7) | 1.81 (0.80-4.12) | |
| Distance from home to ED, median (IQR), kmb | 8.8 (4.5-15.2) | 11.7 (5.1-31.0) | 1.23 (1.12-1.36) | <.001 |
| Infectious agentc | ||||
| Negative | 646/661 (97.7) | 15/661 (2.3) | 1 [Reference] | .004 |
| Isolated organism | ||||
| Bacteria | 97/99 (98.0) | 2/99 (2.0) | 0.88 (0.19-3.93) | |
| Virus | 765/810 (94.4) | 45/810 (5.6) | 2.89 (1.58-5.31) | |
| Virus/bacteria codetection | 29/30 (96.7) | 1/30 (3.3) | 1.89 (0.23-15.30) | |
| Parasitesd | 19/19 (100.0) | 0/19 | NA | |
| Clinical Dehydration Scale score | ||||
| None (0) | 1105/1114 (99.2) | 9/1114 (0.8) | 1 [Reference] | <.001 |
| Mild to moderate (1-4) | 633/681 (93.0) | 48/681 (7.0) | 11.84 (5.67-24.71) | |
| Severe (5-8) | 30/40 (75.0) | 10/40 (25.0) | 53.45 (19.10-149.57) | |
| Oral ondansetron administered in the EDe | ||||
| No | 1253/1308 (95.8) | 55/1308 (4.2) | 1 [Reference] | .02 |
| Yes | 522/534 (97.8) | 12/534 (2.2) | 0.47 (0.25-0.89) | |
| No. of diarrhea episodes in 24 h preceding index ED visit, median (IQR)b | 5.0 (4.0-8.0) | 8.0 (4.0-15.0) | 1.67 (1.39-2.01) | <.001 |
| Duration of diarrhea, h | ||||
| 1 to <96 | 1593/1648 (96.7) | 55/1648 (3.3) | 1 [Reference] | .15 |
| 96 to <120 | 88/96 (91.7) | 8/96 (8.3) | 2.21 (0.99-4.94) | |
| ≥120 | 79/83 (95.2) | 4/83 (4.8) | 1.28 (0.44-3.70) | |
| No. of vomiting episodes in 24 h preceding index ED visit, median (IQR)b | 2.0 (0.0-5.0) | 4.0 (1.0-8.0) | 1.50 (1.25-1.81) | <.001 |
| Duration of vomiting, h | ||||
| No vomiting | 430/437 (98.4) | 7/437 (1.6) | 1 [Reference] | .06 |
| 1 to <24 | 388/405 (95.8) | 17/405 (4.2) | 2.62 (1.07-6.43) | |
| 24 to <48 | 354/367 (96.5) | 13/367 (3.5) | 2.33 (0.91-5.99) | |
| ≥48 | 478/504 (94.8) | 26/504 (5.2) | 3.21 (1.37-7.56) | |
| Preceding health care practitioner visit | ||||
| No | 1511/1556 (97.1) | 45/1556 (2.9) | 1 [Reference] | <.001 |
| Yes, but no IV rehydration | 243/261 (93.1) | 18/261 (6.9) | 2.21 (1.24-3.94) | |
| Yes, with IV rehydration | 12/16 (75.0) | 4/16 (25.0) | 10.26 (3.11-33.86) | |
| Feverf | ||||
| No | 840/861 (97.6) | 21/861 (2.4) | 1 [Reference] | .02 |
| Yes | 935/981 (95.3) | 46/981 (4.7) | 1.93 (1.14-3.28) | |
Abbreviations: ED, emergency department; IV, intravenous; NA, not available; OR, odds ratio; PECARN, Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network; PERC, Pediatric Emergency Research Canada.
ORs and CIs compare the odds of being admitted for each group vs the reference category or for an increase of 5 vomit or diarrhea episodes or for a 10-km increase in geodetic distance between a patient’s residence and the hospital zip code. A random effect of enrolling clinical site is included in all models. Models are otherwise unadjusted.
Five participants did not report a zip code; 2 did not report a number of vomiting or diarrhea episodes in 24 hours preceding the index ED visit.
Includes participants in whom stool testing was performed and results were available; patients with isolated parasites excluded from estimation of ORs due to low numbers.
Parasites alone were detected in 12 participants; parasite and virus or parasite and bacteria were codetected in 7 participants.
Excluding oral ondansetron given within 30 minutes or after ordering IV fluid.
Fever was defined as rectal temperature ≥38.0 °C in the PERC cohort; tactile fever or temperature ≥38.0 °C adjusted to rectal temperature in the PECARN cohort during the current illness, either at home or in the ED.