Table 2.
Emergency Care Visit Characteristicsa
| Variable | FN n = 1,099,424 | Non-FN n = 10,586,863 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of unique patients | 145,508 | 4.8 | 2,878,983 | 95.2 |
| ED visits per patient (over study period) | ||||
| Median [IQR] | 4 | [2, 9] | 2 | [1, 4] |
| Sex, n %b | ||||
| Female | 596,248 | 54.2 | 5,384,233 | 50.9 |
| Male | 503,173 | 45.8 | 5,202,606 | 49.1 |
| Agec | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 31.4 | (20.2) | 38.4 | (24.3) |
| Median [IQR] | 30 | [17.0 46.0] | 36 | [20.0 57.0] |
| Missing, n % | 6 | 0.0 | 35 | 0.0 |
| Visit Day, n % | ||||
| Monday-Friday | 791,898 | 72.0 | 7,629,544 | 72.1 |
| Saturday-Sunday | 307,526 | 28.0 | 2,957,319 | 27.9 |
| Visit Time, n % | ||||
| 8:01–16:00 | 488,736 | 44.5 | 5,320,816 | 50.3 |
| 16:01–00:00 | 479,531 | 43.6 | 4,029,075 | 38.1 |
| 00:01–08:00 | 113,157 | 11.9 | 1,236,972 | 11.7 |
| Ambulance arrival, n (%) | ||||
| Arrive by Ambulance – Air | 1325 | 0.1 | 5738 | 0.1 |
| Arrive by Ambulance – Ground | 168,553 | 15.3 | 1,056,100 | 10.0 |
| Arrive by Ambulance – Combined | 3586 | 0.3 | 4446 | 0.0 |
| Not Admitted by Ambulance | 925,960 | 84.2 | 9,520,579 | 89.9 |
| Triage level, n (%) | ||||
| CTAS 1 – Resuscitation | 5284 | 0.5 | 45,625 | 0.4 |
| CTAS 2- Emergent | 86,155 | 7.8 | 1,208,333 | 11.4 |
| CTAS 3 – Urgent | 306,481 | 27.9 | 3,649,685 | 34.5 |
| CTAS 4 – Less Urgent | 446,945 | 40.7 | 4,031,673 | 38.1 |
| CTAS 5 – Non-Urgent | 201,399 | 18.3 | 1304,155 | 12.3 |
| No CTAS Assigned | 53,160 | 4.8 | 347,392 | 3.3 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index Score n (%) | ||||
| 0 | 766,450 | 69.7 | 7,914,320 | 74.8 |
| 1 | 190,737 | 17.3 | 1,425,386 | 13.5 |
| 2 | 61,119 | 5.6 | 524,217 | 5.0 |
| 3 | 29,075 | 2.6 | 270,587 | 2.6 |
| 4 | 16,946 | 1.5 | 152,535 | 1.4 |
| 5 | 9363 | 0.9 | 84,064 | 0.8 |
| 6 | 8310 | 0.8 | 55,799 | 0.5 |
| 7 or higher | 17,424 | 1.6 | 159,955 | 1.5 |
| Episode Disease Category Groups (top 10 by FN count) n % | ||||
| Infection | 203,045 | 18.5 | 1,652,620 | 15.6 |
| Trauma and Injury | 186,562 | 17.0 | 2,053,672 | 19.4 |
| Unspecific Signs, Symptoms, and Findings | 125,594 | 11.4 | 1,113,140 | 10.5 |
| Gastrointestinal Conditions | 97,940 | 8.9 | 1,111,655 | 10.5 |
| Respiratory Conditions | 56,044 | 5.1 | 491,546 | 4.6 |
| Cancer | 49,551 | 4.5 | 454,915 | 4.3 |
| Substance Misuse/Addictions | 43,895 | 4.0 | 97,682 | 0.9 |
| Breast, Obstetrics and Gynecology | 38,857 | 3.5 | 299,619 | 2.8 |
| Musculoskeletal and Arthritis Conditions | 34,030 | 3.1 | 399,884 | 3.8 |
| Mental Health | 31,938 | 2.9 | 245,230 | 2.3 |
| Disposition n % | ||||
| Discharged | 934,194 | 85.0 | 9,167,120 | 86.6 |
| Admitted | 70,295 | 6.4 | 833,609 | 7.9 |
| Transferred | 20,249 | 1.8 | 191,180 | 1.8 |
| Left Without Being Seen | 48,690 | 4.4 | 290,468 | 2.7 |
| Left Against Medical Advice | 25,540 | 2.3 | 97,877 | 0.9 |
| Deceased | 456 | 0.0 | 6609 | 0.1 |
FN First Nations, non-FN non-First Nations, ED Emergency Department, IQR interquartile range, SD standard deviation, CTAS Canadian Triage Acuity Score
aAll difference between FN and non-FN are significant at the p = < 0.001 level with one exception. Visit day is not significantly different (p = 0.40)
b< 30 additional visits by FN and non-FN patients had the sex of the patient recorded as “Other.” The low number may be due to inconsistent use of this category rather than a reflection of the population
cPatient age in years as calculated at admission. Ages> 110 were recoded as missing