Table 3.
Characteristics of emergency department (ED) left without being seen patients stratified by documented associated visit within health system within 3 weeks following ED encounter status, n = 2269
| Characteristics | Associated visit in 3 weeks (n = 920) | No associated visit in 3 weeks (n = 1349) | Adjusted odds ratio (99% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age (years) | 42 (SD: 18) | 39 (SD: 17) | 1.08 (1.01, 1.15)c |
| Male | 348 (37.8%) | 484 (35.9%) | 1.09 (0.85, 1.38) |
| White (race) | 692 (75.2%) | 868 (64.3%) | 1.00 (referent) |
| Asian (race) | 15 (1.6%) | 20 (1.5%) | 0.98 (0.40, 2.43) |
| Black (race) | 140 (15.2%) | 267 (19.8%) | 0.68 (0.50, 0.93)c |
| Hispanic (race) | 37 (4.0%) | 63 (4.7%) | 0.81 (0.46, 1.41) |
| Multiple (race) | 15 (1.6%) | 26 (1.9%) | 0.75 (0.32, 1.78) |
| Unknown (race) | 21 (2.3%) | 105 (7.8%) | 0.25 (0.13, 0.47)c |
| Weekday (8 am–5 pm) | 448 (48.7%) | 562 (41.7%) | 1.00 (referent) |
| Weekday (not 8 am–5 pm) | 353 (38.4%) | 547 (40.6%) | 0.87 (0.67, 1.11) |
| Weekend | 119 (12.9%) | 240 (17.8%) | 0.63 (0.45, 0.89)c |
| Median ED wait time (min) | 111 (IQR: 57, 177) | 114 (IQR: 59, 177) | 1.00 (0.98, 1.01) |
| Chief complaint in ED | |||
| Abdominal/gastrointestinal | 214 (23.3%) | 312 (23.1%) | 1.00 (referent) |
| Chest pain | 131 (14.2%) | 158 (11.7%) | 1.08 (0.73, 1.59) |
| Gynecological/genitourinary | 71 (7.7%) | 72 (5.3%) | 1.51 (0.92, 2.48) |
| HEENT | 17 (1.9%) | 59 (4.4%) | 0.41 (0.19, 0.87)c |
| Immune/infection | 56 (6.1%) | 89 (6.6%) | 0.91 (0.55, 1.52) |
| Injury/pain | 221 (24.0%) | 341 (25.3%) | 0.91 (0.65, 1.27) |
| Neuro/headache | 125 (13.6%) | 196 (14.5%) | 0.91 (0.62, 1.33) |
| Psychiatric | 19 (2.1%) | 44 (3.3%) | 0.65 (0.30, 1.38) |
| Other | 63 (6.9%) | 70 (5.2%) | 1.15 (0.70, 1.90) |
| Mean heart rate (beats/min)a | 87 (SD: 16) | 86 (SD: 16) | 1.05 (0.96, 1.15) |
| Mean respiratory rate (breaths/min)a | 17 (SD: 4) | 17 (SD: 4) | 1.03 (0.88, 1.21) |
| Mean blood oxygen saturation (%)a | 97 (SD: 2) | 98 (SD: 3) | 0.96 (0.64, 1.42) |
| Mean pain scorea | 6.5 (SD: 3) | 6.6 (SD: 3) | 1.00 (0.95, 1.05) |
| Mean severity indexa | 3.2 (SD: 0.5) | 3.3 (SD: 0.6) | 0.99 (0.73, 1.34) |
SD standard deviation, IQR interquartile range, CC chief complaint
aVariables collected during nurse’s triage were not available for the 301 patients who left prior to assessment. Presented adjusted odds ratios were based on fitting two models: one excluding variables with ‘a’ superscripts; and one including those variables. Estimates with ‘a’ superscript included those variables in the model
bAdjusted odds ratio based on 10-unit increase in heart rate, 5-unit increase in respiratory rate and O2 saturation, and 1-unit increase in age, pain and severity
cPrecision bounds excluded the null value