Table 1. General Characteristics of Patients Who Visited Emergency Medical Institutions Before and During the COVID-19 Period.
| Variables | Total (n=16265799) | Before COVID-19 (01.01.2017–01.27.2020) (n=14983848) |
During COVID-19 (01.28.2020–05.31.2020) (n=1281951) |
p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male sex (%) | 8196198 (50.3) | 7537132 (50.3) | 659066 (51.4) | <0.0001 | |
| Age (yr) | <0.0001 | ||||
| 0–9 | 481797 (3.0) | 460511 (3.1) | 21286 (1.7) | ||
| 10–19 | 1281734 (7.9) | 1208632 (8.1) | 73102 (5.7) | ||
| 20–29 | 2050473 (12.6) | 1879090 (12.6) | 171383 (13.3) | ||
| 30–39 | 2112667 (13.0) | 1951379 (13.0) | 161288 (12.6) | ||
| 40–49 | 2161683 (13.3) | 1994685 (13.3) | 166998 (13.0) | ||
| 50–59 | 2641801 (16.2) | 2434166 (16.3) | 207635 (16.2) | ||
| 60–69 | 2193109 (13.5) | 2005413 (13.4) | 187696 (14.6) | ||
| 70–79 | 1903824 (11.7) | 1744624 (11.6) | 159200 (12.4) | ||
| ≥80 | 1438711 (8.8) | 1305348 (8.7) | 133633 (10.4) | ||
| Spectrum of disease | <0.0001 | ||||
| Disease | 11842267(72.8) | 10896530 (72.7) | 945737 (73.7) | ||
| Non-disease | 4423532 (27.2) | 4087318 (27.2) | 336214 (26.2) | ||
| Means of transportation | <0.0001 | ||||
| Direct visit | 14457183 (88.8) | 13316329 (88.8) | 1137183 (88.7) | ||
| Transfer in | 1812287 (11.2) | 1667519 (11.1) | 144768 (11.3) | ||
| Initial KTAS triage level | <0.0001 | ||||
| I | 207076 (1.3) | 186775 (1.3) | 20301 (1.6) | ||
| II | 1041602 (6.4) | 960536 (6.4) | 81039 (6.3) | ||
| III | 6035125 (37.1) | 5531101 (36.9) | 504024 (39.3) | ||
| IV | 7348616 (45.2) | 6797600 (45.4) | 551016 (43.0) | ||
| V | 1633380 (10.0) | 1507809 (10.1) | 125571 (9.8) | ||
| Type of final treatment place at ED | <0.0001 | ||||
| General emergency care area | 16065568 (98.8) | 14845002 (99.1) | 1220566 (95.2) | ||
| General isolation area | 142423 (0.9) | 110682 (0.7) | 31741 (2.5) | ||
| Negative-pressure isolation area | 57808 (0.4) | 28164 (0.2) | 29644 (2.3) | ||
| Stay time at ED according to KTAS level | |||||
| Median (Q1, Q3) | |||||
| I | 320 (133, 759) | 132 (53, 314) | 148 (59, 391) | <0.0001 | |
| II | 223 (123, 424) | 222 (123, 423) | 231 (127, 436) | <0.0001 | |
| III | 174 (108, 299) | 173 (108, 297) | 182 (110, 322) | <0.0001 | |
| IV | 105 (55, 178) | 105 (55, 178) | 102 (52, 178) | <0.0001 | |
| V | 57 (22, 118) | 57 (22, 115) | 51 (20, 110) | <0.0001 | |
| Disposition status at ED | <0.0001 | ||||
| ED discharge | 12017487 (73.9) | 11098669 (74.0) | 918818 (71.2) | ||
| Admission to general ward | 3191597 (19.6) | 2924559 (19.5) | 267038 (20.8) | ||
| Admission to intensive care unit | 644985 (4.0) | 583801 (3.9) | 61884 (4.8) | ||
| Transfer to other hospital | 307377 (1.9) | 283234 (1.9) | 24143 (1.9) | ||
| Expiry | 104353 (0.6) | 93585 (0.6) | 10768 (0.8) | ||
| Disposition status: admission to intensive care unit or expiry at ED | <0.0001 | ||||
| Yes | 749338 (4.6) | 677386 (4.5) | 71952 (5.6) | ||
| No | 15516461 (95.4) | 14306462 (95.5) | 129999 (94.4) | ||
COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; KTAS, Korean Triage and Acuity Scale; ED, emergency department.
% units are rounded up.