TABLE 1.
Demographics, clinical characteristics of emergency admissions on January 1–November 30, 2019, and January 1–November 30, 2020
| N = 1,273,263 | 2019 (N = 709,583) | 2020 (N = 563,680) | SMD |
|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | N (%) | ||
| Aged over 65 | 366,784 (51.7) | 299,701 (53.2) | 0.030 |
| Male | 349,241 (49.2) | 282,065 (50.0) | 0.016 |
| Chinese | 655,583 (92.4) | 519,146 (92.1) | 0.011 |
| Region | 0.018 | ||
| Hong Kong | 115,249 (16.2) | 91,927 (16.3) | ‐ |
| Kowloon | 217,647 (30.7) | 177,339 (31.5) | ‐ |
| New Territories | 376,687 (53.1) | 294,414 (52.2) | ‐ |
| Ambulance | 358,523 (50.5) | 298,912 (53.0) | 0.050 |
| Residential care home | 86,893 (12.2) | 75,960 (13.5) | 0.037 |
| CSSA | 249,587 (35.2) | 203,960 (36.2) | 0.021 |
| SDI | 0.013 | ||
| Low | 90,236 (12.7) | 70,433 (12.5) | ‐ |
| Middle | 516,212 (72.7) | 408,997 (72.6) | ‐ |
| High | 103,135 (14.5) | 84,250 (14.9) | ‐ |
| Pre‐pandemic | 49,578 (7.0) | 45,602 (8.1) | 0.042 |
| Waves | 0.073 | ||
| Wave 1 | 77,828 (11.0) | 55,711 (9.9) | ‐ |
| Wave 2 | 79,415 (11.2) | 54,699 (9.7) | ‐ |
| Wave 3 | 119,889 (16.9) | 89,910 (16.0) | ‐ |
| Interwave | 382,873 (54.0) | 317,758 (56.4) | 0.049 |
| Triage category | 0.033 | ||
| Critical | 13,830 (1.9) | 12,287 (2.2) | ‐ |
| Emergency | 44,076 (6.2) | 38,855 (6.9) | ‐ |
| Urgent | 461,944 (65.1) | 363,530 (64.5) | ‐ |
| Semiurgent & nonurgent | 189,733 (26.7) | 149,008 (26.4) | ‐ |
| Shift | 0.021 | ||
| Night (0 am–8 am) | 108,053 (15.2) | 82,336 (14.6) | ‐ |
| Day (8 am–4 pm) | 330,141 (46.5) | 267,417 (47.4) | ‐ |
| Evening (4 pm–0 am) | 271,389 (38.2) | 213,927 (38.0) | ‐ |
| Total time in ED ≤ 4 h | 452,010 (63.7) | 363,374 (64.5) | 0.016 |
| Hospital size | 0.024 | ||
| Small | 195,067 (27.5) | 151,092 (26.8) | ‐ |
| Medium | 184,648 (26.0) | 152,204 (27.0) | ‐ |
| Large | 329,868 (46.5) | 260,384 (46.2) | ‐ |
| Teaching hospital | 276,206 (38.9) | 220,475 (39.1) | 0.004 |
| Disease diagnosis | |||
| Respiratory conditions | |||
| Lower respiratory tract infection | 74,470 (10.5) | 51,481 (9.1) | 0.046 |
| Airway disease | 27,838 (3.9) | 15,745 (2.8) | 0.063 |
| Hypertension | 60,065 (8.5) | 48,084 (8.5) | 0.002 |
| Coronary heart disease | 24,038 (3.4) | 18,766 (3.3) | 0.003 |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 19,184 (2.7) | 17,613 (3.1) | 0.025 |
| Myocardial infarction | 9018 (1.3) | 7626 (1.4) | 0.007 |
| Diabetes | 37,916 (5.3) | 31,165 (5.5) | 0.008 |
| Mental disorders | 24,492 (3.5) | 21,137 (3.7) | 0.016 |
| Sepsis | 23,314 (3.3) | 19,963 (3.5) | 0.014 |
| Chronic kidney diseases | 15,317 (2.2) | 13,461 (2.4) | 0.015 |
| Cancer | 10,179 (1.4) | 9010 (1.6) | 0.013 |
| COVID‐19 related | |||
| Confirmed cases | ‐ | 2111 (0.4) | ‐ |
| Screening for COVID‐19 | ‐ | 1194 (0.2) | ‐ |
Note: The absolute SMD < 0.1 indicates covariate balance.
Abbreviations: CSSA, comprehensive social security assistance; ED, emergency department; SDI, social deprivation index; SMD, absolute standardized mean difference.