Table 1.
Clinical characteristics and outcomes of direct visits vs. referrals at level I and II emergency centers.
| Level I + II Emergency Centers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Variables | Total (n = 21,220,520) |
Direct Visit (n = 19,580,135, 92.3%) |
Referral (n = 1,605,304, 7.6%) |
| Age (year, ±SD) | 51.3 (±18.8) | 50.5 (±18.6) | 61.1 (±19.0) |
| Sex, male (%) | 10,596,788 (49.9) | 9,741,546 (49.8) | 836,913 (52.1) |
| Cause of visit, n (%) | |||
| Disease | 10,277,717 (48.4) | 9,086,281 (46.4) | 1,185,825 (73.9) |
| Injury | 3,854,361 (18.2) | 3,590,875 (18.3) | 261,301 (16.3) |
| KTAS, n (%) | |||
| Level 1 | 185,829 (0.9) | 147,330 (0.8) | 37,758 (2.4) |
| Level 2 | 895,053 (4.2) | 673,795 (3.4) | 220,166 (13.7) |
| Level 3 | 4,872,467 (23.0) | 4,111,396 (21.0) | 756,490 (47.1) |
| Level 4 | 6,063,932 (28.6) | 5,699,782 (29.1) | 358,121 (22.3) |
| Level 5 | 1,653,984 (7.8) | 1,590,365 (8.1) | 60,443 (3.8) |
| Vital sign (±SD) | |||
| SBP | 133.2 (±24.3) | 133.4 (±24.0) | 131.9 (±26.9) |
| DBP | 79.8 (±14.6) | 80.1 (±14.4) | 78.0 (±16.0) |
| PR | 85.1 (±17.1) | 84.8 (±16.8) | 87.4 (±19.1) |
| RR | 19.4 (±2.8) | 19.4 (±2.7) | 19.7 (±3.2) |
| BT | 36.8 (±0.7) | 36.8 (±0.7) | 36.8 (±0.7) |
| LOS (min ± SD) | 172.6 (±484.1) | 153.3 (±449.0) | 409.1 (±753.7) |
| Insurance type, n (%) | |||
| National | 18,074,424 (85.2) | 16,690,937 (85.2) | 1,363,408 (84.9) |
| GSHI | 1,421,898 (6.7) | 1,269,006 (6.5) | 150,707 (9.4) |
| Automobile | 1,014,934 (4.8) | 963,915 (4.9) | 50,022 (3.1) |
| Industry | 91,658 (0.4) | 82,229 (0.4) | 9232 (0.6) |
| None | 467,046 (2.2) | 438,750 (2.2) | 22,684 (1.4) |
| Referred from | |||
| Higher general hospital | 74,691 (4.7) | ||
| General hospital | 448,010 (27.9) | ||
| Hospital | 467,888 (29.1) | ||
| Clinic | 382,857 (23.9) | ||
| Patient disposition | 7649 (0.5) | ||
| Discharge | 16,239,842 (76.5) | 15,711,986 (80.2) | 518,729 (32.3) |
| Hospitalization | 4,312,635 (20.3) | 3,309,124 (16.9) | 1,000,451 (62.3) |
| Transfer | 434,297 (2.0) | 363,524 (1.9) | 70,315 (4.4) |
| Death | 143,218 (0.7) | 129,875 (0.7) | 12,390 (0.8) |
Data are presented as numbers with percentages for categorical variables and means with standard deviations for continuous variables. Abbreviations: BT, body temperature; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; ED, emergency department; GSHI, government-sponsored health insurance; KTAS, Korean Triage and Acuity Scale; LOS, length of stay; PR, pulse rate; RR, respiratory rate; SBP, systolic blood pressure; SD, standard deviations.