Table 1.
Patient Characteristics from Interfacility Transfers by Potentially Avoidable Transfer (PAT) status.
| Variable | Overall |
Before Lockdown |
After Lockdown |
Difference (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N = 20,978 | N = 17,072 | N = 3906 | |||
| PAT (%) | Non-PAT | 16,172 (77.1) | 13,085 (76.6) | 3087 (79.0) | −0.02 (−0.04, −0.01)b |
| PAT | 4806 (22.9) | 3987 (23.4) | 819 (21.0) | 0.02 (0.01, 0.04)b |
|
| Age (median [IQR]) | 56.3 [39.7, 69.2] |
56.4 [39.9, 69.5] | 55.9 [39.1, 68.2] | 0.95 (0.27, 1.63)a |
|
| Sex (%) | Male | 11,844 (56.5) | 9553 (56.0) | 2291 (58.7) | −0.03 ( −0.04, −0.01)b |
| Female | 9134 (43.5) | 7519 (44.0) | 1615 (41.3) | 0.03 (0.01, 0.04)b |
|
| Race Group (%) | White | 17,285 (82.4) | 14,130 (82.8) | 3155 (80.8) | 0.02 (0.01, 0.03)b |
| African American | 2727 (13.0) | 2222 (13.0) | 505 (12.9) | 0 (−0.01, 0.01)b |
|
| Other | 966 (4.6) | 720 (4.2) | 246 (6.3) | −0.02 (−0.03, −0.01)b |
|
| Point of Origin (%) | Hospital (Acute Care Facility) | 17,227 (82.1) | 13,649 (79.9) | 3578 (91.6) | −0.12 (−0.13, −0.11)b |
| Non-Healthcare Facility | 3751 (17.9) | 3423 (20.1) | 328 (8.4) | 0.12 (0.11, 0.13)b |
|
| Insurance Coverage (%) | Insured | 18,558 (88.5) | 15,190 (89.0) | 3368 (86.2) | 0.03 (0.02, 0.04)b |
| Uninsured | 2420 (11.5) | 1882 (11.0) | 538 (13.8) | −0.03 (−0.04, −0.02)b |
|
| Mode of Transport (%) | Ambulance | 17,608 (83.9) | 14,409 (84.4) | 3199 (81.9) | 0.03 (0.01, 0.04)b |
| Medical Flight | 2657 (12.7) | 2079 (12.2) | 578 (14.8) | −0.03 (−0.04, −0.01)b |
|
| Other | 606 (2.9) | 535 (3.1) | 71 (1.8) | 0.01 (0.01, 0.02)b |
|
| NA | 107 (0.5) | 49 (0.3) | 58 (1.5) | ||
| Patient Stability (%) | Systolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg | 13,474 (64.2) | 13,474 (78.9) | 0 (0.0) | 0.79 (0.78, 0.8)b |
| Systolic BP < 90 mmHg | 269 (1.3) | 269 (1.6) | 0 (0.0) | 0.02 (0.01, 0.02)b |
|
| Unknown | 7235 (34.5) | 3329 (19.5) | 3906 (100.0) | ||
| Transferring Hospital Type (%) | Urban | 10,644 (50.7) | 8736 (51.2) | 1908 (48.8) | 0.02 (0.01, 0.04)b |
| Rural | 10,334 (49.3) | 8336 (48.8) | 1998 (51.2) | −0.02 (−0.04, −0.01)b |
|
| Travel Distance (median [IQR]) | 59.0 [32.0, 95.0] |
59.0 [32.0, 93.0] | 65.0 [32.0, 101.0] | 0 (−4, 0)a |
|
| Business Hour (%) | Business Hours | 6049 (28.8) | 4982 (29.2) | 1067 (27.3) | 0.02 (0, 0.03)b |
| Non-Business Hours | 14,929 (71.2) | 12,090 (70.8) | 2839 (72.7) | −0.02 (−0.03, 0)b |
|
| Acuity, collapsed (%) | 1-Immediate | 526 (2.5) | 419 (2.5) | 107 (2.7) | 0 (−0.01, 0)b |
| 2-Emergent | 8577 (40.9) | 7053 (41.3) | 1524 (39.0) | 0.02 (0.01, 0.04)b |
|
| 3–5 Urgent to Non-Urgent | 11,784 (56.2) | 9526 (55.8) | 2258 (57.8) | 0.56 (0.55, 0.57)b |
|
| Unknown | 91 (0.4) | 74 (0.4) | 17 (0.4) | 0 (0,0)b |
|
| CCS Categories (%) | Symptoms, Not Classified | 1522 (7.3) | 1242 (7.3) | 280 (7.2) | 0 (−0.01, 0.01)b |
| Injury | 7307 (34.8) | 5778 (33.8) | 1529 (39.1) | −0.05 (−0.07, −0.04)b |
|
| Digestive | 2653 (12.6) | 2229 (13.1) | 424 (10.9) | 0.02 (0.01, 0.03)b |
|
| Circulatory | 2530 (12.1) | 2071 (12.1) | 459 (11.8) | 0 (−0.01, 0.02)b |
|
| Others | 4926 (23.5) | 4017 (23.5) | 909 (23.3) | 0 (−0.01, 0.02)b |
|
| ED Disposition Status (%) | Discharge | 3588 (17.1) | 2995 (17.5) | 593 (15.2) | 0.02 (0.01, 0.04)b |
| Admit | 17,051 (81.3) | 13,822 (81.0) | 3229 (82.7) | −0.02 (−0.03, 0)b |
|
| Other | 339 (1.6) | 255 (1.5) | 84 (2.2) | −0.01 (−0.01, 0)b |
|
| Specialty Procedure (%) | No | 15,234 (72.6) | 12,473 (73.1) | 2761 (70.7) | 0.02 (0.01, 0.04)b |
| Yes | 5744 (27.4) | 4599 (26.9) | 1145 (29.3) | −0.02 (−0.04, −0.01)b |
a
Wilcoxon.
b
Risk difference.