Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of the study participants
| Control (N=9673 in 12 clusters) | Computerised decision-support system (N=11 384 in 12 clusters) | Total (N=21 057 in 24 clusters) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 76 (63–85) | 75 (61–84) | 76 (62–85) | |
| Gender | ||||
| Female | 4811 (49·7%) | 5438 (47·8%) | 10 249 (48·7%) | |
| Male | 4862 (50·3%) | 5946 (52·2%) | 10 808 (51·3%) | |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| Chronic cardiac disease | 2774 (28·7%) | 3641 (32·0%) | 6415 (30·5%) | |
| Chronic lung disease | 2069 (21·4%) | 2232 (19·6%) | 4301 (20·4%) | |
| Diabetes | 1952 (20·2%) | 2132 (18·7%) | 4084 (19·4%) | |
| Chronic kidney disease | 1865 (19·3%) | 1979 (17·4%) | 3844 (18·3%) | |
| Neoplasia | 390 (4·0%) | 542 (4·8%) | 932 (4·4%) | |
| Chronic liver disease | 272 (2·8%) | 292 (2·6%) | 564 (2·7%) | |
| Immunosuppression | 146 (1·5%) | 161 (1·4%) | 307 (1·5%) | |
| HIV/AIDS | 2 (<0·1%) | 20 (0·2%) | 22 (0·1%) | |
Data are n (%) or median (IQR). All admissions were to a participating ward, regardless of whether they received antibiotics during their stay in the ward.