Table 2. Baseline Characteristics of Patients.
| Characteristic | Patients, No. (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intervention hospitals | Control hospitals | |||
| Preintervention phase, Feb 2017 to Jan 2018 (n = 27 219) | Intervention phase, Feb 2018 to Jan 2019 (n = 27 476) | Preintervention phase, Feb 2017 to Jan 2018 (n = 216 261) | Intervention phase, Feb 2018 to Jan 2019 (n = 222 530) | |
| Sociodemographic | ||||
| Age, median (IQR), y | 72 (59-82) | 72 (59-82) | 74 (60-83) | 74 (60-83) |
| Gender | ||||
| Male | 14 400 (52.9) | 14 448 (52.6) | 109 770 (50.8) | 113 053 (50.8) |
| Female | 12 819 (47.1) | 13 028 (47.4) | 106 491 (49.2) | 109 477 (49.2) |
| Swiss residents | 22 113 (81.2) | 22 237 (80.9) | 178 391 (82.5) | 182 729 (82.1) |
| Private health insurance | 5669 (20.8) | 5678 (20.7) | 48 625 (22.5) | 48 177 (21.6) |
| Living at home before admission | 22 467 (82.5) | 22 632 (82.4) | 192 116 (88.8) | 197 881 (88.9) |
| Nursing home residents | 1867 (6.9) | 1905 (6.9) | 9212 (4.3) | 10159 (4.6) |
| Hospital | ||||
| Quarter of hospital admission | ||||
| Jan-Mar | 7425 (27.3) | 7333 (26.7) | 56 915 (26.3) | 59 450 (26.7) |
| Apr-Jun | 6526 (24.0) | 6711 (24.4) | 51 398 (23.8) | 53 256 (23.9) |
| Jul-Sep | 6767 (24.9) | 6702 (24.4) | 52 613 (24.3) | 53 784 (24.2) |
| Oct-Dec | 6501 (23.9) | 6730 (24.5) | 55 335 (25.6) | 56 040 (25.2) |
| Hospital teaching level | ||||
| University hospitals | 6679 (24.5) | 6220 (22.6) | 31 153 (14.4) | 32 800 (14.7) |
| Nonuniversity tertiary care hospitals | 17 510 (64.3) | 17 940 (65.3) | 142 752 (66.0) | 146 513 (65.8) |
| Secondary care hospitals | 3030 (11.1) | 3316 (12.1) | 42 356 (19.6) | 43 217 (19.4) |
| Level of morbidity | ||||
| Comorbidities | ||||
| Hypertension | 14 613 (53.7) | 14 704 (53.5) | 110 018 (50.9) | 115 012 (51.7) |
| Diabetes | 5519 (20.3) | 5692 (20.7) | 42 330 (19.6) | 44 072 (19.8) |
| Congestive heart failure | 4063 (14.9) | 4245 (15.4) | 32 441 (15.0) | 34 380 (15.4) |
| Coronary artery disease | 6482 (23.8) | 6554 (23.9) | 47 393 (21.9) | 49 576 (22.3) |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 3368 (12.4) | 3486 (12.7) | 18 276 (8.5) | 19 404 (8.7) |
| Chronic kidney disease | 6314 (23.2) | 6416 (23.4) | 47 325 (21.9) | 50 883 (22.9) |
| Liver disease | 1161 (4.3) | 1229 (4.5) | 9319 (4.3) | 9864 (4.4) |
| COPD | 2661 (9.8) | 2737 (10.0) | 20 732 (9.6) | 22 100 (9.9) |
| Cancer | 3775 (13.9) | 3739 (13.6) | 28 434 (13.1) | 29 142 (13.1) |
| Dementia | 1634 (6.0) | 1667 (6.1) | 12 790 (5.9) | 13 178 (5.9) |
| Groups of main diagnoses during hospital stay | ||||
| Cardiovascular | 7445 (27.4) | 7331 (26.7) | 53 891 (24.9) | 55 033 (24.7) |
| Respiratory | 3610 (13.3) | 3766 (13.7) | 30 197 (14.0) | 32 097 (14.4) |
| Oncology | 2098 (7.7) | 2155 (7.8) | 15 718 (7.3) | 15 858 (7.1) |
| Gastroenterology | 2351 (8.6) | 2324 (8.5) | 17 275 (8.0) | 17 732 (8.0) |
| Infectious disease | 2018 (7.4) | 2090 (7.6) | 16 491 (7.6) | 17 252 (7.7) |
| Elixhauser Comorbidity Index, mean (SD)a | 3.0 (2.1) | 3.1 (2.1) | 2.8 (2.0) | 2.9 (2.0) |
| Hospital Frailty Risk Scoreb | ||||
| <5, Low risk | 17 698 (65.0) | 17 636 (64.2) | 143 041 (66.1) | 145 014 (65.2) |
| 5-15, Intermediate risk | 8433 (31.0) | 8729 (31.8) | 66 582 (30.8) | 70 072 (31.5) |
| >15, High risk | 1088 (4.0) | 1111 (4.0) | 6638 (3.1) | 7444 (3.3) |
Abbreviation: COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
a
Scores range from −7 to 12, with higher scores indicating greater comorbidity.
b
Scores range from 0 to 99, with higher scores indicating greater frailty.