Table 2. Overview of overall ED utilization during COVID waves and reference periods in 2019.
| First wave | Reference period first wave | Second wave | Reference period second wave | p value first wave vs reference | p value second wave vs reference | p value first vs second wave | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of patients, n (%) | 18,024 (14.7%) | 22,607 (18.4%) | 18,282 (14.9%) | 21,557 (17.6%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.608 |
| Age in years, median (IQR) | 62 (39–76) | 59 (32–75) | 62 (37–76) | 60 (33–76) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.011 |
| Sex (missing = 23) | |||||||
| Female, n (%) | 8,722 (48.4%) | 11,242 (49.7%) | 8,867 (48.5%) | 10,697 (49.7%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.754 |
| Male, n (%) | 9,298 (51.6%) | 11,363 (50.3%) | 9,415 (51.5%) | 10,856 (50.3%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.866 |
| Possible COVID, n (%) | 4,777 (26.5%) | 0 (0%) | 3,102 (17.0%) | 0 (0%) | - | - | <0.001 |
| Transportation to ED: Ambulance | |||||||
| Self-referral, n (%) | 3,801 (21.1%) | 3,716 (16.7%) | 4,053 (22.2%) | 3,745 (17.8%) | 0.811 | <0.007 | <0.044 |
| GP, n (%) | 2,924 (16.3%) | 3,110 (14.0%) | 2,744 (15.0%) | 3,035 (14.4%) | 0.125 | <0.002 | 0.126 |
| Transportation to ED: Own transport | |||||||
| Self-referral, n (%) | 877 (4.9%) | 1,402 (6.3%) | 966 (5.3%) | 1,287 (6.1%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.231 |
| GP, n (%) | 8,324 (46.2%) | 11,192 (50.4%) | 8,079 (44.2%) | 10,353 (49.1%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.301 |
| Other, n (%) | 2,081 (11.6%) | 4,222 (19.0%) | 2,432 (13.3%) | 2,675 (12.7%) | <0.001 | <0.009 | <0.001 |
| Urgency of ED visit* | |||||||
| high urgency, n (%) | 3,823 (22.9%) | 4,247 (19.8%) | 3,817 (22.6%) | 4,169 (20.5%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | >0.999 |
| low urgency, n (%) | 12,847 (77.1%) | 17,125 (80.2%) | 13,043 (77.4%) | 16,182 (79.5%) | <0.001 | < 0.001 | 0.686 |
| Trauma, n (%) (missing = 1) | 4,933 (27.4%) | 7,375 (32.6%) | 5,251 (28.7%) | 6,916 (32.1%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.004 |
| Median minutes spent in ED, m (IQR) | 157 (105–219) | 147 (94–208) | 154 (99–215) | 147 (96–207) | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Admission after ED visit, n (%) (missing = 15650) | 8,990 (57.3%) | 10,490 (52.3%) | 8,674 (56.7%) | 10,146 (46.3%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.218 |
if the total number of patients does not match the total of inclusions, this is due to missing value
* using the MTS, red or orange triage colour are classified as high urgency (seen by doctor <10 minutes) and triage colour yellow, green or blue are classified as low urgency (1–3 hours before assessment)
**After Bonferroni correction a p-value of 0.003 was considered statistically significant.
IQR = interquartile range