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Table 1 Patient and logistical factors as a function of emergency department length of stay
| Total population | ED LOS ≤ 4 h | ED LOS > 4 h | |
|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | 1434 | 1146 (80) | 288 (20) |
| Demographics | |||
| Age, mean (SD) | 48 (26) | 45 (26) | 58 (21) |
| Gender (male, %) | 749 (52) | 599 (52) | 150 (52) |
| Referral status (%) | |||
| Self-referral | 469 (33) | 400 (35) | 69 (24) |
| General practitioner | 612 (43) | 448 (39) | 164 (57) |
| Specialist | 353 (25) | 298 (26) | 55 (19) |
| Arrival by ambulance (n, %) | 484 (34) | 364 (32) | 120 (42) |
| Number of presenting complaints, median (IQR) | 1 (1–1) | 1 (1–1) | 1 (1–2) |
| Triage category a (n, %) (4) | |||
| Red | 32 (2) | 32 (3) | 0 (0) |
| Orange | 371 (26) | 279 (24) | 92 (32) |
| Yellow | 682 (48) | 518 (45) | 164 (57) |
| Green | 337 (24) | 305 (27) | 32 (11) |
| Blue | 8 (1) | 8 (1) | 0 (0) |
| Number of co-morbidities, median (IQR) | 1 (0–2) | 1 (0–2) | 2 (1–3) |
| CCI, median (IQR) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–1) | 1 (0–2) |
| Triage complaint (n,%) | |||
| Headache | 16 (1) | 8 (1) | 8 (3) |
| Dyspnoea | 144 (10) | 103 (9) | 41 (14) |
| Chest pain | 114 (8) | 74 (7) | 40 (14) |
| Palpitations | 41 (3) | 24 (3) | 7 (2) |
| Abdominal pain | 135 (9) | 98 (9) | 37 (13) |
| Malaise | 274 (19) | 200 (18) | 74 (26) |
| Small traumatic injury | 323 (23) | 299 (26) | 24 (8) |
| Syncope | 43 (3) | 36 (3) | 7 (2) |
| Other | 344 (24) | 294 (26) | 50 (17) |
| Treating physician (n, %) | |||
| ED physician | 715 (50) | 608 (53) | 107 (37) |
| Internal medicine | 221 (15) | 141 (12) | 80 (28) |
| Cardiology | 117 (8) | 85 (7) | 32 (11) |
| Surgery | 71 (5) | 58 (5) | 13 (5) |
| Neurology | 78 (5) | 52 (5) | 26 (9) |
| Other specialties | 232 (16) | 202 (18) | 30 (10) |
| Diagnostic tests (n, %) | |||
| Blood testing | 916 (64) | 648 (57) | 268 (93) |
| Urine testing | 299 (21) | 183 (16) | 116 (40) |
| Radiology imaging | 686 (48) | 468 (41) | 218 (76) |
| Consultation of other specialty in ED (n, %) | 366 (26) | 214 (19) | 152 (53) |
| Number of patients in ED at the time of ED registration, mean (SD) | 11 (5) | 11 (5) | 11 (5) |
| Disposition (n, %) (1) | |||
| Home | 916 (64) | 785 (69) | 131 (46) |
| Admission ward | 46 (32) | 317 (28) | 148 (51) |
| Admission ICU/MCU | 46 (3) | 37 (3) | 9 (3) |
| Otherb | 6 (1) | 6 (3) | 0 (0) |
| ED LOS (min), median (IQR) | 156 (98–225) | 134 (87–180) | 301 (270–357) |
