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Table 1 Comparison of Admission vs. Discharge from ED by Patient Demographics, Socioeconomic Factors, Measures of Illness, System Factors, and Appropriateness of Admission

From: Factors associated with low-acuity hospital admissions in a public safety-net setting: a cross-sectional study

 

All Patients (n = 452)

Admitted from ED (n = 349)

Discharged from ED (n = 103)

P

Patient Demographics

 Age, mean [95%CI]

55.8 [54.3–57.3]

56.6 [54.9–58.3]

53.0 [49.7–56.2]

0.046

 Female, n (%)

166 (36.7)

132 (37.8)

34 (33.0)

0.373

 Race/Ethnicity, n (%), 4 missing

  American Indian/Alaska Native

22 (4.9)

17 (4.9)

5 (4.9)

0.876

  Asian

39 (8.7)

31 (9.0)

8 (7.8)

 

  Black/African-American

122 (27.2)

90 (26.0)

32 (31.4)

 

  Hispanic/Latino

36 (8.0)

26 (7.5)

10 (9.8)

 

  Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

4 (0.9)

3 (0.9)

1 (1.0)

 

  White, non-Hispanic

218 (48.7)

174 (50.3)

44 (43.1)

 

  Multiple

7 (1.6)

5 (1.4)

2 (2.0)

 

 English Primary Language, n (%)

371 (82.1)

291 (83.4)

80 (77.7)

0.184

 Married, n (%)

78 (17.3)

56 (16.0)

22 (21.4)

0.210

Socioeconomic Factors

 Insurance, n (%)

   

0.058

  Public

388 (85.8)

307 (90.1)

81 (78.6)

 

  Private

21 (4.7)

14 (4.0)

7 (6.8)

 

  None

43 (9.5)

28 (8.0)

15 (14.6)

 

 Employment, n (%), 23 missing

   

0.397

  Employed

26 (6.1)

18 (5.3)

8 (8.8)

 

  Unemployed

161 (37.5)

123 (36.4)

38 (41.8)

 

  Disabled

112 (26.1)

91 (26.9)

21 (23.1)

 

  Retired

130 (30.3)

106 (31.4)

24 (26.4)

 

 Living Situation, n (%), 3 missing

   

0.008

  Stable housing

261 (58.1)

190 (54.9)

71 (69.0)

 

  Unstable housing/homeless

148 (33.0)

127 (36.7)

21 (20.4)

 

  Institution (SNF/AFH/Jail)

40 (8.9)

29 (8.4)

11 (10.7)

 

Measures of Illness

 CCI, mean [95%CI]

3.23 [2.98–3.49]

3.31 [3.02–3.60]

2.96 [2.40–3.52]

0.265

 ESI, mean [95%CI]

2.84 [2.79–2.89]

2.87 [2.81–2.92]

2.75 [2.64–2.85]

0.041

System-Level Factors

  “Off-hours” presentation, n (%)

287 (63.5)

232 (66.5)

55 (53.4)

0.015

Healthcare Utilization

 ED visits in previous 30 days, n (%)

   

0.652

  None

265 (58.6)

207 (59.3)

58 (56.3)

 

  1 visit

103 (22.8)

82 (23.5)

21 (20.4)

 

  2 visits

46 (10.2)

32 (9.2)

14 (13.6)

 

  3–5 visits

32 (7.1)

24 (6.9)

8 (7.8)

 

  6+ visits

6 (1.3)

4 (1.1)

2 (2.0)

 

Appropriateness Assessment, n (%)

   

< 0.0001

 Probably

253 (56.0)

246 (70.5)

7 (6.8)

 

 Probably NOT

158 (34.9)

80 (22.9)

78 (75.7)

 

 Definitely NOT

41 (9.1)

23 (6.6)

18 (17.5)

 
  1. CCI Charlson Comorbidity Index, ESI Emergency Severity Index, SNF Skilled Nursing Facility, AFH Adult Family Home