Table 1 Comparison of demographic characteristics of emergency department visits by older adult patients between two time periods
Characteristics | Pre-pandemic (Jan 2019–Apr 2019) (N = 9,300) | Pandemic (Jan 2020–Apr 2020) (N = 7,355) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
Total visits/day — no. (SD) | 93.00 (15.19) | 72.82 (17.47) | < 0.01 |
Sex (daily visits) — no. (SD) | |||
Male | 41.09 (8.06) | 33.46 (8.49) | < 0.01 |
Female | 51.91 (10.20) | 39.37 (10.86) | < 0.01 |
Mode of arrival* — no. (%) | |||
Walk-in | 4,973 (53.47) | 4,452 (60.53) | < 0.01 |
Wheelchair | 2,520 (27.95) | 1,473 (20.74) | < 0.01 |
Ambulance | 1,524 (16.90) | 1,178 (16.58) | < 0.01 |
Triage — no. (%) | |||
Triage level 1 | 469 (5.04) | 419 (5.70) | < 0.01 |
Triage level 2 | 1,842 (19.81) | 1,425 (19.37) | < 0.01 |
Triage level 3 | 6,314 (67.89) | 4,967 (67.53) | < 0.01 |
Triage level 4 | 610 (6.56) | 472 (6.42) | < 0.01 |
Triage level 5 | 65 (0.70) | 72 (0.98) | 0.07 |
Disposition — no. (%) | |||
Admission | 2,618 (28.15) | 2,084 (28.33) | < 0.01 |
Discharge | 6,286 (67.59) | 4,951 (67.31) | < 0.01 |
AMA | 255 (2.74) | 174 (2.37) | < 0.01 |
Transfer | 75 (0.81) | 63 (0.86) | 0.29 |
Mortality | 66 (0.71) | 83 (1.13) | 0.15 |
Time of visit — no. (%) | |||
Early morning (00.00−08.00) | 1,328 (14.28) | 988 (13.43) | < 0.01 |
Day time (08.00−17.00) | 4,889 (52.57) | 4,128 (56.13) | < 0.01 |
Nighttime (17.00−24.00) | 3,083 (33.15) | 2,239 (30.44) | < 0.01 |