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Table 1 Patient characteristics

From: Self-referring patients at the emergency department: appropriateness of ED use and motives for self-referral

 

Self-referrals (n = 3,028)

Non-self-referrals (n = 1,975)

Age [mean (SD)] (years)

32.3 (18.6)

48.5 (22.1)

Age categories [n (%)] (years)

  

      0 to 15

543 (17.9)

107 (5.4)

      16 to 35

1,310 (43.3)

512 (25.9)

      36 to 55

783 (25.9)

590 (29.9)

      56 to 75

343 (11.3)

501 (25.4)

      >75

49 (1.6)

265 (13.4)

Sex, male [n (%)]

1,636 (54.0)

951 (48.2)

Urgent acuity levela [n (%)]

1,174 (38.8)

1,281 (64.8)

No triage [n (%)]

151 (5.0)

123 (6.2)

Chief complaint [n (%)]

  

      Limb problems

898 (29.7)

266 (13.5)

      Wounds and local infections and       abscesses

396 (13.1)

153 (7.7)

      Eye/ear/nose problems and sore       throat

216 (7.1)

33 (1.7)

      Headache and head injury

119 (3.9)

97 (4.9)

      Shortness of breath

85 (2.8)

141 (7.1)

      Abdominal pain

302 (10.0)

262 (13.3)

      Chest pain

203 (6.7)

191 (9.7)

      Patient feeling unwell

102 (3.4)

191 (9.7)

      Psychiatric problem

21 (0.7)

54 (2.7)

      Other

686 (22.7)

587 (29.7)

Injury [n (%)]

1,476 (48.7)

386 (19.5)

Time of registration during office hours [n (%)]

990 (32.7)

1,073 (54.3)

Diagnostic tests performedb [n (%)]

1,461 (48.2)

1,522 (77.1)

Follow-up care [n (%)]

  

      Discharge without follow-up       appointment

1,363 (45.0)

396 (20.1)

      Hospital admission

207 (6.8)

667 (33.8)

      Discharge, appointment with       specialist care

822 (27.1)

704 (35.6)

      Left the ED without being seen       by a professional

37 (1.2)

24 (1.2)

      Referred to children's hospital

49 (1.6)

4 (0.2)

      Discharge, appointment with GP

550 (18.2)

180 (9.1)

Suffering from an extremity fracture

336 (11.1)

204 (10.3)

Needing hospital emergency carec

1,539 (50.8)

1,597 (80.9)

  1. SD, standard deviation. aUrgent, very urgent or immediate. bIncludes blood analysis, EKG, X-rays, CT-scan, MRI, ultrasound and lumbar puncture. cHospital admission and/or suffering from an extremity fracture and/or diagnostic tests performed. All differences in patient characteristics in relation to type of referral were significant at the p < 0.01 level, except for ‘no triage’ (p = 0.06), ‘left the ED without being seen (p = 0.98)’ and ‘suffering from an extremity fracture’ (p = 0.39).