Characteristics of the index hospital admissions for COVID-19 in Alberta and Ontario among adults discharged alive after a hospital stay of 30 days or less, between Jan. 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021, stratified by readmission or death within 30 days of discharge
| Characteristic | No. (%) of patients in Alberta* | No. (%) of patients in Ontario* | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall n = 7875 | Readmission or death within 30 days n = 783 | No readmission or death within 30 days n = 7092 | Overall n = 22 461 | Readmission or death within 30 days n = 2390 | No readmission or death within 30 days n = 20 071 | |
| Elective hospital admission | 148 (1.9) | 24 (3.1) | 124 (1.7) | 313 (1.4) | 40 (1.7) | 273 (1.4) |
| Urgent or emergent hospital admission | 7727 (98.1) | 759 (96.9) | 6968 (98.3) | 22 148 (98.6) | 2350 (98.3) | 19 798 (98.6) |
| Tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 within 48 h of admission | 7179 (91.2) | 690 (88.1) | 6489 (91.5) | 21 184 (94.3) | 2086 (87.3) | 19 098 (95.2) |
| Tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after 48 h of admission | 696 (8.8) | 93 (11.9) | 603 (8.5) | 1277 (5.7) | 304 (12.7) | 973 (4.8) |
| Discharged on weekend or holiday | 2128 (27.0) | 202 (25.8) | 1926 (27.2) | 4531 (20.2) | 452 (18.9) | 4079 (20.3) |
| Medical admission | 7615 (96.7) | 754 (96.3) | 6861 (96.7) | 21 774 (96.9) | 2279 (95.4) | 19 495 (97.1) |
| Surgical admission | 260 (3.3) | 29 (3.7) | 231 (3.3) | 687 (3.1) | 111 (4.6) | 576 (2.9) |
| ICU admission | 1055 (13.4) | 57 (7.3) | 998 (14.1) | 3487 (15.5) | 244 (10.2) | 3243 (16.2) |
| ICU hours among those with an ICU stay, median (Q1–Q3) | 134 (75–219) | 101 (46–205) | 136 (76–220) | 120 (65–209) | 99 (44–215) | 121 (66–208) |
| Teaching hospital | 1316 (16.7) | 136 (17.4) | 1180 (16.6) | 4671 (20.8) | 542 (22.7) | 4129 (20.6) |
| Length of stay, mean ± SD | 8.1 ± 6.2 | 8.5 ± 6.9 | 8.0 ± 6.1 | 8.6 ± 6.7 | 9.4 ± 7.6 | 8.5 ± 6.6 |
| Discharge disposition | ||||||
| Home without home care | 6683 (84.9) | 542 (69.2) | 6141 (86.6) | 14 107 (62.8) | 993 (41.5) | 13 114 (65.3) |
| Home with home care | 671 (8.5) | 141 (18.0) | 530 (7.5) | 6470 (28.8) | 1065 (44.6) | 5405 (26.9) |
| Long-term care or skilled nursing facility | 521 (6.6) | 100 (12.8) | 421 (5.9) | 1884 (8.4) | 332 (13.9) | 1552 (7.7) |
| LACE score, mean ± SD | 9.2 ± 2.9 | 10.2 ± 3.5 | 9.1 ± 2.8 | 8.6 ± 2.7 | 9.7 ± 3.3 | 8.4 ± 2.6 |
Note: ICU = intensive care unit; LACE = length of stay, acuity, Charlson Comorbidity Index and number of emergency department visits in previous 6 months; SD = standard deviation.
↵* Unless indicated otherwise.