Baseline characteristics of patients who did and did not visit the emergency department during the study period
| Characteristics | No. (%) of patients* | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No visit to the emergency department n = 845 | Visited the emergency department n = 424 | ||
| Age, yr, mean (SD) | 85.8 (6.0) | 85.2 (10.7) | † |
| Age range, yr | 69.6–104.9 | 65.5–105.2 | |
| Male | 268 (31.7) | 147 (34.7) | † |
| Dining room on unit | 681 (81.5) | 322 (79.3) | 0.06 |
| Dined in room | 26 (3.1) | 34 (8.3) | < 0.001 |
| Had roommate(s) | 384 (45.4) | 188 (44.3) | 0.7 |
| No. of roommates, mean (SD) | 1.10 (2.1) | 1.1 (2.3) | |
| Ill roommate | 61 (7.2) | 27 (6.4) | 0.6 |
| Roommate with a respiratory infection | 26 (3.0) | 14 (3.3) | 0.8 |
| Smoker | 34 (4.0) | 22 (5.2) | 0.3 |
| Influenza vaccine received‡ | 576 (68.2) | 280 (66.0) | 0.4 |
| Pneumococcal vaccine received§ | 507 (60.0) | 254 (59.9) | 0.97 |
| Had visitors | 331 (39.2) | 199 (46.9) | 0.01 |
| Katz Index | |||
| A: independent | 40 (4.9) | 9 (2.2) | 0.02 |
| B: independent in all but one function | 68 (8.3) | 20 (4.8) | 0.02 |
| C: Katz B + dependent in bathing | 56 (6.8) | 34 (8.1) | 0.4 |
| D: Katz C + dependent in dressing | 44 (5.3) | 31 (7.4) | 0.2 |
| E: Katz D + dependent in going to toilet | 106 (12.9) | 72 (17.2) | 0.04 |
| F: Katz E + dependent in transferring | 229 (27.8) | 95 (22.7) | 0.05 |
| G: dependent | 280 (34.0) | 156 (37.2) | 0.3 |
| O: dependent in two or more functions but not classifiable as C, D, E or F | 1 (0.1) | 2 (0.5) | 0.3 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index score, mean (SD) | 5.5 (2.7) | 6.1 (2.5) | < 0.001 |
| Underlying medical condition | n = 704 | n = 360 | |
| Neurologic disorders (overall) | 556 (79.0) | 265 (73.6) | 0.05 |
| Parkinson | 49 (7.0) | 18 (5.0) | 0.2 |
| Seizures | 34 (4.8) | 18 (5.0) | 0.9 |
| Previous cerebrovascular accident | 97 (13.8) | 61 (17.0) | 0.2 |
| Cardiovascular disease (overall) | 224 (31.8) | 140 (39.0) | 0.02 |
| Previous myocardial infarction | 55 (7.8) | 27 (7.5) | 0.9 |
| Coronary artery disease | 116 (16.5) | 76 (21.1) | 0.06 |
| Congestive heart failure | 80 (11.4) | 65 (18.1) | 0.003 |
| Pulmonary disease (overall) | 95 (13.5) | 58 (16.1) | 0.3 |
| Asthma | 25 (3.6) | 23 (6.4) | 0.04 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 74 (10.5) | 43 (11.9) | 0.5 |
| Diabetes | 158 (22.4) | 100 (27.8) | 0.06 |