Patient and emergency department visit characteristics and outcomes for patients with appendicitis
| Characteristic | No. (%) of patients* | Standardized difference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total n = 23 962 | Pandemic period n = 7771 | Control period n = 16 191 | ||
| Demographics | ||||
| Age, yr | ||||
| 18–64 | 20835 (87.0) | 6711 (86.4) | 14124 (87.2) | 0.03 |
| ≥ 65 | 3127 (13.0) | 1060 (13.6) | 2067 (12.8) | 0.03 |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 12238 (51.1) | 3944 (50.8) | 8294 (51.2) | 0.01 |
| Rural | ||||
| Urban | 22460 (94.6) | 7266 (94.4) | 15194 (94.6) | 0.01 |
| Rural | 1293 (5.4) | 430 (5.6) | 863 (5.4) | 0.01 |
| Income quintile | ||||
| 1 (high) | 4645 (19.4) | 1489 (19.2) | 3156 (19.6) | 0.01 |
| 2 | 4777 (20.0) | 1513 (19.5) | 3264 (20.2) | 0.02 |
| 3 | 4647 (19.5) | 1525 (19.7) | 3122 (19.3) | 0.01 |
| 4 | 4879 (20.4) | 1562 (20.2) | 3317 (20.6) | 0.01 |
| 5 (low) | 4942 (20.7) | 1661 (21.4) | 3281 (20.3) | 0.03 |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| ADG score | ||||
| Mean ± SD | 8.75 ± 4.36 | 8.64 ± 4.43 | 8.81 ± 4.33 | 0.04 |
| Median (IQR) | 9 (6–12) | 8 (5–12) | 9 (6–12) | 0.04 |
| Coronary artery disease | 957 (4.0) | 316 (4.1) | 641 (4.0) | 0.01 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 1472 (6.1) | 476 (6.1) | 996 (6.2) | 0 |
| Congestive heart failure | 407 (1.7) | 135 (1.7) | 272 (1.7) | 0 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 2135 (8.9) | 693 (8.9) | 1442 (8.9) | 0 |
| Hypertension | 4785 (20.0) | 1517 (19.5) | 3268 (20.2) | 0.02 |
| Asthma | 4205 (17.5) | 1334 (17.2) | 2871 (17.7) | 0.01 |
| Cancer | 521 (2.2) | 171 (2.2) | 350 (2.2) | 0 |
| Stroke | 231 (1.0) | 67 (0.9) | 164 (1.0) | 0.02 |
| Liver failure | 74 (0.3) | 28 (0.4) | 46 (0.3) | 0.01 |
| Renal failure | 318 (1.3) | 104 (1.3) | 214 (1.3) | 0 |
| ED characteristics | ||||
| Weekday ED visit (Monday to Friday) | 17 999 (75.1) | 5818 (74.9) | 12181 (75.2) | 0.01 |
| Time of ED visit | ||||
| Day (08:00–16:59) | 13 284 (55.4) | 4314 (55.5) | 8970 (55.4) | 0 |
| Evening (17:00–23:59) | 6223 (26.0) | 2057 (26.5) | 4166 (25.7) | 0.02 |
| Night (00:00–07:59) | 4455 (18.6) | 1400 (18.0) | 3055 (18.9) | 0.02 |
| Hospital type | ||||
| Community | 18084 (75.5) | 5881 (75.7) | 12203 (75.4) | 0.01 |
| Small | 661 (2.8) | 213 (2.7) | 448 (2.8) | 0 |
| Teaching | 5217 (21.8) | 1677 (21.6) | 3540 (21.9) | 0.01 |
| Outcomes | ||||
| Ambulance arrival | 2169 (9.1) | 869 (11.2) | 1300 (8.0) | 0.11 |
| Hospital admission | 20717 (86.5) | 6745 (86.8) | 13972 (86.3) | 0.01 |
| Surgery | 17955 (86.7) | 5837 (86.5) | 12118 (86.7) | 0.01 |
| Hospital admission within 30 d of discharge | 1649 (6.9) | 570 (7.3) | 1079 (6.7) | 0.03 |
| 30-d mortality | 44 (0.2) | 16 (0.2) | 28 (0.2) | 0.01 |
Note: ADG = adjusted diagnostic group, ED = emergency department, IQR = interquartile range, SD = standard deviation.
↵* Unless indicated otherwise.