Patient and emergency department visit characteristics and outcomes for patients with renal failure or hyperkalemia
| Characteristic | No. (%) of patients* | Standardized difference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total n = 13 502 | Pandemic period n = 3942 | Control period n = 9560 | ||
| Demographics | ||||
| Age, yr | ||||
| 18–64 | 4565 (33.8) | 1330 (33.7) | 3235 (33.8) | 0 |
| ≥ 65 | 8937 (66.2) | 2612 (66.3) | 6325 (66.2) | 0 |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 6128 (45.4) | 1757 (44.6) | 4371 (45.7) | 0.02 |
| Rural | ||||
| Urban | 11571 (88.4) | 3343 (87.5) | 8228 (88.7) | 0.04 |
| Rural | 1520 (11.6) | 476 (12.5) | 1044 (11.3) | 0.04 |
| Income quintile | ||||
| 1 (high) | 3923 (29.2) | 1092 (27.8) | 2831 (29.7) | 0.04 |
| 2 | 2955 (22.0) | 925 (23.5) | 2030 (21.3) | 0.05 |
| 3 | 2547 (18.9) | 745 (19.0) | 1802 (18.9) | 0 |
| 4 | 2162 (16.1) | 614 (15.6) | 1548 (16.3) | 0.02 |
| 5 (low) | 1861 (13.8) | 552 (14.1) | 1309 (13.8) | 0.01 |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| ADG score | ||||
| Mean ± SD | 14.22 ± 4.43 | 14.33 ± 4.47 | 14.17 ± 4.41 | 0.04 |
| Median (IQR) | 15 (11–17) | 15 (12–18) | 15 (11–17) | 0.04 |
| Coronary artery disease | 4067 (30.1) | 1152 (29.2) | 2915 (30.5) | 0.03 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 4136 (30.6) | 1187 (30.1) | 2949 (30.8) | 0.02 |
| Congestive heart failure | 4671 (34.6) | 1372 (34.8) | 3299 (34.5) | 0.01 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 8883 (65.8) | 2605 (66.1) | 6278 (65.7) | 0.01 |
| Hypertension | 11526 (85.4) | 3340 (84.7) | 8186 (85.6) | 0.03 |
| Asthma | 2534 (18.8) | 718 (18.2) | 1816 (19.0) | 0.02 |
| Cancer | 1413 (10.5) | 409 (10.4) | 1004 (10.5) | 0 |
| Stroke | 1303 (9.7) | 376 (9.5) | 927 (9.7) | 0.01 |
| Liver failure | 549 (4.1) | 169 (4.3) | 380 (4.0) | 0.02 |
| Renal failure | 7250 (53.7) | 2133 (54.1) | 5117 (53.5) | 0.01 |
| ED characteristics | ||||
| Weekday ED visit (Monday to Friday) | 10642 (78.8) | 3142 (79.7) | 7500 (78.5) | 0.03 |
| Time of ED visit | ||||
| Day (08:00–16:59) | 8382 (62.1) | 2445 (62.0) | 5937 (62.1) | 0 |
| Evening (17:00–23:59) | 3818 (28.3) | 1104 (28.0) | 2714 (28.4) | 0.01 |
| Night (00:00–07:59) | 1302 (9.6) | 393 (10.0) | 909 (9.5) | 0.02 |
| Hospital type | ||||
| Community | 9608 (71.2) | 2833 (71.9) | 6775 (70.9) | 0.02 |
| Small | 1022 (7.6) | 319 (8.1) | 703 (7.4) | 0.03 |
| Teaching | 2872 (21.3) | 790 (20.0) | 2082 (21.8) | 0.04 |
| Outcomes | ||||
| Ambulance arrival | 4343 (32.2) | 1387 (35.2) | 2956 (30.9) | 0.09 |
| Hospital admission | 5770 (42.7) | 1763 (44.7) | 4007 (41.9) | 0.06 |
| Hospital admission within 30 d of discharge | 2308 (17.1) | 641 (16.3) | 1667 (17.4) | 0.03 |
| 30-day mortality | 1185 (8.8) | 381 (9.7) | 804 (8.4) | 0.04 |
Note: ADG = adjusted diagnostic groups, ED = emergency department, IQR = interquartile range, SD = standard deviation.
↵* Unless indicated otherwise.