Characteristics of emergency department (ED) visits by patients with cancer within 30 days of chemotherapy by discharge versus admission to hospital
| Variable | Total ED visits n = 217 811 | Discharged n = 139 833 | Admitted n = 77 978 | Difference (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic characteristics | ||||
| Age ≥ 65 yr | 116 871 (53.6) | 72 501 (51.8) | 44 370 (56.9) | −5.1 (−5.5 to −4.6) |
| Sex, female | 117 894 (54.1) | 78 071 (55.8) | 39 823 (51.1) | 4.8 (4.3 to 5.2) |
| Income quintile | ||||
| 1 (highest) | 40 935 (18.7) | 26 343 (18.8) | 14 592 (18.7) | 0.1 (−0.2 to 0.5) |
| 2 | 42 519 (19.5) | 27 209 (19.5) | 15 310 (19.6) | −0.2 (−0.5 to 0.2) |
| 3 | 43 469 (19.9) | 27 883 (19.9) | 15 586 (20.0) | −0.1 (−0.4 to 0.3) |
| 4 | 46 048 (21.1) | 29 543 (21.1) | 16 505 (21.2) | 0 (−0.4 to 0.3) |
| 5 (lowest) | 44 019 (20.2) | 28 303 (20.2) | 15 716 (20.2) | 0.1 (−0.3 to 0.4) |
| Missing | 821 (0.3) | 552 (0.4) | 269 (0.3) | |
| Cancer characteristics | ||||
| Palliative care | 110 061 (50.5) | 64 368 (46.0) | 45 693 (58.6) | −12.6 (−13.0 to −12.1) |
| Radiation 90 d before ED visit | 31 041 (14.2) | 18 375 (13.1) | 12 666(16.2) | 3.1 (−3.4 to −2.8) |
| Cancer type | ||||
| Hematological | 47 086 (21.6) | 29 254 (20.9) | 17 832 (22.9) | −2.0 (−2.3 to 1.6) |
| Gastrointestinal | 45 467 (20.8) | 28 841 (20.6) | 16 626 (21.3) | −0.7 (−1.0 to −0.3) |
| Breast | 38 867 (17.8) | 28 210 (20.2) | 10 657 (13.7) | 6.5 (6.2 to 6.8) |
| Lung | 27 558 (12.6) | 16 202 (11.6) | 11 356 (14.6) | −3.0 (−3.3 to −2.7) |
| Gynecological | 13 806 (6.3) | 8961 (6.4) | 4845 (6.2) | 0.2 (0 to 0.4) |
| Male genital | 12 347 (5.6) | 7948 (5.7) | 4399 (5.6) | 0 (−0.2 to 0.2) |
| Genitourinary | 8352 (3.8) | 5279 (3.8) | 3037 (3.9) | −0.1 (−0.3 to 0) |
| Head and neck | 8110 (3.7) | 5275 (3.8) | 2835 (3.6) | 0.1 (0 to 0.3) |
| Neurological | 4826 (2.2) | 2866 (2.0) | 1960 (2.5) | −0.5 (−0.6 to −0.3) |
| Melanoma | 4496 (2.0) | 2821 (2.0) | 1675 (2.2) | −0.1 (−0.3 to 0) |
| Bone or soft tissue | 2636 (1.2) | 1550 (1.1) | 1086 (1.4) | −0.3 (−0.4 to −0.2) |
| Endocrine | 216 (0.1) | 133 (0.1) | 83 (0.1) | 0 (0) |
| Other | 4003 (1.8) | 2474 (1.8) | 1529 (2.0) | −0.2 (−0.3 to −0.1) |
| Missing | 41 (0.02) | 19 (0.0) | 22 (0.0) | |
| ED visit characteristics | ||||
| Ambulance arrival | 54 077 (24.8) | 21 649 (15.5) | 32 428 (41.6) | −26.1 (−26.5 to −25.7) |
| CTAS | ||||
| 1–2 (highest acuity) | 91 345 (41.9) | 45 260 (32.4) | 46 085 (59.1) | −26.7 (−27.2 to −26.3) |
| 3 | 97 688 (44.9) | 67 776 (48.5) | 29 912 (38.4) | 10.1 (9.7 to 10.5) |
| 4–5 (lowest acuity) | 28 341 (13.0) | 26 444 (18.9) | 1897 (2.4) | 16.5 (16.3 to 16.7) |
| Missing | 437 (0.2) | 353 (0.3) | 84 (0.1) | |
| Shift | ||||
| Day (8:00–16:59) | 124 709 (57.3) | 82 721 (59.2) | 41 988 (53.9) | 5.3 (4.9 to 5.8) |
| Evening (17:00–23:59) | 67 176 (30.8) | 41 273 (29.5) | 25 903 (33.2) | −3.7 (−4.1 to −3.3) |
| Night (0:00–7:59) | 25 926 (11.9) | 15 839 (11.3) | 10 087 (12.9) | −1.6 (−1.9 to −1.3) |
| Weekend | 60 248 (27.7) | 39 540 (28.3) | 20 708 (26.6) | 1.7 (1.3 to 2.1) |
| Hospital type | ||||
| Small | 18 145 (8.3) | 14 825 (10.6) | 3320 (4.3) | 6.3 (6.1 to 6.6) |
| Community | 136 384 (62.6) | 90 163 (64.5) | 46 221 (59.3) | 5.2 (4.8 to 5.6) |
| Academic | 63 240 (29.0) | 34 829 (24.9) | 28 411 (36.4) | −11.5 (−11.9 to −11.1) |
| Missing | 42 (0.0) | 16 (0.0) | 26 (0.0) | |
| ED diagnosis | ||||
| Pain | 22 123 (10.2) | 17 379 (12.4) | 4744 (6.1) | 6.3 (6.1 to 6.6) |
| Infection or fever | 56 994 (26.2) | 30 934 (22.1) | 26 060 (33.4) | −11.3 (−11.7 to −10.9) |
| Gastrointestinal | 26 432 (12.1) | 14 942 (10.7) | 11 490 (14.7) | −4.0 (−4.4 to −3.8) |
| Injury or MSK | 14 964 (6.9) | 12 744 (9.1) | 2220 (2.9) | 6.3 (6.1 to 6.5) |
| Pulmonary | 12 429 (5.7) | 7023 (5.0) | 5406 (6.9) | −1.9 (−2.1 to −1.7) |
| Cardiac | 9818 (4.5) | 5205 (3.7) | 4613 (5.9) | −2.2 (−2.4 to −2.0) |
| Weakness, social issues | 9783 (4.5) | 4652 (3.3) | 5131 (6.6) | −3.3 (−3.5 to −3.1) |
| Related to device or graft | 7175 (3.3) | 6587 (4.7) | 588 (0.8) | 4.0 (3.8 to 4.1) |
| Ill-defined | 6582 (3.0) | 6227 (4.5) | 355 (0.5) | 4.0 (3.9 to 4.1) |
| Genitourinary and nephrology | 6278 (2.9) | 3998 (2.9) | 2280 (2.9) | −0.1 (−0.2 to 0) |
| None of top 10 diagnoses | 45 233 (20.8) | 30 142 (21.6) | 15 091 (19.4) | 2.2 (1.9 to 2.6) |
Note: CI = confidence interval, CTAS = Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale, MSK = musculoskeletal.