Elderly and Nonelderly Use of a Dedicated Ambulance Corps’ Emergency Medical Services in Taiwan
Table 1
Comparison of age, gender, medical history, and transport time between the elderly and nonelderly in the transport calls.
Variables
Elderly
Nonelderly
Total
P
Age (years)
78.1 ± 8.1
39.6 ± 17.4
53.4 ± 23.6
<0.001
Gender
0.556
Male
151 (54.7)
262 (52.5)
413 (53.3)
Female
125 (45.3)
237 (47.5)
362 (46.7)
Medical history
Hypertension
131 (47.5)
80 (16.0)
211 (27.2)
<0.001
Diabetes
108 (39.1)
57 (11.4)
165 (21.3)
<0.001
Cardiovascular disease
66 (23.9)
42 (8.4)
108 (13.9)
<0.001
CVA
34 (12.3)
13 (2.6)
47 (6.1)
<0.001
Cancer
29 (10.5)
18 (3.6)
47 (6.1)
<0.001
COPD/asthma
17 (6.2)
16 (3.2)
33 (4.3)
0.059
ESRD
14 (5.1)
11 (2.2)
25 (3.2)
0.038
Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease
10 (3.6)
0 (0)
10 (1.3)
<0.001
Liver disease
9 (3.2)
22 (4.4)
31 (4.0)
0.3
Psychiatric disease
6 (2.2)
29 (5.8)
35 (4.5)
0.027
Epilepsy
0 (0)
12 (2.4)
12 (1.5)
0.032
Day separation of transport
0.013
AM
127 (46.0)
184 (36.9)
311 (40.1)
PM
149 (54.0)
315 (63.1)
464 (59.9)
Transport time (minutes)
Departure-scene
5.8 ± 2.2
5.5 ± 2.4
5.6 ± 2.3
0.048
Scene-leave
8.3 ± 4.3
7.3 ± 5.8
7.7 ± 5.3
0.011
Leave-arrival at ED
7.8 ± 2.9
7.5 ± 2.7
7.6 ± 2.8
0.140
Arrival at ED-leave of ED
10.1 ± 6.9
10.0 ± 7.5
10.0 ± 7.3
0.879
Leave ED-return
16.4 ± 8.6
15.7 ± 7.6
15.9 ± 7.9
0.245
Total time
48.3 ± 13.5
46.0 ± 14.2
46.8 ± 14.0
0.025
Data are number (%) or mean ± standard deviation (SD). CVA, cerebrovascular disease; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ESRD, end-stage renal disease; ED, emergency department. One patient may have multiple medical histories. AM: 00:00–12:00; PM: 12:00–24:00.
