Factors Associated with Overcrowded Emergency Rooms in Thailand: A Medical School Setting
Table 1
Characteristics of patients at the emergency department (ED) categorized by time spent at the ED.
Factors
<8 hours
≥8 hours
value
Male gender
88 (41.12)
27 (50.94)
0.196
Median age, years
42.5 (1–91)
67 (1–94)
<0.001
Types of health insurance
<0.001
Self-payment
94 (43.93)
9 (16.98)
Government insurance
85 (39.72)
40 (75.47)
Types of presenting to ER
<0.001
On their own
199 (92.99)
39 (73.58)
Consultation
10 (4.67)
13 (24.53)
Day presenting: Sunday
29 (13.55)
11 (20.75)
0.710
Times of presenting
0.515
08:00–16:00
74 (34.58)
18 (33.96)
16:01–24:00
77 (35.98)
23 (43.40)
00.01:–07:59
63 (29.44)
12 (22.64)
Patient triage categories
0.018
1
4 (1.87)
4 (7.55)
2
82 (38.32)
28 (52.83)
3
117 (54.67)
20 (37.74)
4
11 (5.14)
1 (1.89)
Comorbid diseases
<0.001
None
111 (51.87)
13 (24.53)
1
64 (29.91)
14 (26.42)
2
39 (18.22)
26 (49.06)
Consultation
<0.001
None
183 (85.51)
23 (43.40)
1 department
30 (14.02)
28 (52.83)
≥2 departments
1 (0.47)
2 (3.77)
Types of discharge
0.003
Home
185 (86.45)
36 (67.22)
Referred
7 (3.27)
2 (3.77)
Admitted
22 (10.28)
15 (28.30)
Blood testing
<0.001
None
134 (62.62)
3 (5.66)
1 round
65 (30.37)
11 (20.75)
≥2 rounds
15 (7.01)
39 (73.58)
General X-ray
56 (26.17)
40 (75.47)
<0.001
Computed tomography
7 (3.27)
8 (15.09)
0.003
Ultrasonography
1 (0.47)
4 (7.55)
0.006
Note. Patient category: disease severity; see details in text; data presented as numbers (percentage) unless indicated otherwise; values were obtained by Wilcoxon rank-sum or Student’s -test and Fisher’s exact tests or Chi-square test where appropriated; total numbers of patients in both groups may not be equal to 214 and 58, respectively, due to missing data.
