Predictors of high-acuity outcomes among 10–17-year-olds utilizing pediatric emergency services in Taiwan: a sex-based comparison of male and female adolescents

Table 2 Sample characteristics and univariate odds ratios associated with high-acuity outcomes among 10–17-year-old adolescents utilizing pediatric emergency services in Taiwan

Variable	Total (N = 16,910)		High-acuity outcome^a (N = 2,508)
Variable	n	Col %	n_HAO	Row %	OR (95% CI)
Sex
Female	7,555	44.7	1,170	15.5	Ref
Male	9,355	55.3	1,338	14.3	0.91 (0.84–0.99)
Age Group (years)
10–12	6,622	39.2	930	14.0	Ref
13–15	6,199	36.7	907	14.6	1.05 (0.95–1.16)
16–17	4,089	24.2	671	16.4	1.20 (1.08–1.34)
Triage Level^b
Level 1	426	2.5	91	21.4	Ref
Level 2	1,217	7.2	222	18.2	0.82 (0.63–1.08)
Level 3	12,726	75.3	1,969	15.5	0.67 (0.53–0.85)
Level 4	2,499	14.8	225	9.0	0.36 (0.28–0.48)
Level 5	42	0.3	1	2.4	0.09 (0.01–0.66)
Time of the ED Visit
08:00–15:59	5,646	33.4	941	16.7	Ref
16:00–23:59	7,856	46.5	1,051	13.4	0.77 (0.70–0.85)
00:00–07:59	3,408	20.2	516	15.1	0.89 (0.79–1.00)
Number of Abnormal Vital Signs^c
0	5,284	31.3	617	11.7	Ref
1	5,868	34.7	920	15.7	1.41 (1.26–1.57)
2	4,332	25.6	751	17.3	1.59 (1.41–1.78)
≥ 3	1,426	8.4	220	15.4	1.38 (1.17–1.63)
Glasgow Coma Scale^d
15	16,373	96.8	2,363	14.4	Ref
13–14	408	2.4	74	18.1	1.31 (1.02–1.70)
9–12	116	0.7	61	52.6	6.58 (4.56–9.49)
3–8	13	0.1	10	76.9	19.76 (5.44–71.86)

^a The four high-acuity outcomes include: (1) intensive care unit (ICU) admission or in-ED death; (2) inpatient ward admission; (3) return to the ED within 72 h for the same presenting complaint; and (4) ED length of stay exceeding 6 h. Col % represents the proportion of cases within each category of the variable, calculated as (n for the category/Total N) × 100. The percentages are specific to each variable and sum to 100% within each variable because all cases are distributed across the defined categories. n_HAO represents the number of ED visits listed in that row that resulted in any high-acuity outcome. Row % indicates thepercentage of ED visits listed in that row that resulted in any high-acuity outcome, calculated as (n_HAO/n) x 100. OR: univariate odds ratio; Ref: Reference
^b Level 1 indicates the most urgent condition that requires immediate treatment. Level 5 indicates the least urgent condition
^c Vital signs include: heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and respiratory rate
^d A neurological scale consisting of three tests: eye, verbal, and motor responses, with a score of 3 indicating the most severe condition

ISSN: 1471-227X