Primary care referrals of patients with potentially serious diseases to the emergency department or a quick diagnosis unit: a cross-sectional retrospective study

Table 2 Main characteristics and differences of the two groups of patients

Variable	PHC-QDU patients n = 1186	PHC-ED-QDU patients n = 1004	Pvalue
Age (years)	58.8 (16.1), 62 [55;67.7]	56.8 (15.5), 60.3 [53.8;66]	NS
Female	608 (51.3)	527 (52.5)
Male	578 (48.7)	477 (47.5)
Main reason for consultation	Unintentional weight loss	Anemia
Waiting time for 1st QDU visit (days)*	2-8 (4.8)	2-4 (2.6)	.001
Charlson com in. (score)	1.3 (0.9), 1.1 [0.9;1.5]	1.2 (0.8), 0.9 [0.7;1.3]	NS
Main diagnosis	Malignant neoplasm	Benign GI disorder-related iron-deficiency anemia
Visits per patient (n)	3.2 (1.8), 3 [2.8;3.3]	2.9 (1.6), 2.7 [2.6;3]	NS
Time to diagnosis (days)	9.2 (4), 8.6 [7.9;10.7]	8.9 (4), 8.4 [7.8;10.4]	NS
Destination
PHC	690 (58.2)	625 (62.2)	NS
Outpatients	465 (39.2)	365 (36.4)	NS
Palliative care	20 (1.7)	7 (0.7)	NS
Other	11 (0.9)	7 (0.7)	NS

Data expressed as mean (SD) and median [25th-75th percentiles] or number (percentage).
*Data expressed as range (mean).
PHC denotes primary care; QDU, quick diagnosis unit; ED, emergency department; NS, nonsignificant; Charlson com in., Charlson comorbidity index.

ISSN: 2731-4553