Patient demographics of the study groups
| Overall sample | Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | 1061 | 307/1061 (29.0%) | 326/1061 (30.7%) | 428/1061 (40.3%) | |
| Gender* (ratio, %) | |||||
| Male | 368/1061 (34.7) | 110/307 (35.8) | 108/326 (33.1) | 150/428 (35.0) | 0.759† |
| Female | 693/1061 (65.3) | 197/307 (64.2) | 218/326 (66.9) | 278/428 (65.0) | |
| Age (years)* | |||||
| Median | 45.7 | 48.7 | 45.7 | 44.1 | 0.009‡ |
| IQR | 28.2–63.2 | 30.3–67.1 | 29.5–62.9 | 26.4–59.7 | |
| 95% CI | 43.2 to 47.5 | 43.2 to 51.9 | 41.7 to 48.6 | 40.5 to 47.0 | |
| Admission into general surgery* | <0.001† | ||||
| Ratio, % | 749/1061 (70.6) | 261/307 (85.0) | 255/326 (78.2) | 233/428 (54.4) | |
| Discharged’* | |||||
| Ratio, % | 262/1061 (24.7) | 38/307 (12.4) | 59/326 (18.1) | 165/428 (38.6) | |
| Planned review in 24 h* | |||||
| Ratio, % | 203/1061 (19.1) | Not applicable | 56/326 (17.2) | 147/428 (34.3) | <0.001† |
| ARU LOS§ (h) | |||||
| Median | 3.57 | 3.57 | 3.55 | 3.57 | 0.977‡ |
| IQR | 3.0–3.95 | 3.10–3.93 | 3.02–3.95 | 2.82–3.98 | |
| 95% CI | 3.50 to 3.63 | 3.45 to 3.67 | 3.45 to 3.68 | 3.50 to 3.72 | |
| Inpatient LOS§ (h) | |||||
| Median | 51.68 | 63.77 | 48.83 | 47.72 | 0.011‡ |
| IQR | 23.17–102.37 | 28.98–111.58 | 21.67–101.22 | 20.87–92.67 | |
| 95% CI | 47.72 to 57.05 | 51.75 to 72.78 | 420.2 to 55.62 | 42.80 to 56.90 | |
| USS§ (ratio, %) | |||||
| No | 445/1011 (44.0) | 140/299 (46.8) | 125/314 (39.8) | 180/398 (45.2) | 0.178† |
| Yes | 566/1011 (56.0) | 159/299 (53.2) | 189/314 (60.2) | 218/398 (54.8) | |
| CT§ (ratio, %) | |||||
| No | 769/1011 (76.1) | 233/299 (77.9) | 236/314 (75.2) | 300/398 (75.4) | 0.666† |
| Yes | 242/1011 (23.9) | 66/299 (22.1) | 78/314 (24.8) | 98/398 (24.6) | |
| MRCP§ (ratio, %) | |||||
| No | 902/1011 (89.2) | 256/299 (85.6) | 277/314 (88.2) | 369/398 (92.7) | 0.009† |
| Yes | 109/1011 (10.8) | 43/299 (14.4) | 37/314 (11.8) | 29/398 (7.3) | |
| Total re-referrals (ratio, %) | 45/299 (15.1) | 46/314 (14.6) | 52/398 (13.1) | 0.723† | |
| Re-presentations | 9/299 (3.0) | 15/314 (4.8) | 22/398 (5.5) | 0.280† | |
| Readmissions | 36/299 (12.0) | 31/314 (9.9) | 30/398 (7.5) | 0.133† | |
*Comparison with all patients within the SG.
†Pearson χ2 test (asymptotic significance, two-sided).
‡Kruskal–Wallis test for independent samples.
§Comparison with only general surgical patients within the SG (excluding ‘To other specialty’).
LOS, length of stay.