Baseline characteristics of patients cared for by hospitalists and non-hospitalists (N=6391)
| Baseline characteristics | Hospitalists (n=2426) | Non-hospitalists (n=3965) | P value |
| Sex | |||
| Male | 1387 (57.2) | 2188 (55.2) | 0.120 |
| Female | 1039 (42.8) | 1777 (44.8) | |
| Age (years) | 63.24±16.20 | 67.38±16.52 | <0.001 |
| <50 | 488 (20.1) | 610 (15.4) | <0.001 |
| 50–59 | 401 (16.5) | 499 (12.6) | |
| 60–69 | 542 (22.3) | 733 (18.5) | |
| 70–79 | 632 (26.1) | 1131 (28.5) | |
| ≥80 | 363 (15.0) | 992 (25.0) | |
| Prior hospitalisation | 2101 (86.6) | 3373 (85.1) | 0.090 |
| Number of prior hospitalisations | 3.16±4.07 | 3.24±4.20 | 0.480 |
| Korean Triage and Acuity Scale | |||
| 1 (Resuscitation) | 12 (0.5) | 69 (1.7) | <0.001 |
| 2 (Emergency) | 324 (13.4) | 941 (23.7) | |
| 3 (Urgent) | 1699 (70.0) | 2511 (63.3) | |
| 4 (Less urgent) | 367 (15.1) | 403 (10.2) | |
| 5 (Non-urgent) | 24 (1.0) | 41 (1.0) | |
| Major disease | |||
| Malignant neoplasms | 845 (34.8) | 890 (22.4) | <0.001 |
| Diseases of the circulatory system | 48 (2.0) | 552 (13.9) | |
| Diseases of the respiratory system | 266 (11.0) | 875 (22.1) | |
| Diseases of the digestive system | 441 (18.2) | 424 (10.7) | |
| Diseases of the genitourinary system | 202 (8.3) | 375 (9.5) | |
| Symptoms, signs, and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings | 162 (6.7) | 167 (4.2) | |
| Certain infectious and parasitic diseases | 86 (3.5) | 204 (5.1) | |
| Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases | 95 (3.9) | 158 (4.0) | |
| Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism | 130 (5.4) | 47 (1.2) | |
| Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue | 58 (2.4) | 89 (2.2) | |
| Others | 93 (3.8) | 184 (4.6) | |
| Age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index | 3.82±2.63 | 3.77±2.19 | |
| Median (IQR) | 4(2–5) | 4(2–5) | 0.055 |
| ≤2 | 729 (30.0) | 1018 (25.7) | 0.001 |
| 3 | 436 (18.0) | 733 (18.5) | |
| 4 | 502 (20.7) | 943 (23.8) | |
| ≥5 | 759 (31.3) | 1271 (32.1) | |
| Surgical intervention | 282 (11.6) | 560 (14.1) | 0.004 |
| CPR incidence | 15 (0.6) | 35 (0.9) | 0.244 |
| Consultation | 1830 (75.4) | 2946 (74.3) | 0.312 |
| Number of consultations | 3.50±6.18 | 3.99±7.02 | 0.004 |
| Referral to a specialty | 1613 (66.5) | 450 (11.3) | <0.001 |
| Type of specialty referral (n=2063) | |||
| Haematology and Oncology | 658 (40.8) | 114 (25.3) | <0.001 |
| Gastroenterology | 360 (22.3) | 20 (4.4) | |
| Respiratory | 174 (10.8) | 53 (11.8) | |
| Nephrology | 96 (6.0) | 11 (2.4) | |
| Infection | 96 (6.0) | 8 (1.8) | |
| Geriatrics | 80 (5.0) | 9 (2.0) | |
| Others | 149 (9.2) | 235 (52.2) | |
| Outcomes | |||
| In-hospital mortality | 117 (4.8) | 361 (9.1) | <0.001 |
| ICU admission | 95 (3.9) | 343 (8.7) | <0.001 |
| Cause of ICU admission (n=438) | |||
| Close monitoring after procedure or surgical intervention | 55 (57.9) | 223 (65.0) | 0.077 |
| Respiratory failure or insufficiency | 23 (24.2) | 78 (22.7) | |
| Septic shock | 7 (7.4) | 17 (5.0) | |
| Cardiovascular failure or insufficiency | 7 (7.4) | 12 (3.5) | |
| Metabolic/renal failure | 0 (0.0) | 8 (2.3) | |
| GI bleeding | 3 (3.2) | 2 (0.6) | |
| Neurogenic dysfunction | 0 (0.0) | 3 (0.9) | |
| APACHE II score at ICU admission (n=438) | 25.20±10.62 | 21.26±12.03 | 0.004 |
| Length of hospital stay (days) | 10.56±11.68 | 11.40±12.36 | |
| Median (IQR) | 7 (4–10 47 48) | 8 (5–11 47 48) | 0.007 |
| ED-LOS (hours) | 11.24±8.49 | 13.74±10.11 | |
| Median (IQR) | 8.4 [6.1–12.7) | 10.2 [6.7–19.0) | <0.001 |
| Readmission within 10 days | 117 (4.8) | 177 (4.5) | 0.507 |
| Readmission within 30 days | 277 (11.4) | 416 (10.5) | 0.248 |
Data are presented as the mean±SD, number (%), or median (IQR), as indicated. ‘Surgical intervention’ implies the patient underwent surgery during the hospital stay, not before.
. APACHE, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation; CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation; ED-LOS, emergency department-length of stay; GI bleeding, Gastrointestinal bleeding; ICU, intensive care unit; IQR, interquartile range.