Baseline characteristics between the MEWS <4 and MEWS ≥4 groups
| Characteristics | All, n (%) | MEWS <4 | MEWS ≥4 | P value |
| n=383 | n=225 | n=158 | ||
| Age, mean (SD) | 59.6 (18.3) | 57.9 (16.9) | 62.1 (19.9) | 0.008 |
| Gender | 0.43 | |||
| Male | 255 (66.6) | 159 (70.7) | 96 (60.8) | |
| Female | 128 (33.4) | 66 (29.3) | 62 (39.2) | |
| Ethnicity | 0.525 | |||
| Han | 376 (98.2) | 222 (98.7) | 154 (97.5) | |
| Hui | 1 (0.2) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.6) | |
| Manchu | 6 (1.6) | 3 (1.3) | 3 (1.9) | |
| Means of arrival | 0.009 | |||
| Walking | 123 (32.1) | 86 (38.2) | 37 (23.4) | |
| Wheelchair | 8 (2.1) | 4 (1.8) | 4 (2.5) | |
| Ambulance | 252 (66.8) | 135 (60.0) | 117 (74.1) | |
| Triage | <0.001 | |||
| Discharged from ED | 38 (9.9) | 31 (13.8) | 7 (4.4) | |
| Observation room | 51 (13.3) | 39 (17.3) | 12 (7.6) | |
| Ward admission | 201 (52.5) | 126 (56.0) | 75 (47.5) | |
| ICU admission | 83 (21.7) | 28 (12.4) | 55 (34.8) | |
| Died in ED | 10 (2.6) | 1 (0.5) | 9 (5.7) | |
| Disease types | 0.003 | |||
| Respiratory system | 54 (14.1) | 19 (8.4) | 35 (22.2) | |
| Digestive system | 36 (9.4) | 23 (10.2) | 13 (8.2) | |
| Cardiovascular system | 82 (21.4) | 50 (22.2) | 32 (20.3) | |
| Nervous system | 99 (25.8) | 69 (30.7) | 30 (19.0) | |
| Haematological system | 3 (0.8) | 3 (1.3) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Endocrinological, metabolism | 3 (0.8) | 3 (1.3) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Urinary system | 15 (3.9) | 7 (3.1) | 8 (5.1) | |
| Trauma | 28 (7.3) | 17 (7.56) | 11 (7.0) | |
| Others | 63 (16.5) | 34 (15.1) | 29 (18.4) |
ED, emergency department; ICU, intensive care unit; MEWS, Modified Early Warning Score.