Key performance parameters across crowding levels
| All patients (n=2525) | Crowding level 1, normal (n=662) | Crowding level 2, high (n=1409) | Crowding level 3, very high (n=454) | P value | |
| Diagnostic protocols | |||||
| 0 hour | 1139/2525 (45.1%) | 267/662 (40.3%) | 660/1409 (46.8%) | 212/454 (46.7%) | 0.016 |
| 0/1 hour | 573/2525 (22.7%) | 169/662 (25.5%) | 305/1409 (21.6%) | 99/454 (21.8%) | 0.128 |
| 0/2 hours | 392/2525 (15.5%) | 104/662 (15.7%) | 223/1409 (15.8%) | 65/454 (14.3%) | 0.733 |
| 0/3 hours | 303/2525 (12.0%) | 86/662 (13.0%) | 171/1409 (12.1%) | 46/454 (10.1%) | 0.343 |
| >0/4 hours | 118/2525 (4.7%) | 36/662 (5.4%) | 50/1409 (3.5%) | 32/454 (7.0%) | 0.005 |
| Discharged directly from the ED | 1476/2525 (58.5%) | 390/662 (58.9%) | 801/1409 (56.8%) | 285/454 (62.8%) | 0.08 |
| 0 hour | 727/1139 (63.8%) | 168/267 (62.9%) | 423/660 (64.1%) | 136/212 (64.2%) | 0.078 |
| 0/1 hour | 357/573 (62.3%) | 116/169 (68.6%) | 175/305 (57.4%) | 66/99 (66.7%) | 0.008 |
| 0/2 hours | 231/392 (58.9%) | 63/104 (60.6%) | 120/223 (53.8%) | 48/65 (73.8%) | 0.388 |
| 0/3 hours | 123/303 (40.6%) | 34/86 (39.5%) | 66/171 (38.6%) | 23/46 (50.0%) | 0.885 |
| >0/4 hours | 38/118 (32.2%) | 9/36 (25.0%) | 17/50 (34.0%) | 12/32 (37.5%) | 0.086 |
| LOS of ED (hours) | 4.19 (0.02–30.19) | 3.75 (0.17–29.78) | 4.16 (0.02–30.19) | 4.89 (0.79–27.35) | <0.001 |
| 0 hour | 3.77 (0.13–27.35) | 3.08 (0.35–21.94) | 3.75 (0.13–26.80) | 4.64 (1.42–27.35) | <0.001 |
| 0/1 hour | 3.77 (0.02–30.19) | 3.25 (0.43–15.60) | 3.88 (0.02–30.19) | 3.96 (0.79–25.65) | 0.001 |
| 0/2 hours | 3.99 (0.17–28.07) | 3.74 (0.17–28.07) | 3.97 (0.27–24.74) | 4.54 (1.90–20.26) | 0.001 |
| 0/3 hours | 5.42 (0.35–29.78) | 5.41 (1.41–29.78) | 5.29 (0.35–21.89) | 6.25 (0.91–16.84) | 0.073 |
| >0/4 hour | 6.50 (1.23–21.58) | 6.46 (4.77–16.77) | 6.31 (4.03–18.59) | 6.94 (1.23–21.58) | 0.723 |
| Time between first and second hsTnT (min) | 100 (30–408) | 98 (38–383) | 100 (31–370) | 107 (30–480) | 0.07 |
| Delayed sampling interval | |||||
| Interval 91–149 min | 621/2123 (29.3%) | 151/546 (27.7%) | 358/1185 (30.2%) | 112/392 (28.6%) | 0.526 |
| Interval >210 min | 158/2123 (7.4%) | 41/546 (7.5%) | 71/1185 (6.0%) | 46/392 (11.7%) | <0.001 |
| Overall delayed sampling interval | 779/2123 (36.7%) | 192/546 (35.2%) | 429/1185 (36.2%) | 158/392 (40.3%) | 0.238 |
| TAT of first hsTnT (min) | 55 (18–294) | 53 (18–164) | 55 (24–294) | 57 (31–294) | <0.001 |
| TAT of hsTnT in the ED (hours) | 1.50 (0.30–5.75) | 1.50 (0.30–4.28) | 1.48 (0.40–5.75) | 1.50 (0.52–5.68) | 0.17 |
| Absolute non-laboratory time (LOS-TAT) (hours) | 2.77 (0.00–27.9) | 2.18 (0.00–27.9) | 2.77 (0.1–25.9) | 3.42 (0.2–26.2) | <0.001 |
| Relative non-laboratory time (LOS – TAT)/LOS(%) | 67.2 (0.2–100.0) | 63.3 (0.2–100.0) | 67.6 (3.3–100.0) | 71.3 (0.9–100.0) | <0.001 |
| HsTnT measurements beyond diagnostic set | 895 (35.4%) | 196 (29.6%) | 528 (37.5%) | 171 (37.7%) | 0.001 |
| All-cause mortality within 30 days | 46 (1.8%) | 12 (1.8%) | 25 (1.8%) | 9 (2.0%) | 0.96 |
Data are median (minimum–maximum) or number of patients (%).
ED, emergency department; hsTnT, high-sensitivity troponin T; LOS, length of stay; TAT, turn around time.