Characteristics of patients on arrival at the EC
| All n=1376 n (%) | Metro n=1017 n (%) | Rural n=359 n (%) | P value | |
| Source of referral | ||||
| Primary care facility | 137 (10.0) | 69 (6.8) | 68 (18.9) | <0.001 |
| Private general practice | 147 (10.7) | 105 (10.3) | 42 (11.7) | |
| Self-referral | 972 (70.6) | 736 (72.4) | 235 (65.5) | |
| Higher hospital | 5 (0.4) | 5 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Other | 40 (2.9) | 26 (2.6) | 14 (3.9) | |
| Not known | 75 (5.5) | 75 (7.4) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Symptoms recorded on arrival | ||||
| Sore throat | 332 (24.1) | 186 (18.3) | 146 (40.7) | <0.001 |
| Nasal symptoms | 93 (6.8) | 61 (6.0) | 32 (8.9) | 0.059 |
| Body pains/myalgia | 360 (26.2) | 248 (24.4) | 112 (31.2) | 0.012 |
| Fever | 441 (32.0) | 302 (29.7) | 139 (38.7) | 0.002 |
| Cough | 877 (63.7) | 612 (60.2) | 265 (73.8) | <0.001 |
| Shortness of breath | 717 (52.1) | 545 (53.6) | 172 (47.9) | 0.062 |
| Fatigue | 181 (13.2) | 155 (15.3) | 26 (7.2) | <0.001 |
| Loss smell | 64 (4.7) | 43 (4.2) | 21 (5.8) | 0.211 |
| Loss taste | 49 (3.6) | 29 (2.9) | 20 (5.6) | 0.017 |
| Diarrhoea | 82 (6.0) | 70 (6.9) | 12 (3.3) | 0.015 |
| Headache | 222 (16.1) | 157 (15.5) | 65 (18.1) | 0.240 |
| Other | 298 (21.7) | 250 (24.6) | 47 (13.1) | <0.001 |
| Observations recorded on arrival | ||||
| Temperature >37.5°C | 162 (12.4) | 96 (10.0) | 66 (19.0) | <0.001 |
| Respiratory rate >18/min | 650 (50.5) | 505 (52.7) | 145 (43.9) | 0.007 |
| Pulse rate >100/min | 646 (47.9) | 491 (49.3) | 154 (43.8) | 0.013 |
| Systolic BP <90 mm Hg | 31 (2.6) | 28 (3.2) | 3 (1.0) | 0.08 |
| Systolic BP >140 mm Hg | 360 (30.0) | 259 (29.3) | 101 (32.3) | |
| Diastolic BP <60 mm Hg | 101 (8.4) | 87 (9.8) | 14 (4.5) | 0.008 |
| Diastolic BP >90 mm Hg | 217 (18.1) | 152 (17.2) | 65 (20.7) | |
| Oxygen saturation <95% | 557 (41.9) | 439 (44.8) | 118 (33.8) | <0.001 |
| Random blood glucose <4.0 mmol/L | 22 (2.5) | 15 (2.1) | 7 (3.9) | 0.228 |
| Random blood glucose >7.8 mmol/L | 397 (44.3) | 324 (45.4) | 73 (40.3) | |
| Alert | 1264 (91.9) | 921 (90.6) | 342 (95.3) | 0.034 |
| Confused but responds to verbal commands | 82 (6.0) | 69 (6.8) | 13 (3.6) | |
| Unconscious but responds to pain | 10 (0.7) | 7 (0.7) | 3 (0.8) | |
| Unconscious with no response to pain | 6 (0.4) | 5 (0.5) | 1 (0.3) | |
BP, blood pressure; EC, emergency centre.