Baseline characteristics of admitted patients without clinical suspicion of COVID-19 (N=15 690)
| Patients without COVID-19 symptoms (n=3113) | Patients with COVID-19-compatible symptoms attributed to an alternate diagnosis (n=12 570) | |
| Demographics | ||
| Age, mean (SD) | 57.6 (22.6) | 64.6 (20.4) |
| Female (%) | 1418 (45.6) | 5924 (47.1) |
| Pregnant (%) | 18 (0.6) | 45 (0.4) |
| Tobacco use (%) | 491 (15.8) | 1656 (13.2) |
| Illicit substance use (%) | 421 (13.5) | 967 (7.7) |
| Arrival by ambulance (%) | 1724 (55.4) | 7189 (57.2) |
| Arrival from (%) | ||
| Home | 2552 (82.0) | 10 943 (87.0) |
| Long-term care or rehab facility | 217 (7.0) | 832 (6.6) |
| Unstable housing* | 190 (6.1) | 414 (3.3) |
| Corrections | 7 (0.2) | 14 (0.1) |
| Interfacility transfer | 121 (3.9) | 262 (2.1) |
| Risk for infection (%) | ||
| Travel | 32 (1.0) | 134 (1.1) |
| Institutional (LTC/prison) | 231 (7.4) | 721 (5.7) |
| Household contact | 28 (0.9) | 144 (1.1) |
| Occupational | 10 (0.3) | 38 (0.3) |
| Unknown | 1502 (48.2) | 5377 (42.8) |
| Pre-ED goals of care (%) | ||
| Full code | 2946 (94.6) | 11 259 (89.5) |
| Intermediate GOC | 18 (0.6) | 173 (1.4) |
| Do not resuscitate | 149 (4.8) | 1142 (9.1) |
| Acuity | ||
| CTAS 1 (resuscitation) | 241 (7.7) | 1053 (8.4) |
| CTAS 2 (emergent) | 1000 (32.1) | 5786 (46.0) |
| CTAS 3 (urgent) | 1527 (49.1) | 5086 (40.4) |
| CTAS 4 (less urgent) | 295 (9.5) | 572 (4.6) |
| CTAS 5 (non-urgent) | 40 (1.3) | 59 (0.5) |
| Arrival vital signs, mean (SD) | ||
| Heart rate, beats per minute | 91.2 (21.2) | 95.5 (23.9) |
| Systolic BP, mm Hg | 134.7 (25.1) | 133.6 (27.9) |
| Oxygen saturation (%) | 96.6 (3.4) | 95.7 (4.1) |
| Respiratory rate, breaths per minute | 18.6 (4.4) | 21.2 (6.3) |
| Temperature, °C | 36.6 (0.6) | 36.8 (0.9) |
| Comorbidities (%) | ||
| Hypertension | 951 (30.6) | 5321 (42.3) |
| Psychiatric condition | 728 (23.4) | 2134 (17.0) |
| Dyslipidaemia | 425 (13.6) | 2434 (19.4) |
| Diabetes | 427 (13.7) | 2577 (20.5) |
| Chronic neuro disorder | 322 (10.3) | 1406 (11.2) |
| Coronary artery disease | 284 (9.1) | 1796 (14.3) |
| Rheumatological disorder | 229 (7.4) | 1249 (9.9) |
| Dementia | 199 (6.4) | 696 (5.5) |
| Active cancer | 231 (7.4) | 1647 (12.9) |
| Chronic kidney disease | 195 (6.3) | 1319 (10.5) |
| Chronic lung disease (not asthma) | 199 (6.4) | 1691 (13.5) |
| Congestive heart failure | 159 (5.1) | 1392 (11.1) |
| Asthma | 125 (4.0) | 712 (5.7) |
| Obesity | 57 (1.8) | 344 (2.7) |
| Symptoms (%) | ||
| Cough | – | 2763 (22.0) |
| Dyspnoea | – | 4757 (37.8) |
| Fever | – | 2531 (20.1) |
| General weakness | – | 3183 (25.3) |
| Chest pain | – | 2714 (21.6) |
| Diarrhoea | – | 1339 (10.7) |
| Nausea/vomiting | – | 3345 (26.6) |
| Headache | – | 784 (6.2) |
| Chills | – | 957 (7.6) |
| Myalgia | – | 466 (3.7) |
| Sore throat | – | 374 (3.0) |
| Altered consciousness | – | 2502 (19.9) |
| Dysgeusia/anosmia | – | 41 (0.3) |
| ED diagnosis (%) | ||
| Respiratory disease, not specified | 8 (0.3) | 118 (0.9) |
| COPD exacerbation | 11 (0.4) | 648 (5.2) |
| Asthma exacerbation | <5 | 97 (0.8) |
| Congestive heart failure | 44 (1.4) | 1003 (8.0) |
| Shortness of breath, NYD | – | 466 (3.6) |
| Cough, NYD | – | 63 (0.5) |
| Fever, NYD | – | 482 (3.8) |
| Outcome (%) | ||
| Positive SARS-CoV-2 NAAT | 13 (0.4) | 109 (0.9) |
*Unstable housing includes no fixed address, shelter, or single room occupancy.
BP, blood pressure; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CTAS, Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale; ED, emergency department; GOC, goals of care; LTC, long term care; NAAT, nucleic acid amplification test; NYD, not yet determined.