Differences in demographics and clinical characteristics by time period among patients with Medicare
| All | Period 1 | Period 2 | Period 3 | P value | |
| n=11 932 | n=4926 (41%) | n=5893 (49%) | n=11 113 (9%) | ||
| Demographics | |||||
| Age (median (IQR)) | 76 (69–83) | 77 (69–83) | 76 (69–83) | 76 (69–83) | 0.37 |
| Race | 0.78 | ||||
| White | 10 591 (90%) | 4368 (90%) | 5240 (91%) | 983 (91%) | |
| Black | 431 (4%) | 175 (4%) | 217 (4%) | 39 (4%) | |
| Other | 696 (6%) | 304 (6%) | 332 (6%) | 60 (6%) | |
| Sex | 0.82 | ||||
| Male | 5100 (43%) | 2122 (43%) | 2505 (42%) | 473 (43%) | |
| Female | 6832 (57%) | 2804 (57%) | 3388 (58%) | 640 (57%) | |
| Clinical variables | |||||
| ISS (median (IQR)) | 9 (5–10) | 9 (5–10) | 9 (5–10) | 9 (5–10) | 0.06 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index score (median (IQR)), range) | 4 (3–5), 0–10 | 4 (3–5), 0–9* | 4 (3–5), 0–10* | 4 (3–5), 0–10 | 0.03 |
| Cause of injury | 0.26 | ||||
| Fall | 10 043 (85%) | 4111 (84%) | 4987 (85%) | 945 (85%) | |
| Motor vehicle collision | 842 (7%) | 385 (8%) | 393 (7%) | 64 (6%) | |
| Assault/GSW/stabbing/self-inflicted | 172 (2%) | 76 (2%) | 81 (1%) | 15 (1%) | |
| Bike/sport/other vehicle* | 412 (4%) | 164 (3%) | 207 (4%) | 41 (4%) | |
| Other† | 402 (3%) | 163 (3%) | 197 (3%) | 42 (4%) | |
| Positive alcohol screen at admission | 556 (5%) | 254 (5%) | 249 (4%) | 53 (5%) | 0.07 |
| Positive drug screen at admission | 374 (3%) | 107 (2%)*† | 207 (4%)*‡ | 60 (5%)†‡ | <0.01 |
| Discharge destination | <0.01 | ||||
| Home/home health | 4344 (37%) | 1725 (35%)* | 2159 (37%)† | 460 (41%)*† | |
| Assisted living‡ | 6366 (54%) | 2708 (56%)* | 3148 (54%)† | 510 (46%)*† | |
| Death/hospice | 860 (7%) | 339 (7%)* | 422 (7%)† | 99 (9%)*† | |
| Other§ | 289 (2%) | 109 (2%)* | 139 (2%)† | 41 (4%)*† | |
| Total hospital length of stay, days (median (IQR), range) | 4 (3–6), 0–77 | 4 (3–6), 0–77 | 4 (3–6), 0–71 | 4 (2–6), 0–33 | 0.33 |
| ICU length of stay, days (median (IQR), range)¶ | 3 (2–4), 1–52 | 3 (2–4), 1–52*† | 3 (2–4), 1–43* | 2 (2–4), 1–28† | <0.01 |
P values show the overall p value across the three time periods, and p values meeting the significance threshold of p<0.05 are emphasized in bold. Symbols show which two-way comparisons were significant at p<0.05.
Period 1 is January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018, Period 2 is January 1, 2019 to March 15, 2020, and Period 3 is March 16, 2020 to June 30, 2020.
*Other vehicles include all-terrain vehicles, boats, snowmobiles, and motorized scooters.
†Other includes animal bite, burns, construction injuries, crush injuries, electrical injuries, exposure, lightning strike, machinery collisions, and those classified as “other” in the trauma registry.
‡Assisted living includes assisted living, skilled nursing facility, inpatient rehab facility, long-term acute care, and nursing home.
§Other discharge destinations include leaving against medical advice, court/law enforcement, and psychiatric unit.
¶Includes only patients with ICU length of stay ≥1 day.
GSW, gunshot wound; ICU, intensive care unit; ISS, Injury Severity Score.