Patient characteristics and distribution of chief complaints, ranked by prevalence
| Chief complaint | Prevalence | Age, median | Sex, male | Triage color | LoS, median | Admitted | ||||
| Contacts | Index* | Years (IQR) | % | Red | Orange | Yellow | Green | |||
| n (%) | n (%) | % | % | % | % | Hours | % | |||
| All | 19 325 (100) | 15 369 (100) | 58 (37–75) | 50 | 3.7 | 44.4 | 37.3 | 14.6 | 9.2 | 53.3 |
| Extremity injury | 2097 (10.9) | 1803 (11.7) | 66 (44–81) | 45 | 0.6 | 58.0 | 20.9 | 20.5 | 10.4 | 50.0 |
| Abdominal symptoms | 1878 (9.7) | 1536 (10.0) | 48 (29–66) | 45 | 0.7 | 41.1 | 48.1 | 10.1 | 17.9 | 74.0 |
| Dyspnea | 1620 (8.4) | 1150 (7.5) | 72 (59–81) | 50 | 13.0 | 51.8 | 28.6 | 6.6 | 50.8 | 84.0 |
| Head and face symptoms | 1388 (7.2) | 1192 (7.8) | 52 (28–72) | 56 | 0.8 | 38.5 | 47.9 | 12.8 | 2.9 | 16.9 |
| No contact reason | 1268 (6.6) | 998 (6.5) | 60 (38–77) | 53 | 12.5 | 34.2 | 30.0 | 23.3 | 10.4 | 54.1 |
| Chest pain | 1055 (5.5) | 875 (5.7) | 56 (43–70) | 51 | 0.6 | 77.5 | 19.4 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 22.1 |
| Back and neck pain | 930 (4.8) | 833 (5.4) | 44 (28–64) | 46 | 0.5 | 42.9 | 42.5 | 14.1 | 3.5 | 28.8 |
| Fever/infection | 882 (4.6) | 676 (4.4) | 66 (46–77) | 55 | 4.9 | 33.9 | 45.7 | 15.5 | 61.5 | 83.8 |
| Intoxication | 802 (4.2) | 560 (3.6) | 32 (22–50) | 47 | 3.9 | 54.5 | 39.0 | 2.6 | 5.5 | 41.2 |
| Extremity symptoms without injury | 597 (3.1) | 486 (3.2) | 60 (42–75) | 50 | 0.5 | 38.9 | 39.5 | 21.1 | 14.6 | 64.0 |
| Gastrointestinal bleeding | 572 (3.0) | 433 (2.8) | 69 (51–80) | 56 | 2.6 | 33.2 | 48.8 | 15.4 | 32.4 | 75.7 |
| Dizziness | 519 (2.7) | 415 (2.7) | 70 (54–80) | 46 | 1.0 | 42.8 | 29.1 | 27.1 | 11.4 | 54.1 |
| Fainting/syncope | 495 (2.6) | 424 (2.8) | 63 (37–76) | 47 | 0.4 | 24.7 | 73.1 | 1.8 | 3.5 | 31.1 |
| Altered level of consciousness | 494 (2.6) | 340 (2.2) | 70 (51–81) | 48 | 13.7 | 55.9 | 29.5 | 0.9 | 22.8 | 62.2 |
| Seizure, generalized | 468 (2.4) | 314 (2.0) | 47 (31–60) | 65 | 7.0 | 54.7 | 10.9 | 27.4 | 4.8 | 39.5 |
| Headache | 466 (2.4) | 411 (2.7) | 47 (30–62) | 41 | 4.1 | 51.9 | 38.2 | 5.8 | 4.8 | 41.0 |
| Unwell | 358 (1.9) | 271 (1.8) | 68 (47–79) | 47 | 0.8 | 9.5 | 58.1 | 31.6 | 5.7 | 47.8 |
| Focal neurological symptoms | 342 (1.8) | 285 (1.9) | 70 (48–80) | 56 | 4.7 | 57.3 | 37.4 | 0.6 | 15.7 | 62.8 |
| Allergic symptoms | 258 (1.3) | 228 (1.5) | 42 (28–57) | 42 | 1.9 | 62.8 | 18.2 | 17.1 | 3.6 | 34.9 |
| Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea | 247 (1.3) | 184 (1.2) | 68 (49–80) | 32 | 1.2 | 7.3 | 70.0 | 21.5 | 45.8 | 18.0 |
| Nose symptoms | 239 (1.2) | 188 (1.2) | 70 (58–80) | 61 | 0.0 | 74.9 | 5.9 | 19.2 | 2.4 | 82.6 |
| Thorax injury | 225 (1.2) | 196 (1.3) | 51 (33–66) | 60 | 3.6 | 21.3 | 60.9 | 14.2 | 12.2 | 61.2 |
| Skin and mucosal symptoms | 218 (1.1) | 173 (1.1) | 48 (33–68) | 50 | 2.3 | 19.3 | 59.2 | 19.2 | 2.4 | 19.1 |
| The rest† | 1907 (9.9) | 1398 (9.1) | 54 (34–72) | 56 | 1.1 | 28.4 | 41.9 | 28.6 | 14.7 | 64.3 |
All included contacts shown.
*Index contacts, defined by a patient’s first contact during the inclusion period.
†For full table showing chief complaints within “the rest,” see online supplemental file 1.
LoS, length of stay; n, number.