Changes in Emergency Department Performance during Strike of Junior Physicians in Korea
Table 1
Characteristics of patients who visited the emergency department during the strike and control periods.
Strike period
Control period
value
Total visits
1,121
1,496
Male gender
582 (51.9)
782 (52.3)
0.888
Age (years)
56 (42–74)
55 (41–72)
0.188
Cause of visit
0.016
Disease
964 (86.0)
1229 (82.2)
Injury
137 (12.2)
240 (16.0)
Poisoning
11 (1.0)
21 (1.4)
Other
9 (0.8)
6 (0.4)
Route of visit
0.173
FD ambulances
374 (33.4)
457 (30.5)
OPD
25 (2.2)
29 (1.9)
Transferred
193 (17.2)
303 (20.3)
Walk-in or other
529 (47.2)
707 (47.3)
KTAS
<0.001
1
10 (0.9)
11 (0.7)
2
94 (8.4)
121 (8.1)
3
654 (58.8)
726 (48.7)
4
297 (26.7)
526 (35.3)
5
58 (5.2)
106 (7.1)
Consciousness
0.376
Alert
1034 (92.2)
1401 (93.6)
Verbal response
43 (3.8)
53 (3.5)
Pain response
29 (2.6)
25 (1.7)
Unresponsive
15 (1.3)
17 (1.1)
Vitals signs
Systolic BP (mmHg)
120 (110–140)
120 (110–140)
0.440
Diastolic BP (mmHg)
80 (70–90)
80 (70–90)
0.939
Heart rate (min−1)
86 (78–100)
84.5 (77–100)
0.087
Respiratory rate (min−1)
20 (20–21)
20 (20–22)
0.861
Body temperature (°C)
36.6 (36.5–37.2)
36.7 (36.5–37.1)
0.927
Pulse oxygen saturation
98 (96–98)
98 (97–99)
<0.001
Hospital admission
535 (47.8)
690 (46.2)
0.422
Mortality
26 (2.5)
35 (2.6)
0.891
EDLOS (min)
326 (123–318)
359 (147–391)
<0.001
Injury includes trauma, environmental injury, burns, and submersions. Mortality includes mortality in the emergency department and after admission and expected death after discharge. Numbers in parentheses represent percentage or interquartile ranges. FD: fire department; OPD: outpatient department; KTAS: Korean Triage and Acuity Scale; BP: blood pressure; EDLOS: emergency department length of stay.
