Table 1

Characteristics of patients according to emergency status within 72 h

CharacteristicsEmergency 72 h (N=140)Non-emergency (N=3287)p Value
Demographics
 Age, median (range)69 (19–90)67 (18–102)0.047
 Male sex, N (%)92 (66)2002 (61)0.25
 Height (cm), median (range)170 (147–198)172 (133–202)0.4
 Weight (kg), median (range)75 (37–180)76 (30–217)0.94
 Body mass index, median (range)25 (12–61)26 (12–85)0.75
 Smoker, N (%)41 (29)905 (28)0.48
 Antibiotics within 4 weeks, N (%)21 (15)766 (23)0.02
 Influenza vaccination, N (%)47 (34)1191 (36)0.84
 Pneumococcal vaccination, N (%)14 (10)438 (13)0.34
Clinical findings at presentation
 Focal chest signs, N (%)127 (91)2655 (81)0.003
 Cough, N (%)123 (88)2951 (90)0.46
 Purulent sputum, N (%)76 (54)1743 (53)0.77
 Fever, N (%)82 (59)2145 (65)0.1
Comorbidities
 Chronic respiratory disease, N (%)46 (33)941 (29)0.28
 Home oxygen therapy, N (%)32 (23)214 (7)<0.001
 Extrapulmonary comorbidity, N (%)98 (70)1974 (60)0.02
 Congestive heart failure, N (%)41 (29)619 (19)0.002
 Other chronic heart disease, N (%)54 (39)1296 (39)0.84
 Chronic renal disease, N (%)24 (17)321 (10)0.004
 Chronic liver disease, N (%)5 (4)90 (3)0.56
 Malignant disease, N (%)13 (9)331 (10)0.76
 Cerebrovascular disease, N (%)11 (8)208 (6)0.47
 Other chronic neurological disease, N (%)11 (8)145 (4)0.06
 Diabetes mellitus, N (%)34 (24)601 (18)0.07
 Gastric tube feeding, N (%)5 (4)6 (0)<0.001
 Nursing home residency, N (%)11 (8)100 (3)0.002
Vital signs
 Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg), median (IQR)123 (35)130 (29)0.028
 Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg), median (IQR)70 (22)73 (15)<0.001
 Respiratory rate, median (IQR)24 (8)20 (6)<0.001
 Heart rate, median (IQR)98 (28)90 (21)<0.001
 Temperature (°C), median (IQR)37.5 (1.6)37.8 (1.7)0.009
 Multilobar infiltrate, N (%)61 (44)809 (25)<0.001
 Pleural effusion, N (%)31 (22)558 (17)0.1
 Altered mental status, N (%)25 (18)179 (5)<0.001
CRB-65 score, mean1.50.9<0.001
CURB-65 score, mean2.11.2<0.001
PSI score risk class, mean3.32.5<0.001
30-Day mortality, N (%)24 (17)87 (3)<0.001
180-Day mortality, N (%)34 (24)196 (6)<0.001
  • Significant p values are shown in bold.

  • CRB-65, C, mental confusion; R, respiratory rate ≥30/min; B, systolic blood pressure <90 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≤60 mm Hg; 65, age ≥65 years); CURB, C, confusion, U, blood urea nitrogen ≥20 mg/dL, R, respiratory rate ≥30/min, B, systolic blood pressure <90 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≤60 mm Hg; PSI, Pneumonia Severity Index.