Association of delayed time in the emergency department with the clinical outcomes for critically ill patients

Summary Background Previous studies have shown the association of waiting time in the emergency department with the prognosis of critically ill patients, but these studies linking the waiting time to clinical outcomes have been inconsistent and limited by small sample size. Aim To determine the relationship between the waiting time in the emergency department and the clinical outcomes for critically ill patients in a large sample population. Design A retrospective cohort study of 13 634 patients. Methods We used the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III database. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the independent relationships of the in-hospital mortality rate with the delayed time and different groups. Interaction and stratified analysis were conducted to test whether the effect of delayed time differed across various subgroups. Results After adjustments, the in-hospital mortality in the ≥6 h group increased by 38.1% (OR 1.381, 95% CI 1.221–1.562). Moreover, each delayed hour was associated independently with a 1.0% increase in the risk of in-hospital mortality (OR 1.010, 95% CI 1.008–1.010). In the stratified analysis, intensive care unit (ICU) types, length of hospital stay, length of ICU stay, simplified acute physiology score II and diagnostic category were found to have interactions with ≥6 h group in in-hospital mortality. Conclusions In this large retrospective cohort study, every delayed hour was associated with an increase in mortality. Furthermore, clinicians should be cautious of patients diagnosed with sepsis, liver/renal/metabolic diseases, internal hemorrhage and cardiovascular disease, and if conditions permit, they should give priority to transferring to the corresponding ICUs.