Descriptive characteristics of the study cohort
| Robust (CFS<5) | Living with frailty (CFS≥5) | |
| n | 1234 | 606 |
| Age, median (IQR) | 76 (71–82) | 83 (77–89) |
| Women (%) | 642 (52) | 364 (60) |
| CFS, median (IQR) | 3 (2–4) | 6 (5–7) |
| Mode of arrival | ||
| Ambulance | 513 (41.5%) | 463 (76.4%) |
| Walk-in | 692 (56.1%) | 128 (21.1%) |
| Recumbent patient transport | 9 (0.7%) | 10 (1.7%) |
| Other | 2 (0.2%) | – |
| Missing data: | 18 (1.5%) | 5 (0.8%) |
| Triage category | ||
| 1 (immediate) | 50 (4%) | 57 (9.4%) |
| 2 (very urgent) | 347 (28%) | 234 (38.6%) |
| 3 (urgent) | 633 (51.3%) | 257 (42.4%) |
| 4 (non-urgent) | 203 (16.5%) | 56 (9.2%) |
| Missing data | 1 (0.08%) | 2 (0.17%) |
| ED discharge diagnosis | ||
| Injury* | 250 (20.3%) | 141 (23.3%) |
| Fever | 28 (2.3%) | 33 (5.5%) |
| Dyspnoea | 46 (3.7%) | 28 (4.6%) |
| Chest pain | 91 (7.4%) | 29 (4.8%) |
| Abdominal pain | 61 (4.9%) | 17 (2.8%) |
| Pneumonia | 14 (1.1%) | 14 (2.3%) |
| Heart failure | 17 (1.4%) | 19 (3.1%) |
| Vertigo | 49 (4.0%) | 18 (3.0%) |
| Syncope | 22 (1.8%) | 10 (1.7%) |
| Disorientation | 4 (0.3%) | 11 (1.8%) |
| Fatigue | 11 (0.9%) | 12 (2.0%) |
| Other | 640 (51.9%) | 273 (45.1%) |
CFS, Clinical Frailty Scale; ED, emergency department.