| Patient data | Dutch population* | Total sample (weighted)† | Dutch population deceased patients‡ | Sample deceased patients (weighted)¶ |
| Number of inpatient admissions (% of all patients/of all deceased patients in Dutch hospitals in 2004) | 1 343 234 | 7926 (0.6%) | 42 329 (3.2%) | 3983 (9.4%) |
| Number of admissions in university hospitals (% of total population/sample) | 179 998 (13.4%) | 1378 (17.4%) | 4972 (11.7%) | 780 (19.6%) |
| Age in years (mean (SD)) | 55.9 (21.7) | 57.5 (21.5) | 73.4 (13.9) | 73.9 (13.4) |
| Men (%) | 49.7% | 49.1% | 53.4% | 53.8% |
| Admission duration in days (mean (SD/median)) | 7.3 (10.4/4.0) | 8.5 (10.5/5.0) | 12.1 (15.8/7) | 12.3 (15.6/7) |
| Urgent admissions (%) | 46.6 | 53.7 | 81.0 | 87.9 |
| Hospital admission department (%) | ||||
| Surgery | 24.4 | 24.0 | 13.5 | 11.7 |
| Cardiology | 16.1 | 12.9 | 16.9 | 13.3 |
| Internal medicine | 16.1 | 15.8 | 33.4 | 31.1 |
| Orthopaedics | 8.7 | 10.4 | 1.6 | 1.8 |
| Neurology | 6.3 | 7.4 | 13.0 | 12.3 |
| Lung diseases | 6.5 | 7.2 | 13.6 | 13.5 |
| Ear, nose and throat | 4.5 | 4.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Urology | 5.0 | 4.2 | 1.4 | 1.3 |
| Other | 18.8 | 14.5 | 11.1 | 14.7 |
*All admissions in non-specialty and non-psychiatric acute care hospitals in the Netherlands in 2004 (Source: Prismant); hospitals with fewer than 200 beds and psychiatric and obstetric patients and patients <1 year were excluded. Admissions less than 1 day were excluded in the discharged patient group.
†Psychiatric and obstetric patients and patients <1 year were excluded. Day admissions were only excluded in the discharged patients. Figures were weighted for oversampling of deceased patients and of patients admitted to a university hospital.
‡All deceased patients in non-specialty and non-psychiatric acute care hospitals in the Netherlands in 2004 (Source: Prismant); hospitals with fewer than 200 beds and psychiatric and obstetric patients, patients <1 year and day admissions were excluded.
¶Psychiatric and obstetric patients and patients <1 year were excluded. Figures were weighted for oversampling of deceased patients admitted to a university hospital.