The hospital and patient characteristics of the study samples 2004, 2008 and 2011/2012
| Sample 2004* | Sample 2008* | Sample 2011/2012* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inpatient admissions, n (% of all patients) | 7926 (0.6) | 4023 (0.3) | 4048 (0.2) |
| Hospital deaths, n (% of total sample/population) | 3983 (50.3) | 1996 (49.9) | 2025 (50.0) |
| Patient admissions | |||
| University hospitals, n (% of total sample/pop) | 1378 (17.4) | 794 (19.7) | 799 (19.7) |
| Tertiary teaching | 2342 (29.5) | 1201 (29.9) | 1642 (40.6) |
| General | 4206 (53.1) | 2028 (50.4) | 1607 (39.7) |
| Patient characteristics | Sample 2004*† | Sample 2008*† | Sample 2011/2012*† |
| Male sex, % | 49.0 | 49.9 | 50.2 |
| Age (years), % | |||
| 1–18 | 7.3 | 5.6 | 6.0 |
| 19–40 | 13.7 | 10.9 | 10.8 |
| 41–65 | 36.4 | 38.0 | 37.2 |
| 66–79 | 28.6 | 28.7 | 29.2 |
| ≥80 | 14.1 | 16.9 | 16.8 |
| Length of hospital stay, days, mean (SD/median) | 8.5 (10.4/5.0) | 6.7 (8.9/4.0) | 6.3 (14.6/3) |
| Patients admitted as urgent, % | 53.9 | 54.1 | 54.6 |
| Hospital departments, % | |||
| Surgery | 23.9 | 21.8 | 21.7 |
| Cardiology | 12.9 | 11.6 | 10.7 |
| Internal medicine | 15.8 | 16.2 | 16.2 |
| Orthopaedics | 10.5 | 1.0 | 11.2 |
| Neurology | 7.5 | 7.7 | 6.8 |
| Lung diseases | 7.2 | 6.1 | 6.9 |
| Ear, nose and throat | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.6 |
| Urology | 4.2 | 5.1 | 4.9 |
| Other | 13.7 | 16.7 | 18.0 |
| International Classification of Diseases main diagnostic groups % | |||
| Neoplasms | 10.4 | 12.1 | 11.5 |
| Nervous system and sensory organs | 4.4 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| Circulatory system | 19.1 | 20.6 | 17.7 |
| Respiratory system | 8.4 | 8.6 | 8.7 |
| Digestive system | 10.9 | 10.7 | 9.9 |
| Genitourinary system | 6.4 | 6.2 | 6.1 |
| Musculoskeletal and connective | 11.1 | 11.8 | 10.5 |
| Ill-defined conditions | 8.9 | 6.3 | 5.3 |
| Injury and poisoning | 9.8 | 9.5 | 9.0 |
| Other | 10.2 | 10.2 | 12.4 |
| Missing | 0.4 | 0.7 | 5.3 |
| Adverse events, n (%) | 663 (5.7) | 467 (8.0) | 390 (7.1) |
| Preventable adverse events, n (%) | 283 (2.3) | 198 (2.9) | 108 (1.6) |
*Patient admissions of obstetrics, psychiatry, <1 year and <24 h for non-deceased patients were excluded.
†Patient characteristics are weighted for over-representation of deceased patients and hospital type.