Demographical characteristics, comorbidity and initial risk class of the patient cohort
| Characteristic | Hospital A | Hospital B | Hospital C | Hospital D |
| Patients n | 229 | 73 | 58 | 65 |
| Age yrs# | 69±16 | 70±16 | 68±17 | 72±16 |
| Sex M/F | 65/35 | 63/37 | 59/41 | 71/29 |
| Residence for the elderly % | 3.5 | 2.7 | 8.6 | 4.6 |
| Alcohol % | 16 | 7 | 19 | 21 |
| Smokers %* | 14.8 | 19.2 | 24 | 25 |
| COPD % | 32 | 41 | 31 | 34 |
| Cardiac disease % | 33 | 18 | 26 | 23 |
| Diabetes % | 22 | 18 | 22 | 14 |
| Liver disease % | 5 | 4 | 7 | 8 |
| CNS disease % | 15 | 11 | 15 | 19 |
| Renal disease % | 5 | 3 | 9 | 6 |
M: male
F: female
COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
CNS: central nervous system
#: data are presented as mean±sd
*: p<0.05