Revision of the Canadian Emergency Department Information System (CEDIS) Presenting Complaint List version 1.1

Cost Evaluation of the Ontario Virtual Urgent Care Pilot Program: Population-Based, Matched Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

In 2020, the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Ontario, Canada, introduced a virtual urgent care (VUC) pilot program to provide alternative access to urgent care services and reduce the need for in-person emergency department (ED) visits for patients with low acuity health concerns.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to compare the 30-day costs associated with VUC and in-person ED encounters from an MoH perspective.

METHODS

Using administrative data from Ontario (the most populous province of Canada), a population-based, matched cohort study of Ontarians who used VUC services from December 2020 to September 2021 was conducted. As it was expected that VUC and in-person ED users would be different, two cohorts of VUC users were defined: (1) those who were promptly referred to an ED by a VUC provider and subsequently presented to an ED within 72 hours (these patients were matched to in-person ED users with any discharge disposition) and (2) those seen by a VUC provider with no referral to an in-person ED (these patients were matched to patients who presented in-person to the ED and were discharged home by the ED physician). Bootstrap techniques were used to compare the 30-day mean costs of VUC (operational costs to set up the VUC program plus health care expenditures) versus in-person ED care (health care expenditures) from an MoH perspective. All costs are expressed in Canadian dollars (a currency exchange rate of CAD $1=US $0.76 is applicable).

RESULTS

We matched 2129 patients who presented to an ED within 72 hours of VUC referral and 14,179 patients seen by a VUC provider without a referral to an ED. Our matched populations represented 99% (2129/2150) of eligible VUC patients referred to the ED by their VUC provider and 98% (14,179/14,498) of eligible VUC patients not referred to the ED by their VUC provider. Compared to matched in-person ED patients, 30-day costs per patient were significantly higher for the cohort of VUC patients who presented to an ED within 72 hours of VUC referral ($2805 vs $2299; difference of $506, 95% CI $139-$885) and significantly lower for the VUC cohort of patients who did not require ED referral ($907 vs $1270; difference of $362, 95% CI 284-$446). Overall, the absolute 30-day costs associated with the 2 VUC cohorts were $18.9 million (ie, $6.0 million + $12.9 million) versus $22.9 million ($4.9 million + $18.0 million) for the 2 in-person ED cohorts.

CONCLUSIONS

This costing evaluation supports the use of VUC as most complaints were addressed without referral to ED. Future research should evaluate targeted applications of VUC (eg, VUC models led by nurse practitioners or physician assistants with support from ED physicians) to inform future resource allocation and policy decisions.

The Impact of an Accelerated Diagnostic Protocol Using Conventional Troponin I for Patients With Cardiac Chest Pain in the Emergency Department

Background

This study strove to assess the impact of the implementation of an accelerated diagnostic protocol (ADP), using shortened serial-testing intervals and a conventional troponin I (c-TnI) test, on emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS).

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included adults (aged ≥ 18 years) presenting to a Canadian ED with a primary complaint of cardiac chest pain between January 14, 2017 and January 15, 2019. For non-high-risk patients, the troponin delta timing decreased from 6 hours to 3 hours, and a different conventional troponin I level cut-point was implemented on January 15, 2018. The primary outcome was ED LOS. Secondary outcomes included disposition status, consultation proportions, and major adverse cardiac events within 30 days.

Results

A total of 3133 patient interactions were included. Although the overall decrease in median ED LOS was not significant (P = 0.074), a significant reduction occurred in ED LOS (-33 minutes; 95% confidence interval: -53.6 to -12.4 minutes) among patients who were discharged in the post-ADP group. Consultations were unchanged between groups (36.1% before vs 33.8% after; P = 0.17). The major adverse cardiac events outcomes were unchanged across cohorts (15.9% vs 15.3%; P = 0.62).

Conclusions

The implementation of an ADP, with a conventional troponin I test, for cardiac chest pain in a Canadian ED was not associated with a significant reduction of LOS for all patients; however, a significant reduction occurred for patients who were discharged, and the strategy appears safe.

Evaluating the Reliability of a Remote Acuity Prediction Tool in a Canadian Academic Emergency Department

STUDY OBJECTIVE

There is increasing interest in harnessing artificial intelligence to virtually triage patients seeking care. The objective was to examine the reliability of a virtual machine learning algorithm to remotely predict acuity scores for patients seeking emergency department (ED) care by applying the algorithm to retrospective ED data.

METHODS

This was a retrospective review of adult patients conducted at an academic tertiary care ED (annual census 65,000) from January 2021 to August 2022. Data including ED visit date and time, patient age, sex, reason for visit, presenting complaint and patient-reported pain score were used by the machine learning algorithm to predict acuity scores. The algorithm was designed to up-triage high-risk complaints to promote safety for remote use. The predicted scores were then compared to nurse-led triage scores previously derived in real time using the electronic Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (eCTAS), an electronic triage decision-support tool used in the ED. Interrater reliability was estimated using kappa statistics with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

In total, 21,469 unique ED patient encounters were included. Exact modal agreement was achieved for 10,396 (48.4%) patient encounters. Interrater reliability ranged from poor to fair, as estimated using unweighted kappa (0.18, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.19), linear-weighted kappa (0.25, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.26), and quadratic-weighted kappa (0.36, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.37) statistics. Using the nurse-led eCTAS score as the reference, the machine learning algorithm overtriaged 9,897 (46.1%) and undertriaged 1,176 (5.5%) cases. Some of the presenting complaints under-triaged were conditions generally requiring further probing to delineate their nature, including abnormal lab/imaging results, visual disturbance, and fever.

CONCLUSION

This machine learning algorithm needs further refinement before being safely implemented for patient use.

External Validation of the SMART Medical Clearance Form for Emergency Patients With Psychiatric Manifestations

BACKGROUND

The SMART Medical Clearance Form, developed in the USA, is used to standardize the medical evaluation of emergency patients with primarily psychiatric manifestations. The goal of this study was external validation of the use of this form.

METHODS

Data were collected retrospectively on emergency patients with psychiatric manifestations. The combined primary clinical endpoint consisted of hospitalization, repeated presentation to the emergency room, and/or death within 30 days.

RESULTS

From September 2019 to June 2022, 2404 patients presented with psychiatric manifestations to the emergency room of the Cantonal Hospital of Lucerne, Switzerland, of whom 674 were included in the study. 134 did not satisfy any of the parameters of the SMART Medical Clearance Form (the nSMART group), while 540 satisfied at least one parameter (the pSMART group). In the nSMART group, there were no hospitalizations for a medical indication, no repeated presentations for medical reasons, and no deaths within 30 days. In the pSMART group, there were 90 hospitalizations, 4 repeated presentations, and 4 deaths within 30 days. Although 44% of the patients in the nSMART group underwent further diagnostic studies, such as imaging or laboratory tests, none of these studies led to any change in these patients' further clinical management.

CONCLUSION

Use of the SMART Medical Clearance Form apparently enables safe standardized processing of patients with psychiatric manifestations in the emergency room.

Effect of a High-Sensitivity Troponin I and Associated Diagnostic Protocol on Emergency Department Length of Stay: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background

The objective of this study was to assess the introduction of a high-sensitivity troponin I (hs-TnI) assay and its associated accelerated protocol on emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS) for patients presenting with chest pain, compared to an accelerated diagnostic protocol using conventional troponin (TnI) testing.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all adults with a primary presenting complaint of chest pain of cardiac origin and a Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale score of 2 or 3, between November 8, 2019 and November 9, 2021, to a tertiary-care urban Canadian ED. The primary outcome was ED LOS. Secondary outcomes included consultation proportions and major adverse cardiac events within 30 days of the index ED visit.

Results

A total of 2640 patients presenting with chest pain were included, with 1333 in the TnI group and 1307 in the hs-TnI group. Median ED LOS decreased significantly, from 392 minutes for the TnI group, and 371 minutes for the hs-TnI group (median difference = 21 minutes; 95% confidence interval: 5.3, 36.7). The numbers of consultations and admissions were not statistically different between study periods. The major adverse cardiac events outcomes did not change following the implementation of the hs-TnI test (13.6% vs 13.1%; P = 0.71).

Conclusions

The implementation of an accelerated chest pain protocol using an hs-TnI assay in a tertiary-care Canadian ED was associated with a modest reduction of LOS for all patients, and a substantial reduction of LOS for patients undergoing serial troponin testing. This strategy was safe, with no increase in adverse outcomes.

Development of a machine learning-based acuity score prediction model for virtual care settings

OBJECTIVE

Healthcare is increasingly digitized, yet remote and automated machine learning (ML) triage prediction systems for virtual urgent care use remain limited. The Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) is the gold standard triage tool for in-person care in Canada. The current work describes the development of a ML-based acuity score modelled after the CTAS system.

METHODS

The ML-based acuity score model was developed using 2,460,109 de-identified patient-level encounter records from three large healthcare organizations (Ontario, Canada). Data included presenting complaint, clinical modifiers, age, sex, and self-reported pain. 2,041,987 records were high acuity (CTAS 1-3) and 416,870 records were low acuity (CTAS 4-5). Five models were trained: decision tree, k-nearest neighbors, random forest, gradient boosting regressor, and neural net. The outcome variable of interest was the acuity score predicted by the ML system compared to the CTAS score assigned by the triage nurse.

RESULTS

Gradient boosting regressor demonstrated the greatest prediction accuracy. This final model was tuned toward up triaging to minimize patient risk if adopted into the clinical context. The algorithm predicted the same score in 47.4% of cases, and the same or more acute score in 95.0% of cases.

CONCLUSIONS

The ML algorithm shows reasonable predictive accuracy and high predictive safety and was developed using the largest dataset of its kind to date. Future work will involve conducting a pilot study to validate and prospectively assess reliability of the ML algorithm to assign acuity scores remotely.

Disparities in emergency department prioritization and rooming of patients with similar triage acuity score

BACKGROUND

We identify patient demographic and emergency department (ED) characteristics associated with rooming prioritization decisions among ED patients who are assigned the same triage acuity score.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective analysis of adult ED patients with similar triage acuity, as defined as an Emergency Severity Index (ESI) of 3, at a large academic medical center, during 2019. Violations of a first-come-first-served (FCFS) policy for rooming are identified and used to create weighted multiple logistic regression models and 1:M matched case-control conditional logistic regression models to determine how rooming prioritization is affected by individual patient age, sex, race, and ethnicity after adjusting for patient clinical and time-varying ED operational characteristics.

RESULTS

A total of 15,781 ED encounters were analyzed, with 1612 (10.2%) ED encounters having a rooming prioritization in violation of a FCFS policy. Patient age and race were found to be significantly associated with being prioritized in violation of FCFS in both logistic regression models. The 1:M matched model showed a statistically significant relationship between violation of rooming prioritization with increasing age in years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.009, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.005-1.013) and among African American patients compared to Caucasians (aOR 0.636, 95% CI 0.545-0.743).

CONCLUSIONS

Among ED patients with a similar triage acuity (ESI 3), we identified patient age and patient race as characteristics that were associated with deviation from a FCFS prioritization in ED rooming decisions. These findings suggest that there may be patient demographic disparities in ED rooming decisions after adjusting for clinical and ED operational characteristics.

Vulnerable Elder Protection Team: Initial experience of an emergency department-based interdisciplinary elder abuse program

BACKGROUND

An emergency department (ED) visit provides a unique opportunity to identify elder abuse and initiate intervention, but emergency providers rarely do. To address this, we developed the Vulnerable Elder Protection Team (VEPT), an ED-based interdisciplinary consultation service. We describe our initial experience in the first two years after the program launch.

METHODS

We launched VEPT in a large, urban, academic ED/hospital. From 4/3/17 to 4/2/19, we tracked VEPT activations, including patient characteristics, assessment, and interventions. We compared VEPT activations to frequency of elder abuse identification in the ED before VEPT launch. We examined outcomes for patients evaluated by VEPT, including change in living situation at discharge. We assessed ED providers' experiences with VEPT via written surveys and focus groups.

RESULTS

During the program's initial two years, VEPT was activated and provided consultation/care to 200 ED patients. Cases included physical abuse (59%), neglect (56%), financial exploitation (32%), verbal/emotional/psychological abuse (25%), and sexual abuse (2%). Sixty-two percent of patients assessed were determined by VEPT to have high or moderate suspicion for elder abuse. Seventy-five percent of these patients had a change in living/housing situation or were discharged with new or additional home services, with 14% discharged to an elder abuse shelter, 39% to a different living/housing situation, and 22% with new or additional home services. ED providers reported that VEPT made them more likely to consider/assess for elder abuse and recognized the value of the expertise and guidance VEPT provided. Ninety-four percent reported believing that there is merit in establishing a VEPT Program in other EDs.

CONCLUSION

VEPT was frequently activated and many patients were discharged with changes in living situation and/or additional home services, which may improve safety. Future research is needed to examine longer-term outcomes.

Using routine emergency department data for syndromic surveillance of acute respiratory illness, Germany, week 10 2017 until week 10 2021

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic expanded the need for timely information on acute respiratory illness at population level.

Aim

We explored the potential of routine emergency department data for syndromic surveillance of acute respiratory illness in Germany.

Methods

We used routine attendance data from emergency departments, which continuously transferred data between week 10 2017 and 10 2021, with ICD-10 codes available for > 75% of attendances. Case definitions for acute respiratory infection (ARI), severe acute respiratory infection (SARI), influenza-like illness (ILI), respiratory syncytial virus infection (RSV) and COVID-19 were based on a combination of ICD-10 codes, and/or chief complaints, sometimes combined with information on hospitalisation and age.

Results

We included 1,372,958 attendances from eight emergency departments. The number of attendances dropped in March 2020 during the first COVID-19 pandemic wave, increased during summer, and declined again during the resurge of COVID-19 cases in autumn and winter of 2020/21. A pattern of seasonality of respiratory infections could be observed. By using different case definitions (i.e. for ARI, SARI, ILI, RSV) both the annual influenza seasons in the years 2017–2020 and the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020/21 were apparent. The absence of the 2020/21 influenza season was visible, parallel to the resurge of COVID-19 cases. SARI among ARI cases peaked in April–May 2020 (17%) and November 2020–January 2021 (14%).

Conclusion

Syndromic surveillance using routine emergency department data can potentially be used to monitor the trends, timing, duration, magnitude and severity of illness caused by respiratory viruses, including both influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2.

Emergency nurses' triage narrative data, their uses and structure: a scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION

The first clinical interaction most patients have in the emergency department occurs during triage. An unstructured narrative is generated during triage and is the first source of in-hospital documentation. These narratives capture the patient's reported reason for the visit and the initial assessment and offer significantly more nuanced descriptions of the patient's complaints than fixed field data. Previous research demonstrated these data are useful for predicting important clinical outcomes. Previous reviews examined these narratives in combination or isolation with other free-text sources, but used restricted searches and are becoming outdated. Furthermore, there are no reviews focused solely on nurses' (the primary collectors of these data) narratives.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Using the Arksey and O'Malley scoping review framework and PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines, we will perform structured searches of CINAHL, Ovid MEDLINE, ProQuest Central, Ovid Embase and Cochrane Library (via Wiley). Additionally, we will forward citation searches of all included studies. No geographical or study design exclusion criteria will be used. Studies examining disaster triage, published before 1990, and non-English language literature will be excluded. Data will be managed using online management tools; extracted data will be independently confirmed by a separate reviewer using prepiloted extraction forms. Cohen's kappa will be used to examine inter-rater agreement on pilot and final screening. Quantitative data will be expressed using measures of range and central tendency, counts, proportions and percentages, as appropriate. Qualitative data will be narrative summaries of the authors' primary findings.

PATIENT AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

No patients involved.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

No ethics approval is required. Findings will be submitted to peer-reviewed conferences and journals. Results will be disseminated using individual and institutional social media platforms.

The Effect of Human Supervision on an Electronic Implementation of the Canadian Triage Acuity Scale (CTAS)

BACKGROUND

Most electronic emergency department (ED) triage systems allow nurses to modify computer-generated triage scores. It is currently unclear how this affects triage validity.

OBJECTIVE

Are nurse-generated triage scores more strongly associated with rates of admission, intensive care unit (ICU) consultation, and mortality than computer-generated scores?

METHODS

Retrospective observational cohort study of all adult visits to a tertiary ED. An electronic implementation of the Canadian Triage Acuity Scale (CTAS) generated a CTAS score for each visit. In some cases, the triage nurse overwrote the computer-generated CTAS score with a score they felt was more appropriate. Among visits with nurse-modified triage scores, we compared the rate of acuity-related outcomes (mortality, ICU consultation, hospital admission) in each CTAS level as categorized by nurse-generated vs. computer-generated scores.

RESULTS

In a cohort of 229,744 patients, 19,566 (8.51%) had nurse-modified triage scores. Most modifications consisted of assigning a higher acuity triage score than recommended by the computer. Visits with triage scores 1-2 according to the nurse-generated scores had the same or higher rates of the acuity outcomes than visits that were CTAS 1-2 according to the computer-generated CTAS scores. Conversely, visits with triage scores 4-5 according to the nurse-generated scores had lower rates of the outcomes than visits that were CTAS 4-5 according to the computer-generated CTAS scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Nursing supervision of the computer-automated CTAS triage system was associated with fewer hospital admissions, ICU consultations, and deaths in the triage score 4-5 categories, suggesting a safer triage process than the automated CTAS algorithm alone.

The Impact of Universal Mental Health Screening on Pediatric Emergency Department Flow

OBJECTIVE AND HYPOTHESIS

Assess the impact of universal mental health screening with MyHEARTSMAP on emergency department (ED) flow, an important aspect of feasibility. We hypothesized that the difference in departmental level ED length of stay (LOS) for screening and matched nonscreening days is less than 30 minutes.

METHODS

We conducted a 2-center, retrospective cohort study between December 2017 and June 2019. At each center, random mental health screening days were assigned over the course of 15 consecutive months. We matched each 24-hour screening day to a unique nonscreening day based on: location (Center 1 or Center 2); day type (weekday: Monday-Thursday or weekend: Friday-Sunday); date (±28 days); and 24-hour volume (±15 patients). We collected retrospective patient flow data, including LOS, across all ED visits to determine the difference in departmental level median LOS between matched screening and nonscreening days.

RESULTS

There was not a statistically significant difference in departmental LOS between screening and nonscreening days. Overall, the difference in departmental LOS was -4.0 minutes (95% confidence interval, -9.8, 1.8) for screening days compared to nonscreening days, with a difference of -2.0 minutes (-9.0, 4.9) at Center 1 and -6.0 minutes (-15.4, 3.4) at Center 2.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings show that universal mental health screening with MyHEARTSMAP can be implemented without a significant impact of ED LOS.

Development and Validation of Simple Age-Adjusted Objectified Korean Triage and Acuity Scale for Adult Patients Visiting the Emergency Department

PURPOSE

The study aimed to develop an objectified Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (OTAS) that can objectively and quickly classify severity, as well as a simple age-adjusted OTAS (S-OTAS) that reflects age and evaluate its usefulness.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed of all adult patients who had visited the emergency department at three teaching hospitals. Sex, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, O₂ saturation, and consciousness level were collected from medical records. The OTAS was developed with objective criterion and minimal OTAS level, and S-OTAS was developed by adding the age variable. For usefulness evaluation, the 30-day mortality, the rates of computed tomography scan and emergency procedures were compared between Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS) and OTAS.

RESULTS

A total of 44402 patients were analyzed. For 30-day mortality, S-OTAS showed a higher area under the curve (AUC) compared to KTAS (0.751 vs. 0.812 for KTAS and S-OTAS, respectively, p<0.001). Regarding the rates of emergency procedures, AUC was significantly higher in S-OTAS, compared to KTAS (0.807 vs. 0.830, for KTAS and S-OTAS, respectively, p=0.013).

CONCLUSION

S-OTAS showed comparative usefulness for adult patients visiting the emergency department as a triage tool compared to KTAS.

Decision support for computed tomography in the emergency department: a multicenter cluster-randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

Clinical decision support may facilitate evidence-based imaging, but most studies to date examining the impact of decision support have used non-randomized designs which limit the conclusions that can be drawn from them. This randomized trial examines if decision support can reduce computed tomography (CT) utilization for patients with mild traumatic brain injuries and suspected pulmonary embolism in the emergency department. This study was funded by a competitive public research grant and registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02410941).

METHODS

Emergency physicians at five urban sites were assigned to voluntary decision support for CT imaging of patients with either head injuries or suspected pulmonary embolism using a cluster-randomized design over a 1-year intervention period. The co-primary outcomes were CT head and CT pulmonary angiography utilization. CT pulmonary angiography diagnostic yield (proportion of studies diagnostic for acute pulmonary embolism) was a secondary outcome.

RESULTS

A total of 225 physicians were randomized and studied over a 2-year baseline and 1-year intervention period. Physicians interacted with the decision support in 38.0% and 45.0% of eligible head injury and suspected pulmonary embolism cases, respectively. A mixed effects logistic regression model demonstrated no significant impact of decision support on head CT utilization (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.79-1.10, p = 0.31), CT pulmonary angiography utilization (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.88-1.11, p = 0.74) or diagnostic yield (OR 1.23, 95% CI 0.96-1.65, p = 0.10). However, overall CT pulmonary diagnostic yield (17.7%) was almost three times higher than that reported by a recent large US study, suggesting that selective imaging was already being employed.

CONCLUSION

Voluntary decision support addressing many commonly cited barriers to evidence-based imaging did not significantly reduce CT utilization or improve diagnostic yield but was limited by low rates of participation and high baseline rates of selective imaging. Demonstrating value to clinicians through interventions that improve workflow is likely necessary to meaningfully change imaging practices.

Utility of MyHEARTSMAP in Youth Presenting to the Emergency Department with Mental Health Concerns

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the utility of a digital psychological self-assessment tool, MyHEARTSMAP (scores on 10 sections: home, education and activities, alcohol and drugs, relationships and bullying, thoughts and anxiety, safety, sexual health, mood, abuse, and professional resources), in youth presenting to the pediatric emergency department (ED) with a mental health concern.

STUDY DESIGN

We conducted a prospective cohort study in 2 tertiary care pediatric EDs from December 2017 to October 2019. Youth 10-17 years old triaged for a mental health concern were screened and enrolled to complete MyHEARTSMAP on a mobile device. A clinician blinded to the MyHEARTSMAP assessment conducted their own assessment which was used as the reference standard. Utility was quantified as the sensitivity and specificity of MyHEARTSMAP in detecting psychiatric, social, youth health, and functional concerns.

RESULTS

Among 379 eligible youth, 351 were approached and 233 (66.4%) families were enrolled. Sensitivity for youth MyHEARTSMAP self-assessments ranged from 87.4% in the youth health domain to 99.5% in the psychiatric domain for identifying any concern, and 33.3% in the social domain to 74.6% in the psychiatric domain for severe concerns. Specificity ranged from 66.7% in the psychiatric domain to 98.2% in the youth health domain for no or only mild concerns.

CONCLUSIONS

Youth and guardian MyHEARTSMAP assessments are sensitive for detecting psychosocial concerns requiring follow-up beyond pediatric ED evaluation. Specificity for no or only mild concerns was high in the nonpsychiatric domains.

Prospective comparative evaluation of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 1-hour and a 2-hour rapid diagnostic algorithm for myocardial infarction using high-sensitivity troponin-T

OBJECTIVE

Both 1- and 2-hour rapid diagnostic algorithms using high-sensitivity troponin (hs-cTn) have been validated to diagnose acute myocardial infarction (MI), leaving physicians uncertain which algorithm is preferable. The objective of this study was to prospectively evaluate the diagnostic performance of 1- and 2-hour algorithms in clinical practice in a Canadian emergency department (ED).

METHODS

ED patients with chest pain had high-sensitivity cardiac troponin-T (hs-cTnT) collected on presentation and 1- and 2-hours later at a single academic centre over a 2-year period. The primary outcome was index MI, and the secondary outcome was 30-day major adverse cardiac events (MACE). All outcomes were adjudicated.

RESULTS

We enrolled 608 patients undergoing serial hs-cTnT sampling. Of these, 350 had a valid 1-hour and 550 had a 2-hour hs-cTnT sample. Index MI and 30-day MACE prevalence was ~12% and 14%. Sensitivity of the 1- and 2-hour algorithms was similar for index MI 97.3% (95% CI: 85.8-99.9%) and 100% (95% CI: 91.6-100%) and 30-day MACE: 80.9% (95% CI: 66.7-90.9%) and 83.3% (95% CI: 73.2-90.8%), respectively. Both algorithms accurately identified about 10% of patients as high risk.

CONCLUSIONS

Both algorithms were able to classify almost two-thirds of patients as low risk, effectively ruling out MI and conferring a low risk of 30-day MACE for this group, while reliably identifying high-risk patients. While both algorithms had equivalent diagnostic performance, the 2-hour algorithm offers several practical advantages, which may make it preferable to implement. Broad implementation of similar algorithms across Canada can expedite patient disposition and lead to resource savings.

An Assessment of the Management of Patients with Advanced End-Stage Illness in the Emergency Department: An Observational Cohort Study

Background: Presentations to the emergency department (ED) by patients with end-of-life (EOL) conditions for their acute care needs are common. Objectives: The objective of this study was to identify and describe the ED management across presentations to the ED for EOL conditions. Design: Prospective observational cohort study. Settings/Subjects: Emergency physicians in two Canadian ED's were asked to identify presentations by adult patients with EOL conditions using a modified screening tool. Measurements: Patient characteristics and ED management for each presentation were collected through chart review by trained research assistants. Descriptive analyses were conducted as appropriate and bivariate comparisons of dichotomous and continuous variables were completed using χ² tests and using t test or Wilcoxon rank-sum test, respectively. Results: Physicians identified 663 ED presentations for EOL conditions, with advanced cancer (41%), dementia (23%), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (16%) being the most common EOL conditions. The majority of presentations involved consultations (77%), hospitalization (65%), and numerous investigations (97%), including blood work (97%) and imaging (92%). The majority of patients with EOL conditions had a history of ED visits (68%). Using a modified screening tool, 78% of presentations involved patients with unmet palliative care needs, but only 1% of presentations involved a palliative consultation or admission to a palliative care unit. Conclusion: Presentations to the ED for EOL conditions involve significant ED resources; however, only a handful of patients are referred to palliative services. Patients with EOL conditions are appropriate targets for palliative services and community support outside the ED.

Impact of 24/7 Onsite Emergency Radiology Staff Coverage on Emergency Department Workflow

PURPOSE

Assess the impact of 24/7/365 emergency trauma radiology (ETR) coverage on Emergency Department (ED) patient flow in an urban, quaternary-care teaching hospital.

METHODS

Patient ED visit and imaging information were extracted from the hospital patient care information system for 2008 to 2018. An interrupted time-series approach with a comparison group was used to study the impact of 24/7/365 ETR on average monthly ED length of stay (ED-LOS) and Emergency Physician to disposition time (EP-DISP). Linear regression models were fit with abrupt and permanent interrupts for 24/7/365 ETR, a coefficient for comparison series and a SARIMA error term; subgroup analyses were performed by patient arrival time, imaging type and chief complaint.

RESULTS

During the study period, there were 949,029 ED visits and 739,796 diagnostic tests. Following implementation of 24/7/365 coverage, we found a significant decrease in EP-DISP time for patients requiring only radiographs (-29 min;95%CI:-52,-6) and a significant increase in EP-DISP time for major trauma patients (46 min;95%CI:13,79). No significant change in patient throughput was observed during evening hours for any patient subgroup. For overnight patients, there was a reduction in EP-DISP for patients with symptoms consistent with stroke (-78 min;95%CI:-131,-24) and for high acuity patients who required imaging (-33 min;95%CI:-57,-10). Changes in ED-LOS followed a similar pattern.

CONCLUSIONS

At our institution, 24/7/365 in-house ETR staff radiology coverage was associated with improved ED flow for patients requiring only radiographs and for overnight stroke and high acuity patients. Major trauma patients spent more time in the ED, perhaps reflecting the required multidisciplinary management.

Development and validation of an automated emergency department-based syndromic surveillance system to enhance public health surveillance in Yukon: a lower-resourced and remote setting

BACKGROUND

Automated Emergency Department syndromic surveillance systems (ED-SyS) are useful tools in routine surveillance activities and during mass gathering events to rapidly detect public health threats. To improve the existing surveillance infrastructure in a lower-resourced rural/remote setting and enhance monitoring during an upcoming mass gathering event, an automated low-cost and low-resources ED-SyS was developed and validated in Yukon, Canada.

METHODS

Syndromes of interest were identified in consultation with the local public health authorities. For each syndrome, case definitions were developed using published resources and expert elicitation. Natural language processing algorithms were then written using Stata LP 15.1 (Texas, USA) to detect syndromic cases from three different fields (e.g., triage notes; chief complaint; discharge diagnosis), comprising of free-text and standardized codes. Validation was conducted using data from 19,082 visits between October 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019. The National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS) records were used as a reference for the inclusion of International Classification of Disease, 10th edition (ICD-10) diagnosis codes. The automatic identification of cases was then manually validated by two raters and results were used to calculate positive predicted values for each syndrome and identify improvements to the detection algorithms.

RESULTS

A daily secure file transfer of Yukon's Meditech ED-Tracker system data and an aberration detection plan was set up. A total of six syndromes were originally identified for the syndromic surveillance system (e.g., Gastrointestinal, Influenza-like-Illness, Mumps, Neurological Infections, Rash, Respiratory), with an additional syndrome added to assist in detecting potential cases of COVID-19. The positive predictive value for the automated detection of each syndrome ranged from 48.8-89.5% to 62.5-94.1% after implementing improvements identified during validation. As expected, no records were flagged for COVID-19 from our validation dataset.

CONCLUSIONS

The development and validation of automated ED-SyS in lower-resourced settings can be achieved without sophisticated platforms, intensive resources, time or costs. Validation is an important step for measuring the accuracy of syndromic surveillance, and ensuring it performs adequately in a local context. The use of three different fields and integration of both free-text and structured fields improved case detection.

Der AKTIN-Monatsbericht: Plädoyer für ein standardisiertes Reporting in der Notaufnahme

Hintergrund

Vor dem Hintergrund der steigenden Inanspruchnahme und aktuellen Veränderungen in der Notfallversorgung ist eine standardisierte Erfassung relevanter Kennzahlen in Notaufnahmen zwingend erforderlich.

Ziel der Arbeit

Es werden die Konsentierung von Inhalten und technische Umsetzung eines automatisierten Reportings für Notaufnahmen des AKTIN-Notaufnahmeregisters beschrieben. Ziel war ein aussagefähiger Monatsbericht zur Prozesssteuerung und Qualitätssicherung.

Material und Methoden

Datengrundlage ist der Datensatz Notaufnahme V2015.1 der Deutschen Interdisziplinären Vereinigung für Intensiv- und Notfallmedizin e. V. (DIVI). Die Konsentierung der Inhalte erfolgte auf Basis von externen Referenzen und fachlicher Expertise; die technische Entwicklung erfolgte anhand eines Testdatensatzes. Mit der Software R und Apache Formatting Objects Processor (FOP) wird der finale Bericht im PDF-Format automatisiert erstellt.

Ergebnisse

Der Bericht enthält unter anderem Angaben zu Fallzahlen, Demografie der Patienten, Vorstellungsgründen, Ersteinschätzung, Verbleib und ausgewählten Prozesszeiten in Form von Tabellen und Grafiken. Er wird monatsweise automatisch oder auf Anforderung aus den Routinedaten generiert. Fehlende Werte und Ausreißer werden zur Abschätzung der Datenqualität separat ausgewiesen.

Diskussion

Beim AKTIN-Monatsbericht handelt es sich um ein Instrument, welches das Versorgungsgeschehen aufbereitet und visualisiert. Die konsentierten Kennzahlen sind praxistauglich und bilden auch die Vorgaben des Gemeinsamen Bundesausschusses zur Ersteinschätzung ab. Die Nutzung von Interoperabilitätsstandards erlaubt eine automatische Erfassung im Alltag, gewährleistet eine Unabhängigkeit von einzelnen IT-Systemen und kann als Grundlage für ein klinikübergreifendes Benchmarking dienen.

Multiple Sclerosis Clinic Utilization is Associated with Fewer Emergency Department Visits

OBJECTIVE

Alberta is a Canadian province with a high prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS). In this ecological study, we examined group differences in health care utilization among persons with MS (pwMS) living within different regions of the province.

METHODS

pwMS were identified from provincial administrative databases spanning 2002-2011. Utilization of health care services was determined for a 2-year period (April 2010-March 2012). Residential postal codes placed patients into their provincial health care zones. As data were provided to the investigators in an aggregated form, tests of statistical significance and confounding were not performed.

RESULTS

In total, 11,721 pwMS were identified. During the 2-year observation period, 96.2% of pwMS accessed a family physician and 57.1% accessed a neurologist. Nearly all (99.0%) pwMS who received neurologist care in Calgary visited an MS clinic, in contrast to Edmonton where a larger proportion (34.8%) received solely community neurologist care. More pwMS living in Edmonton accessed the ED (41.1%) compared to Calgary (35.7%), and the rate of visits per pwMS was higher in Edmonton (1.07/pwMS) than in Calgary (0.81/pwMS). The frequency of inpatient admissions was similar.

CONCLUSIONS

Over 2 years, most pwMS accessed primary care and over half saw a neurologist. Despite a similar frequency of inpatient admissions, the frequency of ED visits by pwMS was higher in Edmonton compared to Calgary, where more patients received MS clinic care. Although this exploratory study is subject to several limitations, our findings suggest that specialized MS clinics may reduce costly ED visits.

The association between monthly social assistance disbursement days and emergency department visits for trauma, mental health, and substance use

OBJECTIVE

Social assistance helps fulfill the basic needs of low-income individuals. In British Columbia, social assistance is issued on the third or fourth Wednesday of every month. However, this sudden influx of resources may have negative health consequences. We investigated social assistance timing and emergency department (ED) visits related to trauma, mental health, and substance use.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective multi-centre observational study using 12 years of regional ED data from Vancouver, British Columbia (2008-2020). Each cheque week (the week following social assistance disbursement) was matched to a single control week (2 weeks prior to cheque week). We compared the number of ED visits for trauma, mental health, and substance use during cheque weeks versus control weeks.

RESULTS

There were 253,360 visits during all weeks of interest. Cheque week was associated with significantly more ED visits for mental health and substance-related presentations (RR 1.07, 95% CI 1.03-1.11, p = 0.0006). These visits increased significantly for both males and females and for adults aged 17-64 years. Mental health and substance-related visits increased on the day of cheque disbursement (Wednesday) and the 4 days following (Thursday-Sunday). Trauma-related ED visits were elevated on the day of cheque disbursement, but not during other days of the week.

CONCLUSIONS

Social assistance disbursement is followed by an increase in mental health and substance-related ED presentations and may be associated with an increase in trauma presentations on the day of cheque disbursement. These findings support calls for clinical and policy-level changes and support to reduce cheque day-associated harm.

A feasibility study for CODE-MI: High-sensitivity cardiac troponin-Optimizing the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction/injury in women

BACKGROUND

CODE-MI is a pan-Canadian, multicentre, stepped-wedge, cluster randomized trial that evaluates the impact of using the female-specific 99th percentile threshold for high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) on the diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of women presenting to the emergency department (ED) with symptoms suggestive for myocardial ischemia. A feasibility study was conducted to estimate the number of eligible patients, the rate of the study's primary outcome under control conditions, and the statistical power to detect a clinically important difference in the primary outcome.

METHODS

Using linked administrative data from 11 hospitals in Ontario, Canada, from October 2014 to September 2017, the following estimates were obtained: number of women presenting to the ED with symptoms suggestive of myocardial ischemia and a 24-hour peak hs-cTn value within the female-specific and overall thresholds (ie, primary cohort); the rate of the 1-year composite outcome of all-cause mortality, re-admission for nonfatal myocardial infarction, incident heart failure, or emergent/urgent coronary revascularization. Study power was evaluated via simulations.

RESULTS

Overall, 2,073,849 ED visits were assessed. Among women, chest pain (with or without cardiac features) and shortness of breath were the most common complaints associated with a diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome. An estimated 7.7% of women with these complaints are eligible for inclusion in the primary cohort. The rate of the 1-year outcome in the primary cohort varied significantly across hospitals with a median rate of 12.2% (95%CI: 7.9%-17.7%). With 30 hospitals, randomized at 5-month intervals in 5 steps, approximately 19,600 women are expected to be included in CODE-MI, resulting in >82% power to detect a 20% decrease in the odds of the primary outcome at a 0.05 significance level.

CONCLUSIONS

This feasibility study greatly enhanced the design of CODE-MI, allowed accurate evaluation of the study power, and demonstrated the strength of using linked administrative health data to guide the design of pragmatic clinical trials.

The 4-hour target in the emergency department, in-hospital mortality, and length of hospitalization: A single center-retrospective study

BACKGROUND

The four-hour (4 h') rule in the emergency department (ED) is a performance-based measure introduced with the objective to improve the quality of care. We evaluated the association between time in the ED with in-hospital mortality and hospital length of stay (LOS).

METHODS

This was a retrospective study performed in one public hospital with over 100,000 ED referrals per year. Hospitalizations from the ED during 2017 were analyzed. We defined time in the ED as either: until a decision was made (DED); or total time in the ED (TED). In-hospital mortality and LOS were evaluated for patients with DED or TED within and beyond 4 h'.

RESULTS

Compared to patients with TED or DED within 4 h', in-hospital mortality did not increase in patients with TED beyond 4 h' (2.8% vs. 3.1%, non-significant), or DED beyond 4 h' (2.1% vs. 3.2%, p < 0.001). LOS did increase in patients with either DED or TED beyond 4 h' (p < 0.001). In-hospital mortality increased with increasing DED-TED intervals for patients hospitalized in the internal medicine departments: 3.7% (0-1 h'), 5.1% (1-2 h'), 5.7% (2-3 h'), and 7.1% (>3 h') (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In-hospital mortality was not associated with time in the ED beyond 4 h'. LOS, however, was increased in this group of patients. Decreased LOS observed in patients with time in the ED within 4 h', does not support patients' risk as a contributing factor leading to higher trends in mortality observed in this patient group. In-hospital mortality was associated with an increase in DED-TED intervals in patients hospitalized in the internal medicine departments.

Identification of Predictors of Abnormal Calcium, Magnesium and Phosphorus Blood Levels in the Emergency Department: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Purpose

With rising healthcare costs limiting access to care, the judicious use of diagnostic tests has become a critical issue for many jurisdictions. Calcium, magnesium and phosphorus serum levels are regularly performed tests in the emergency department, but their clinical relevance have come into question. Authors sought to determine risk factors that could predict abnormal calcium, magnesium and phosphorus serum levels, as well as identify patients who may need corrective interventions.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted in two academic hospitals in Québec City. Demographic and clinical characteristics of 1008 patients who had serum calcium and/or magnesium and/or phosphorus levels drawn by an emergency physician were collected. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to obtain adjusted odds ratios for each risk factor for abnormal calcium or magnesium or phosphorus blood levels, and for a required intervention.

Results

Among patients for whom calcium, magnesium and phosphorus were tested in the Emergency Department, the most significant risk factors (OR>2) for electrolytic abnormality were as follows: hypocalcemia – respiratory distress, diuretics (excluding loop and thiazide), anti-neoplastic medication, long QTc, chronic kidney disease (CKD); hypercalcemia – bone pain, vitamin D, hallucinations; hypomagnesemia – diabetes, corticosteroids; hypermagnesemia – poor extremity perfusion, CKD, furosemide; hypophosphatemia – seizure; hyperphosphatemia – phosphate-binders, CKD, peripheral vascular atherosclerotic disease. Of all patients tested, 3.4% received a corrective intervention initiated by the emergency physician. Predictors of intervention on an electrolyte abnormality include poor peripheral perfusion, nausea and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Conclusion

Emergency physicians can potentially reduce the unnecessary testing of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus blood levels by targeting patients with high-acuity conditions or chronic comorbidities such as CKD, diabetes and COPD.

Feasibility of a quality improvement project to increase adherence to evidence-based pulmonary embolism diagnosis in the emergency department

Background

Many evidence-based clinical decision tools are available for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE). However, these clinical decision tools have had suboptimal uptake in the everyday clinical practice in emergency departments (EDs), despite numerous implementation efforts. We aimed to test the feasibility of a multi-faceted intervention to implement an evidence-based PE diagnosis protocol.

Methods

We conducted an interrupted time series study in three EDs in Ontario, Canada. We enrolled consecutive adult patients accessing the ED with suspected PE from January 1, 2018, to February 28, 2020. Components of the intervention were as follows: clinical leadership endorsement, a new pathway for PE testing, physician education, personalized confidential physician feedback, and collection of patient outcome information. The intervention was implemented in November 2019. We identified six criteria for defining the feasibility outcome: successful implementation of the intervention in at least two of the three sites, capturing data on ≥ 80% of all CTPAs ordered in the EDs, timely access to electronic data, rapid manual data extraction with feedback preparation before the end of the month ≥ 80% of the time, and time required for manual data extraction and feedback preparation ≤ 2 days per week in total.

Results

The intervention was successfully implemented in two out of three sites. A total of 5094 and 899 patients were tested for PE in the period before and after the intervention, respectively. We captured data from 90% of CTPAs ordered in the EDs, and we accessed the required electronic data. The manual data extraction and individual emergency physician audit and feedback were consistently finalized before the end of each month. The time required for manual data extraction and feedback preparation was ≤ 2 days per week (14 h).

Conclusions

We proved the feasibility of implementing an evidence-based PE diagnosis protocol in two EDs. We were not successful implementing the protocol in the third ED.

Registration

The study was not registered.

A Multimodal Evaluation of an Emergency Department Electronic Tracking Board Utility Designed to Optimize Stretcher Utilization

Objectives

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of an electronic tracking board feature encouraging staff to prompt optimal patient location on total stretcher time (TST) amongst patients moved to a chair in an internal emergency department (ED) waiting room. As a secondary objective, we also sought to identify facilitators and barriers to the tool’s use amongst the ED staff.

Methods

Using an administrative database, a retrospective cohort design was used to compare TST between visits where the tool was used and not used amongst patients relocated from initial assessment space to a chair over an 11.5 month period. A mixed-methods design was used to investigate facilitators and barriers to the tool’s use amongst the ED staff. Response proportions were used to report Likert scale questions; thematic analysis was used to code themes.

Results

A total of 56,852 patients met the inclusion criteria and were moved to a chair. The tool was used 4,301 times, with “OK for chairs” selected for 3,917/56,852 (6.9%) patients and “not OK for chairs” selected 384/56,852 (0.7%) times. Patient characteristics were similar between both groups. Median interquartile range (IQR) TST amongst patients moved to a chair via the prompt was shorter than when the prompt was not used (148.2 (112.6) mins vs 154.4 (115.4) mins, p = 0.005). A total of 125 questionnaires were completed; 95% of staff were aware of the tool and 70% agreed/strongly agreed the tool could improve ED flow. Commonly reported physician barriers to use were forgetting to use the tool; common nursing barriers were lack of chair space and increased workload.

Conclusions

Despite low function use, prompt use was associated with reduced TST amongst ED patients relocated to a chair.

Emergency Department Mean Physician Time per Patient and Workload Predictors ED-MPTPP

One key element for emergency department (ED) staff calculation is the mean physician time per patient (MPTPP) and its influencing factors. The aims of this study were measuring the MPTPP, identifying factors with significant influence on the MPTPP, and developing a model to predict the MPTPP. This study was a prospective trial conducted at the ED of a university hospital in Germany. The MPTPP was measured with a specifically developed app. The influence of different factors on MPTPP were first tested in univariate analysis. Then, all significant factors were used in a multivariant regression model to minimize collinearities and to develop a prediction model. In total, 202 patients treated by 32 different physicians were observed within one year. The MPTPP was 47 min (standard deviation: 34 min). Relevant factors influencing the MPTPP were treatment area, Emergency Severity Index (ESI) triage level, guiding symptom category, and physician level (all p < 0.001). This model predicted 45% of the variance in the MPTPP (p < 0.001), which corresponds to a large effect size. We developed an effective prediction model for ED MPTPP, resulting in an MPTPP of 47 min. Future studies are needed to validate our model, which could serve as a benchmark for other EDs where the MPTPP is not available.

Psychometric Properties of the Problem-Oriented Patient Experience-Primary Care (POPE-PC) Survey

INTRODUCTION

Measuring the experiences of patients regarding delivery and receipt of person-oriented primary care is of increasing policy and research interest and is a core component of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Quadruple Aim.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the Problem-Oriented Patient Experience-Primary Care (POPE-PC) survey, a novel instrument designed to measure patients' experiences of primary care, and to assess the instrument's psychometric properties.

METHODS

Psychometric testing was performed using data from a Canadian urgent primary care center, derived from March 2019 to September 2019. Patients automatically received the 9-question survey by email after leaving the clinic. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on all questions and the entire dataset was performed using parallel analysis and scree plot for factor extraction. Internal consistency was assessed by calculating Cronbach α. A split-half cross-validation of the ensuing factor structure was conducted. A correlation analysis helped explore associations between the survey's questions.

RESULTS

Results from the initial EFA indicate that the POPE-PC has a conceptually sound 2-factor structure, with good internal consistency. A split-half validation yielded the same findings, reaffirming that the 2-factor model has good psychometric properties. The correlation analysis indicated that the concept of respect is strongly associated with clinical functions related to problem recognition.

DISCUSSION

Problem recognition, despite being the cornerstone of person-oriented primary care, remains largely overlooked in health services research. The POPE-PC's validity and problem orientation render it potentially useful in rigorously assessing patient experiences of problem-oriented primary care.

CONCLUSION

The survey's conceptual underpinning and psychometric properties, coupled with its simple and parsimonious design, enable application in primary care settings to provide person-oriented care.

Consistency of triage scores by presenting complaint pre- and post-implementation of a real-time electronic triage decision support tool

Objective

eCTAS is a real‐time electronic decision‐support tool designed to standardize the application of the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS). This study addresses the variability of CTAS score distributions across institutions pre‐ and post‐eCTAS implementation.

Methods

We used population‐based administrative data from 2016–2018 from all emergency departments (EDs) that had implemented eCTAS for 9 months. Following a 3‐month stabilization period, we compared 6 months post‐eCTAS data to the same 6 months the previous year (pre‐eCTAS). We included triage encounters of adult (≥17 years) patients who presented with 1 of 16 pre‐specified, high‐volume complaints. For each ED, consistency was calculated as the absolute difference in CTAS distribution compared to the average of all included EDs for each presenting complaint. Pre‐eCTAS and post‐eCTAS change scores were compared using a paired‐samples t‐test. We also assessed if eCTAS modifiers were associated with triage consistency.

Results

There were 363,214 (183,231 pre‐eCTAS, 179,983 post‐eCTAS) triage encounters included from 35 EDs. Triage scores were more consistent (P < 0.05) post‐eCTAS for 6 (37.5%) presenting complaints: chest pain (cardiac features), extremity weakness/symptoms of cerebrovascular accident, fever, shortness of breath, syncope, and hyperglycemia. Triage consistency was similar pre‐ and post‐eCTAS for altered level of consciousness, anxiety/situational crisis, confusion, depression/suicidal/deliberate self‐harm, general weakness, head injury, palpitations, seizure, substance misuse/intoxication, and vertigo. Use of eCTAS modifiers was associated with increased triage consistency.

Conclusions

eCTAS increased triage consistency across many, but not all, high‐volume presenting complaints. Modifier use was associated with increased triage consistency, particularly for non‐specific complaints such as fever and general weakness.

High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin-Optimizing the Diagnosis of Acute Myocardial Infarction/Injury in Women (CODE-MI): Rationale and design for a multicenter, stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial

Despite evidence that high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) levels in women are lower than in men, a single threshold based on the 99th percentile upper reference limit of the overall reference population is commonly used to diagnose myocardial infarction in clinical practice. This trial aims to determine whether the use of a lower female-specific hs-cTn threshold would improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of women presenting to the emergency department with symptoms suggestive of myocardial ischemia. METHODS/DESIGN: CODE-MI (hs-cTn-Optimizing the Diagnosis of Acute Myocardial Infarction/Injury in Women) is a multicenter, stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial of 30 secondary and tertiary care hospitals across 8 Canadian provinces, with the unit of randomization being the hospital. All adults (≥20 years of age) presenting to the emergency department with symptoms suggestive of myocardial ischemia and at least 1 hs-cTn test are eligible for inclusion. Over five, 5-month intervals, hospitals will be randomized to implement lower female hs-cTn thresholds according to the assay being used at each site. Men will continue to be assessed using the overall thresholds throughout. Women with a peak hs-cTn value between the female-specific and the overall thresholds will form our primary cohort. The primary outcome, a 1-year composite of all-cause mortality or readmission for nonfatal myocardial infarction, incident heart failure, or emergent/urgent coronary revascularization, will be compared before and after the implementation of female thresholds using mixed-effects logistic regression models. The cohort and outcomes will be obtained from routinely collected administrative data. The trial is designed to detect a 20% relative risk difference in the primary outcome, or a 2.2% absolute difference, with 82% power. CONCLUSIONS: This pragmatic trial will assess whether adopting lower female hs-cTn thresholds leads to appropriate assessment of women with symptoms suggestive of myocardial infarction, thereby improving treatment and outcomes.

Comparison of rates of opioid withdrawal symptoms and reversal of opioid toxicity in patients treated with two naloxone dosing regimens: a retrospective cohort study

INTRODUCTION

When managing opioid overdose (OD) patients, the optimal naloxone regimen should rapidly reverse respiratory depression while avoiding opioid withdrawal. Published naloxone administration guidelines have not been empirically validated and most were developed before fentanyl OD was common. In this study, rates of opioid withdrawal symptoms (OW) and reversal of opioid toxicity in patients treated with two naloxone dosing regimens were evaluated.

METHODS

In this retrospective matched cohort study, health records of patients who experienced an opioid OD treated in two urban emergency departments (ED) during an ongoing fentanyl OD epidemic were reviewed. Definitions for OW and opioid reversal were developed a priori. Low dose naloxone (LDN; ≤0.15 mg) and high dose naloxone (HDN; >0.15 mg) patients were matched in a 1:4 ratio based upon initial respiratory rate (RR). The proportion of patients who developed OW and who met reversal criteria were compared between those treated initially with LDN or HDN. Odds ratios (OR) for OW and opioid reversal were obtained via logistic regression stratified by matched sets and adjusted for age, sex, pre-naloxone GCS, and presence of non-opioid drugs or alcohol.

RESULTS

Eighty LDN patients were matched with 299 HDN patients. After adjustment, HDN patients were more likely than LDN patients to have OW after initial dose (OR = 8.43; 95%CI: 1.96, 36.3; p = 0.004) and after any dose (OR = 2.56; 95%CI: 1.17, 5.60; p = 0.019). HDN patients were more likely to meet reversal criteria after initial dose (OR = 2.73; 95%CI: 1.19, 6.26; p = 0.018) and after any dose (OR = 6.07; 95%CI: 1.81, 20.3; p = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

HDN patients were more likely to have OW but also more likely to meet reversal criteria versus LDN patients.

Utility of MyHEARTSMAP for Universal Psychosocial Screening in the Emergency Department

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the utility of universal psychosocial screening in the emergency department (ED) using MyHEARTSMAP, a digital self-assessment and management guiding tool.

STUDY DESIGN

We conducted a cohort study of youth 10-17 years of age with nonmental health related presentations at 2 pediatric EDs. On randomly selected shifts (December 2017-February 2019), participants completed their psychosocial self-assessments using MyHEARTSMAP on a mobile device, then underwent a standardized clinical mental health assessment (criterion standard). We reported the sensitivity and specificity of respondents' self-assessment, against a clinician's standard emergency psychosocial assessment, and the frequency of psychosocial issues and recommended mental health resources identified by screening.

RESULTS

We approached 1432 eligible youth, among which 795 youth consented to participate (55.5%). Youth and guardians' sensitivity at self-identifying psychiatric concerns was 92.7% (95% CI 89.1, 95.4%) and 93.1% (95% CI 89.5, 95.8%), respectively. In cases where clinicians had determined to be no psychiatric issues, 98.5% (95% CI 96.7, 99.4%) of youth and 98.9% (95% CI 97.3, 99.7%) of guardians identified the youth as having no or only mild issues. Screening identified 36.4% of youth as having issues in at least 1 psychosocial domain which warranted further follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Psychosocial screening in EDs using MyHEARTSMAP can reliably be conducted using the MyHEARTSMAP self-assessment tool and over one-third of screened youth identified issues which can be directed to further care.

Low High-Sensitivity Troponin Thresholds Identify Low-Risk Patients With Chest Pain Unlikely to Benefit From Further Risk Stratification

Background

Very low high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) thresholds on presentation can rule out acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but the ability to identify patients at low risk of 30-day major adverse cardiac events (MACE) is less clear. This study examines the sensitivity of low concentrations of hs-cTnT on presentation to rule out 30-day MACE.

Methods

This prospective cohort study enrolled patients with chest pain presenting to the emergency department with nonischemic electrocardiograms who underwent AMI rule-out with an hs-cTnT assay. The primary outcome was 30-day MACE; secondary outcomes were individual MACE components. Because guidelines recommend using a single hs-cTnT strategy only for patients with more than 3 hours since symptom onset, a subgroup analysis was performed for this population. Outcomes were adjudicated on the basis of review of medical records and telephone follow-up.

Results

Of 1167 patients enrolled, 125 (10.7%) experienced 30-day MACE and 97 (8.3%) had AMI on the index visit. More than one-third of patients (35.6%) had presenting hs-cTnT concentrations below the limit of detection (5 ng/L), which was 94.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 88.8-97.7) sensitive for 30-day MACE and 99.0% (95% CI, 94.5-100) sensitive for index AMI. Of 292 patients (25.0%) with hs-cTnT < 5 ng/L and at least 3 hours since symptom onset, only 3 experienced 30-day MACE (sensitivity 97.6%; 95% CI, 93.2-100) and none had AMI within 30 days (sensitivity 100%; 95% CI, 96.3-100).

Conclusions

Among patients with nonischemic electrocardiograms and > 3 hours since symptom onset, low hs-cTnT thresholds on presentation confer a very low risk of 30-day MACE. In the absence of a high-risk clinical presentation, further risk stratification is likely to be low yield.

CCMapper: An adaptive NLP-based free-text chief complaint mapping algorithm

OBJECTIVE

Chief complaint (CC) is among the earliest health information recorded at the beginning of a patient's visit to an emergency department (ED). We propose a heuristic methodology for automatically mapping the free-text data into a structured list of CCs.

METHODS

A comprehensive structured list categorizing CCs was developed by experienced Emergency Medicine (EM) physicians. Using this list, we developed a natural language processing-based algorithm, referred to as Chief Complaint Mapper (CCMapper), for automatically mapping a CC into the most appropriate category (ies). We trained and validated CCMapper using free-text CC data from the Mayo Clinic ED in Rochester, MN. We developed a consensus-based validation approach to handle both indifferences and disagreements between the two EM physicians who manually mapped a random sample of free-text CCs into categories within the structured list.

RESULTS

The kappa statistic demonstrated a high level of agreement (κ = 0.958) between the two physicians with less than 2% human error. CCMapper achieved a total sensitivity of 94.2% with a specificity of 99.8% and F-score of 94.7% on the validation set. The sensitivity of CCMapper when mapping free-text data with multiple CCs was 82.3% with a specificity of 99.1% and total F-score of 82.3%.

CONCLUSION

Due to its simplicity, high performance, and capability of incorporating new free-text CC data, CCMapper can be readily adopted by other EDs to support clinical decision making. CCMapper can facilitate the development of predictive models for the type and timing of important events in ED (e.g., ICU admission).

Lessons learned in applying the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research methodology to translating Canadian Emergency Department Information System Presenting Complaints List into German

OBJECTIVES

The patient's presenting complaint guides diagnosis and treatment in the emergency department, but there is no classification system available in German. The Canadian Emergency Department Information System (CEDIS) Presenting Complaint List (PCL) is available only in English and French. As translation risks the altering of meaning, the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) has set guidelines to ensure translational accuracy. The aim of this paper is to describe our experiences of using the ISPOR guidelines to translate the CEDIS PCL into German.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The CEDIS PCL (version 3.0) was forward-translated and back-translated in accordance with the ISPOR guidelines using bilingual clinicians/translators and an occupationally mixed evaluation group that completed a self-developed questionnaire.

RESULTS

The CEDIS PCL was forward-translated (four emergency physicians) and back-translated (three mixed translators). Back-translation uncovered eight PCL items requiring amendment. In total, 156 comments were received from 32 evaluators, six of which resulted in amendments.

CONCLUSION

The ISPOR guidelines facilitated adaptation of a PCL into German, but the process required time, language skills and clinical knowledge. The current methodology may be applicable to translating the CEDIS PCL into other languages, with the aim of developing a harmonized, multilingual PCL.

Predictors of Admission in Adult Unscheduled Return Visits to the Emergency Department

Introduction

The 72-hour unscheduled return visit (URV) of an emergency department (ED) patient is often used as a key performance indicator in emergency medicine. We sought to determine if URVs with admission to hospital (URVA) represent a distinct subgroup compared to unscheduled return visits with no admission (URVNA).

Methods

We performed a retrospective cohort study of all 72-hour URVs in adults across 10 EDs in the Edmonton Zone (EZ) over a one-year period (January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015) using ED information-system data. URVA and URVNA populations were compared, and a multivariable analysis identified predictors of URVA.

Results

Analysis of 40,870 total URV records, including 3,363 URVAs, revealed predictors of URVA on the index visit including older age (>65 yrs, odds ratio [OR] 3.6), higher disease acuity (Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale [CTAS] 2, OR 2.6), gastrointestinal presenting complaint (OR 2.2), presenting to a referral hospital (OR 1.4), fewer annual ED visits (<4 visits, OR 2.0), and more hours spent in the ED (>12 hours, OR 2.0). A decrease in CTAS score (increase in disease acuity) upon return visit also increased the risk of admission (-1 CTAS level, OR 2.6). ED crowding at the index visit, as indicated by occupancy level, was not a predictor.

Conclusion

We demonstrate that URVA patients comprise a distinct subgroup of 72-hour URV patients. Risk factors for URVA are present at the index visit suggesting that patients at high risk for URVA may be identifiable prior to admission.

Low-impact strategy for capturing better emergency department injury surveillance data

OBJECTIVES

Injury prevention should be informed by timely surveillance data. Unfortunately, most injury surveillance only captures patients with severe injuries and is not available in real time, hampering prevention efforts. We aimed to develop and pilot a simple injury surveillance strategy that can be integrated into routine emergency department (ED) workflow to collect more robust mechanism of injury information at time of visit for all injured ED patients with minimal impact on workflow.

METHODS

We reviewed ED injury surveillance systems and considered ED workflow. Forms were developed to collect injury-related information on ED patients and refined to address workload concerns raised by key stakeholders. Research assistants observed ED staff as they registered injured patients and noted the time required to collect data and any ambiguities or concerns encountered. Interobserver agreement was recorded.

RESULTS

Injury surveillance questions were based on a modification of the International Classification of External Causes of Injury. Research assistants observed 222 injured patients being admitted by registration clerks. The mean time required to complete the surveillance form was 64.9 s (95% CI 59.9 s to 69.9 s) for paper-based forms (120 cases) and 44.5 s (95% CI 41.7s to 47.4s) with direct electronic data entry (102 cases). Interobserver agreement (26 cases) was 100% for intent (kappa=1.0) of injury and 96% for mechanism of injury (kappa=0.74).

CONCLUSIONS

We report a simple injury surveillance strategy that ED staff can use to collect meaningful injury data in real time with minimal impact on workflow. This strategy can be adapted to enhance regional injury surveillance efforts.

Safety of a Brief Emergency Department Observation Protocol for Patients With Presumed Fentanyl Overdose

STUDY OBJECTIVE

Fentanyl overdoses are increasing and few data guide emergency department (ED) management. We evaluate the safety of an ED protocol for patients with presumed fentanyl overdose.

METHODS

At an urban ED, we used administrative data and explicit chart review to identify and describe consecutive patients with uncomplicated presumed fentanyl overdose (no concurrent acute medical issues) from September to December 2016. We linked regional ED and provincial vital statistics databases to ascertain admissions, revisits, and mortality. Primary outcome was a composite of admission and death within 24 hours. Other outcomes included treatment with additional ED naloxone, development of a new medical issue while in the ED, and length of stay. A prespecified subgroup analysis assessed low-risk patients with normal triage vital signs.

RESULTS

There were 1,009 uncomplicated presumed fentanyl overdose, mainly by injection. Median age was 34 years, 85% were men, and 82% received out-of-hospital naloxone. One patient was hospitalized and one discharged patient died within 24 hours (combined outcome 0.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04% to 0.8%). Sixteen patients received additional ED naloxone (1.6%; 95% CI 1.0% to 2.6%), none developed a new medical issue (0%; 95% CI 0% to 0.5%), and median length of stay was 173 minutes (interquartile range 101 to 267). For 752 low-risk patients, no patients were admitted or developed a new issue, and one died postdischarge; 3 (0.4%; 95% CI 0.01% to 1.3%) received ED naloxone.

CONCLUSION

In our cohort of ED patients with uncomplicated presumed fentanyl overdose-typically after injection-deterioration, admission, mortality, and postdischarge complications appear low; the majority can be discharged after brief observation. Patients with normal triage vital signs are unlikely to require ED naloxone.

Interface design dividing physical findings into medical and trauma findings facilitates clinical document entry in the emergency department: A prospective observational study

PURPOSE

The interface design and its effect on workflow are key determinants of the usability of electronic medical records (EMRs) in the emergency department (ED). However, whether the overall clinical care can be improved by dividing the interface design of physical findings into medical and trauma findings is unknown. We previously developed an EMR system in which the checkpoints were separated into different sections according to the body part. Herein, we modified this EMR system by remaking the interface design specifically for trauma patients, and evaluated its performance.

METHODS

This study was undertaken in a single-center ED between October 2014 and September 2015. In the modified EMR system, all trauma findings are displayed together on the screen, according to the Japan Advanced Trauma Evaluation and Care. We compared the time to final documentation entry and the length of ED stay between the previous (used in the first 6 months) and current systems (used in the latter 6 months). Furthermore, we stratified the patients by triage levels.

RESULTS

The study involved 2141 patients (934 and 1207 assessed using the previous and modified EMR systems, respectively). The modified EMR in trauma patients significantly decreased the time to final documentation entry from 131.5 [interquartile range, 86.8-207.3] to 115 [78.8-161] min (p = 0.049). When stratifying trauma patients by triage level, significantly shorter clinical documentation times were observed with the modified EMR system in levels 2 (emergency) and 3 (urgent).

CONCLUSIONS

Using different interfaces for trauma findings shortened the time for clinical documentation for trauma patients.

Creation and validation of the acute heart failure risk score: AHFRS

Our aims were to create and validate a clinical decision rule to assess severity in acute heart failure. We conducted a prospective cohort study of patients with symptoms of acute heart failure who attended the emergency departments (EDs) of three hospitals between April 2011 and April 2013. The following data were collected on arrival to or during the stay in the ED: baseline severity of symptoms; presence of decompensated comorbidities; number of hospital admissions/visits to EDs for acute heart failure during the previous 24 months; triggers of the exacerbation; clinical signs and symptoms; results of ancillary tests requested in the ED; treatments prescribed; and response to the initial treatment in the ED. The main outcome was poor course during the acute phase, in-hospital for admitted patients and during the first week following the ED visit for discharged patients, this being a composite endpoint that included death, admission to an intensive care unit, need for invasive mechanical ventilation, cardiac arrest and use of non-invasive mechanical ventilation. Multivariate logistic regression models were developed. Predictors of poor course in acute heart failure were oedema on chest radiography, visits to the ED and/or admissions in the previous two years, and levels of glycemia and blood urea nitrogen (areas under the curve of 0.83 in the derivation sample, and 0.82 in the validation sample). Four clinical predictors available in the ED can be used to create a simple score to predict poor course in acute heart failure.Clinical Trials.gov ID: NCT02437058.

Tachycardia may prognosticate life- or organ-threatening diseases in children with abdominal pain

BACKGROUND

Abdominal pain is common in children, but expeditious diagnosis of life- or organ-threatening diseases can be challenging. An evidence-based definition of tachycardia in children was established recently, but its diagnostic utility has not yet been studied.

OBJECTIVE

To test the hypothesis that abdominal pain with tachycardia may pose a higher likelihood of life- or organ-threatening diseases in children.

METHODS

A nested case-control study was conducted in a pediatric emergency department in 2013. Tachycardia was defined as a resting heart rate of more than 3 standard deviations above the average for that age. Life- or organ-threatening diseases were defined as "disorders that might result in permanent morbidity or mortality without appropriate intervention." A triage team recorded vital signs before emergency physicians attended patients. Patients with tachycardia (cases) and without tachycardia (controls) were systematically matched for age, sex, and month of visit. The groups were compared for the presence of life- or organ-threatening diseases.

RESULTS

There were 1683 visits for abdominal pain, 1512 of which had vital signs measured at rest. Eighty-three patients experienced tachycardia, while 1429 did not. Fifty-eight cases and 58 controls were matched. Life- or organ-threatening diseases were more common in the case group (19%) than the control group (5%, p=0.043). The relative risk of tachycardia to the presence of the diseases was 3.7 (95% confidence interval 1.2-12.0).

CONCLUSION

Tachycardia significantly increased the likelihood of life- or organ-threatening diseases. Tachycardia in children with abdominal pain should alert emergency physicians to the possibility of serious illness.

Cognitive Rest and Graduated Return to Usual Activities Versus Usual Care for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Emergency Department Discharge Instructions

OBJECTIVES

It is estimated that 15%-25% of patients with a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) diagnosed in the emergency department (ED) will develop postconcussive syndrome. The objective of this study was to determine if patients randomized to graduated return to usual activity discharge instructions had a decrease in their Post-Concussion Symptom Score (PCSS) 2 weeks after MTBI compared to patients who received usual care MTBI discharge instructions.

METHODS

This was a pragmatic, randomized trial of adult (18-64 years) patients of an academic ED (annual census 60,000) diagnosed with MTBI occurring within 24 hours of ED visit. The intervention group received cognitive rest and graduated return to usual activity discharge instructions, and the control group received usual care discharge instructions that did not instruct cognitive rest or graduated return. Patients were contacted by text message or phone 2 and 4 weeks post-ED discharge and asked to complete the PCSS, a validated, 22-item questionnaire, to determine if there was a change in their symptoms. Secondary outcomes included change in PCSS at 4 weeks, number follow-up physician visits, and time off work/school.

RESULTS

A total of 118 patients were enrolled in the study (58 in the control group and 60 in the intervention). The mean (±SD) age was 35.2 (±13.7) years and 43 (36.4%) were male. There was no difference with respect to change in PCSS at 2 weeks (10.5 vs. 12.8; ∆2.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.0 to 11.7) and 4 weeks post-ED discharge (21.1 vs 18.3; ∆2.8, 95% CI = 6.9 to 12.7) for the intervention and control groups, respectively. The number of follow-up physician visits and time off work/school were similar when the groups were compared. Thirty-eight (42.2%) and 23 (30.3%) of patients in this cohort had ongoing MTBI symptoms (PCSS > 20) at 2 and 4 weeks, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Results from this study suggest graduated return to usual activity discharge instructions do not impact rate of resolution of MTBI symptoms 2 weeks after ED discharge. Given that patients continue to experience symptoms 2 and 4 weeks after MTBI, more investigation is needed to determine how best to counsel and treat patients with postconcussive symptoms.

Reliability of the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale: interrater and intrarater agreement from a community and an academic emergency department

OBJECTIVES

The Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) is a five-level triage tool that is used to help prioritize the order in which emergency department (ED) patients should be seen. The objectives of this study were to determine the interrater and intrarater agreement of the 2008 CTAS guideline revisions by triage nurses and to compare agreement between triage nurses working in a small community ED and an academic ED.

METHODS

Seventy-eight triage nurses assigned CTAS scores and free-text presenting complaints for 10 paper-based case scenarios. For five scenarios, the CTAS score should have remained unchanged from previous guidelines, whereas the other five scenarios should have been triaged differently based on the 2008 CTAS first-order modifiers. Thirty-three participants repeated the questionnaire 90 days later, and intrarater agreement was measured.

RESULTS

There was a higher level of agreement (κ  =  0.73; 95% CI 0.68-0.79) for the five case scenarios, which relied on the older 2004 guidelines compared to the scenarios where the 2008 guidelines would have suggested a different triage level (κ  =  0.50; 95% CI 0.42-0.59). For the 10 case scenarios analyzed, the free-text presenting complaints matched the Canadian Emergency Department Information System (CEDIS) list 90.1% of the time (κ  =  0.80; 95% CI 0.76-0.84).

CONCLUSION

The reliability of CTAS scoring by academic and community ED nurses was relatively good; however, the application of the 2008 CTAS revisions appears less reliable than the 2004 CTAS guidelines. These results may be useful to develop educational materials to strengthen reliability and validity for triage scoring using the 2008 CTAS guideline revisions.

Speed and accuracy of mobile BlackBerry Messenger to transmit chest radiography images from a small community emergency department to a geographically remote referral center

BACKGROUND

Small emergency departments (EDs) may rely on radiologists at remote centers for interpretations of chest radiographs (CXRs). We investigated systematic transmission of CXR images from a small ED to a geographically remote referral center using the mobile BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) application.

METHODS

Investigators obtained de-identified CXR images of consecutive ED patients via mobile phone camera. Each CXR image, along with a brief clinical history, was sent via BBM to an emergency physician located at a remote referral site, and the receiving physician replied via BBM to confirm reception. All communications, image generation, and image analysis was conducted on mobile phones. The primary outcome was the proportion of BBMs received within two minutes of sending; the secondary outcome was the proportion of BBM replies to the sending physician within five minutes. Image accuracy-comparing the radiologist's interpretation with the receiving emergency physician's interpretation-was estimated using predefined criteria.

RESULTS

Of 1281 consecutive ED patients, 231 (18.0 %) had CXRs obtained, 320 CXRs were analyzed and 611 BBMs sent. All BBMs (100.0%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 99.4-00.0) arrived within two minutes; 595 BBMs (97.4%, 95% CI 95.8-98.4) were replied to within five minutes. Of the 58 CXRs with abnormalities requiring intervention, there were 55 concordances (overall agreement 94.2%, 95% CI 85.9-98.3; kappa 0.95, 95% CI 0.89-1.0) CONCLUSION: Systematic transmission of CXR images from a small ED to a remote large center using mobile phones may be a safe and effective strategy to rapidly communicate important patient information.