Patient characteristics associated with nocturnal emergency department visits for asthma

Burden of Pediatric Functional Gastrointestinal Disorder in an Emergency Department-A Single-Center Experience

OBJECTIVES

Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are recurrent or chronic gastrointestinal signs and symptoms in the absence of anatomical or biochemical alterations. They are commonly treated in outpatient setting but often present to emergency departments. We aimed to estimate the burden of pediatric FGID on a busy accident and emergency (A&E) department.

METHODS

Electronic patient records were used to retrospectively analyze the A&E attendances of 3866 patients presenting with either constipation or abdominal pain. Those found not to have a surgical/organic cause were assessed in terms of various parameters, that is, arrival times, wait times, and investigations performed.

RESULTS

A total of 91.31% of the attendances relating to constipation or nonsurgical, nonorganic causes of abdominal pain were self-referred with only 3.64% arriving via ambulance, an average wait time ranging between 138 and 156 minutes, and a total of 1008 investigations carried out on patients presenting with these symptoms. A total of 63.65% of the patients were discharged without follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Functional gastrointestinal disorders place considerable burden on the A&E, in terms of resource usage, time of clinicians, and financial strain. More education should be provided to families of those experiencing FGID in an outpatient setting to minimize A&E resource utilization. More research is needed to ascertain the true burden of FGIDs, both financially and in terms of time and resource.

Factors associated with relapse in adult patients discharged from the emergency department following acute asthma: a systematic review

A significant proportion of patients discharged from the emergency department (ED) with asthma exacerbations will relapse within 4 weeks. This systematic review summarises the evidence regarding relapses and factors associated with relapse in adult patients discharged from EDs after being treated for acute asthma. Following a registered protocol, comprehensive literature searches were conducted. Studies tracking outcomes for adults after ED management and discharge were included if they involved adjusted analyses. Methodological quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) and the Risk of Bias (RoB) Tool. Results were summarised using medians and IQRs or mean and SD, as appropriate. 178 articles underwent full-text review and 10 studies, of various methodologies, involving 32 923 patients were included. The majority of the studies were of high quality according to NOS and RoB Tool. Relapse proportions were 8±3%, 12±4% and 14±6% at 1, 2 and 4 weeks, respectively. Female sex was the most commonly reported and statistically significant factor associated with an increased risk of relapse within 4 weeks of ED discharge for acute asthma. Other factors significantly associated with relapse were past healthcare usage and previous inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) usage. A median of 17% of patients who are discharged from the ED will relapse within the first 4 weeks. Factors such as female sex, past healthcare usage and ICS use at presentation were commonly and significantly associated with relapse occurrence. Identifying patients with these features could provide clinicians with guidance during their ED discharge decision-making.

Nocturnal emergency department visits, duration of symptoms and risk of hospitalisation among adults with asthma exacerbations: a multicentre observational study

OBJECTIVES

We sought to compare the characteristics of patients with asthma presenting to the emergency department (ED) during the night-time with those of patients presenting at other times of the day, and to determine whether the time of ED presentation is associated with the risk of hospitalisation.

DESIGN AND SETTING

A multicentre chart review study of 23 EDs across Japan.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients aged 18-54 years with a history of physician-diagnosed asthma, presented to the ED between January 2009 and December 2011 OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome of interest was hospitalisation, including admissions to an observation unit, inpatient unit and intensive care unit.

RESULTS

Among the 1354 patients (30.1% in the night-time group vs 69.9% in the other time group) included in this study, the median age was 34 years and ∼40% were male. Overall 145 patients (10.7%) were hospitalised. Patients in the night-time group were more likely to have a shorter duration of symptoms (≤3 hours) before ED presentation than those in the other time group (25.9% in night-time vs 13.4% in other times; p<0.001). In contrast, there were no significant differences in respiratory rate, initial peak expiratory flow or ED asthma treatment between the two groups (p>0.05). Similarly, the risk of hospitalisation did not differ between the two groups (11.3% in night-time vs 10.5% in other times; p=0.65). In a multivariable model adjusting for potential confounders, the risk of hospitalisation in the night-time group was not statistically different from the other time group (OR, 1.10; 95% CI 0.74 to 1.61; p=0.63).

CONCLUSIONS

This multicentre study in Japan demonstrated no significant difference in the risk of hospitalisations according to the time of ED presentation.

Gender differences in symptoms and care delivery for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

BACKGROUND

Morbidity and mortality for women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are increasing, and little is known about gender differences in perception of COPD care.

METHODS

Surveys were administered to a convenience sample of COPD patients to evaluate perceptions about symptoms, barriers to care, and sources of information about COPD.

RESULTS

Data on 295 female and 273 male participants were analyzed. With similar frequencies, women and men reported dyspnea and rated their health as poor/very poor. Although more women than men reported annual household income <$30,000, no significant gender differences in frequency of health insurance, physician visits, or ever having had spirometry were detected. In adjusted models (1) women were more likely to report COPD diagnostic delay (odds ratio [OR] 1.66, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13-2.45, p=0.01), although anxiety (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.10-3.06, p=0.02) and history of exacerbations (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.08-2.37, p=0.01) were also significant predictors, (2) female gender was associated with difficulty reaching one's physician (OR 2.54, 95% CI 1.33-4.86, p=0.004), as was prior history of exacerbations (OR 2.25, 95% CI 1.21-4.20, p=0.01), and (3) female gender (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.10-4.21, p=0.02) was the only significant predictor for finding time spent with their physician as insufficient.

CONCLUSIONS

Significant gender-related differences in the perception of COPD healthcare delivery exist, revealing an opportunity to better understand what influences these attitudes and to improve care for both men and women.