Relevance of using length of stay as a key indicator to monitor emergency department performance: Case study from a rural hospital in Thailand

Length of Stay in the Emergency Department during COVID-19 Pandemic in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Introduction:

Emergency Department overcrowding has become worsening problem internationally which may affect patient, emergency department efficiency and quality of care and this may lead to increased risk of in-hospital mortality, higher costs, medical errors and longer times to treatment. With this pandemic COVID-19 likely to go on for months, if not a year or longer, the Emergency Department should be prepared for large influx of patients infected with COVID-19. The aim of this study is to find-out the length of stay in emergency department during COVID-19 pandemic at a tertiary care hospital in Nepal.

Methods:

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the Emergency Department of Kanti Children's Hospital. Ethical clearance was obtained from Institutional review committee-Kanti Children's Hospital. Data collection was done from the emergency records from July 23, 2020 to July 29, 2020. The calculated sample size was 211. The data thus obtained was entered in Statistical Package for the Social Science software version 20 and necessary calculations were done.

Results:

The median length of stay in emergency department was found to be 1.75 hours (Interquartile range 0 to 30 hours).

Conclusions:

Definitive management starts in respective wards and Intensive Care Units. During COVID-19, with longer emergency stay, chances of cross-infection increases, and the health workers serving in emergency department will be at risks. So guidelines for shorter emergency stay should be implemented.

Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound for Uterine Fibroids: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Uterine fibroids are common benign tumors among premenopausal women. High- intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is an emerging non-invasive intervention which uses the high-intensity ultrasound waves from ultrasound probes to focus on the targeted fibroids. However, the efficacy of HIFU in comparison with that of other common treatment types in clinical procedure remains unclear.

Objective: To investigate the comparative effectiveness and safety of HIFU with other techniques which have been widely used in clinical settings.

Methods: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature, Web of Science, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Database, and three Chinese academic databases, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-RCTs, and cohort studies. The primary outcome was the rate of re-intervention, and the GRADE approach was used to interpret the findings.

Results: About 18 studies met the inclusion criteria. HIFU was associated with an increased risk of re-intervention rate in comparison with myomectomy (MYO) [pooled odds ratio (OR): 4.05, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.82–8.9]. The results favored HIFU in comparison with hysterectomy (HYS) on the change of follicle-stimulating hormone [pooled mean difference (MD): −7.95, 95% CI: −8.92–6.98), luteinizing hormone (MD: −4.38, 95% CI: −5.17−3.59), and estradiol (pooled MD: 43.82, 95% CI: 36.92–50.72)]. HIFU had a shorter duration of hospital stay in comparison with MYO (pooled MD: −4.70, 95% CI: −7.46−1.94, p < 0.01). It had a lower incidence of fever (pooled OR: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.06–0.39, p < 0.01) and a lower incidence of major adverse events (pooled OR: 0.04, 95% CI: 0.00–0.30, p < 0.01) in comparison with HYS.

Conclusions: High-intensity focused ultrasound may help maintain feminity and shorten the duration of hospital stay. High-quality clinical studies with a large sample size, a long-term follow-up, and the newest HIFU treatment protocol for evaluating the re-intervention rate are suggested to be carried out. Clinical decision should be based on the specific situation of the patients and individual values.

Qualitative exploration of patient flow in a Caribbean emergency department

OBJECTIVES

Emergency departments (EDs) are complex adaptive systems and improving patient flow requires understanding how ED processes work. This study aimed to explore the patient flow process in an ED in Trinidad and Tobago, identifying organisational factors influencing patient flow.

METHODS

Multiple qualitative methods, including non-participant observations, observational process mapping and informal conversational interviews were used to explore patient flow. The process maps were generated from the observational process mapping. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

SETTING

The study was conducted at a major tertiary level ED in Trinidad and Tobago.

PARTICIPANTS

Patient and staff journeys in the ED were directly observed.

RESULTS

Six broad categories were identified: (1) ED organisational work processes, (2) ED design and layout, (3) material resources, (4) nursing staff levels, roles, skill mix and use, (5) non-clinical ED staff and (6) external clinical and non-clinical departments. Within each category there were individual factors that appeared to either facilitate or hinder patient flow. Organisational processes such as streaming, front loading of investigations and the transfer process were pre-existing strategies in the ED while staff actions to compensate for limitations with flow were more intuitive. A conceptual framework of factors influencing ED patient flow is also presented.

CONCLUSION

The knowledge gained may be used to strengthen the emergency care system in the local context. However, the study findings should be validated in other settings.

Evaluation of outcome relevance of quality indicators in the emergency department (ENQuIRE): study protocol for a prospective multicentre cohort study

INTRODUCTION

Quality of emergency department (ED) care affects patient outcomes substantially. Quality indicators (QIs) for ED care are a major challenge due to the heterogeneity of patient populations, health care structures and processes in Germany. Although a number of quality measures are already in use, there is a paucity of data on the importance of these QIs on medium-term and long-term outcomes. The evaluation of outcome relevance of quality indicators in the emergency department study (ENQuIRE) aims to identify and investigate the relevance of QIs in the ED on patient outcomes in a 12-month follow-up.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The study is a prospective non-interventional multicentre cohort study conducted in 15 EDs throughout Germany. Included are all patients in 2019, who were ≥18 years of age, insured at the Techniker Krankenkasse (statutory health insurance (SHI)) and gave their written informed consent to the study.The primary objective of the study is to assess the effect of selected quality measures on patient outcome. The data collected for this purpose comprise medical records from the ED treatment, discharge (claims) data from hospitalised patients, a patient questionnaire to be answered 6-8 weeks after emergency admission, and outcome measures in a 12-month follow-up obtained as claims data from the SHI.Descriptive and analytical statistics will be applied to provide summaries about the characteristics of QIs and associations between quality measures and patient outcomes.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Approval of the leading ethics committee at the Medical Faculty of the University of Magdeburg (reference number 163/18 from 19 November 2018) has been obtained and adapted by responsible local ethics committees.The findings of this work will be disseminated by publication of peer-reviewed manuscripts and presentations as conference contributions (abstracts, poster or oral presentations).Moreover, results will be discussed with clinical experts and medical associations before being proposed for implementation into the quality management of EDs.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

German Clinical Trials Registry (DRKS00015203); Pre-results.