Utilization of and direct expenditure for emergency medical care in Taiwan: a population-based descriptive study

An analysis of the diagnoses and costs of pediatric emergency care visits: a single center study

BACKGROUND

Children's emergency care visits are common, although the costs and reasons for visits vary. This register-based study examines the costs of pediatric emergency care and the diagnoses related to visits made to the Pediatric Emergency Unit at Tampere University Hospital (Tays), Tampere, Finland.

METHODS

This retrospective study described pediatric emergency care visits made between September 2018 and December 2019 to a single center in Tampere, Finland. The data were gathered from medical files and from cost-per-patient software and analyzed in groups by age, season, level of treatment in the ED (primary or secondary), and hospitalization, as well as by diagnosis groups.

RESULTS

During the study period, 11,454 visits were made. The total costs were over €3,380,000 ($2,837,758), with a median cost per visit was €260 ($217.90). Higher costs were associated with hospitalization and treatment in secondary care. The most common diagnoses were respiratory tract infections, counseling, other infections, GI symptoms, and other reasons.

CONCLUSION

Seriously ill children incur the highest costs per visit in pediatric emergency care. Respiratory tract infections are common reasons for emergency care visits, and the reasons why children come to emergency care in Finland are similar to those in other countries.

Factors Associated with Emergency Department Visits and Consequent Hospitalization and Death in Korea Using a Population-Based National Health Database

We aim to investigate common diagnoses and risk factors for emergency department (ED) visits as well as those for hospitalization and death after ED visits. This study describes the clinical course of ED visits by using the 2014–2015 population data retrieved from the National Health Insurance Service. Sociodemographic, medical, and behavioral factors were analyzed through multiple logistic regression. Older people were more likely to be hospitalized or to die after an ED visit, but younger people showed a higher risk for ED visits. Females were at a higher risk for ED visits, but males were at a higher risk for ED-associated hospitalization and death. Individuals in the highest quartile of income had a lower risk of ED death relative to lowest income level individuals. Disabilities, comorbidities, and medical issues, including previous ED visits or prior hospitalizations, were risk factors for all ED-related outcomes. Unhealthy behaviors, including current smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, and not engaging in regular exercise, were also significantly associated with ED visits, hospitalization, and death. Common diagnoses and risk factors for ED visits and post-visit hospitalization and death found in this study provide a perspective from which to establish health polices for the emergency medical care system.

Eye-related Emergency Department Visits with Ophthalmology Consultation in Taiwan: Visual Acuity as an Indicator of Ocular Emergency

To investigate the epidemiology of eye-related emergency department (ED) visits and to determine if visual acuity (VA) could be an indicator for determining the timing for managing ocular emergencies, we have conducted the retrospective study which included patients visited the ED for eye-related reasons and had received ophthalmology consultations at a referral center in Taiwan in 2015. Among 46,514 consultations, 5,493 were ophthalmology consultations (11.8%). After exclusion, 5,422 were eligible for analysis. Among them, 1,165 (21.5%) had not likely emergent diagnoses, 4,048 (74.7%) had likely emergent diagnoses, and 209 patients (3.9%) could not be determined. The logMAR VA was 0.31 ± 0.48, 0.66 ± 0.78, and 1.00 ± 0.94 in groups with not likely emergent, likely emergent, and undetermined diagnoses, respectively. Among all eye-related ED visits, 10.3% of patients received ophthalmologic intervention or were admitted to the ophthalmology ward. A LogMAR VA score of 0.45 (decimal equivalent of 0.4) had the highest discrimination power for identifying whether a patient needed ophthalmology intervention or admission to ophthalmology ward (area under the curve: 0.802, sensitivity: 0.800, specificity: 0.672). In our study, we found VA could be an indicator for determining the priority and time of ocular emergencies requiring ophthalmic intervention in patients visiting the ED for eye-related reasons.

Trends and Comparisons of Utilization of Emergency Departments Due to Traumatic or Non-Traumatic Causes among the HIV-Positive Population in Taiwan, 2006-2011

It is important that the utilization of emergency departments (EDs) among people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) be epidemiologically evaluated in order to assess and improve the HIV care continuum. All participants newly-diagnosed with HIV in Taiwan registered in the National Health Insurance Database from 2000 to 2005 were enrolled in this study and followed-up from 2006 to 2011. In total, 3500 participants newly-diagnosed with HIV in 2000–2005 were selected as a fixed-cohort population and followed-up from 2006 to 2011. Overall, 704, 645, 591, 573, 578, and 568 cases made 1322, 1275, 1050, 1061, 1136, and 992 ED visits in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, with an average number of ED visits ranging from 1.75 to 1.98 per person, accounting for 20.1–22.6% of the whole HIV-positive population. Fewer ED visits were due to traumatic reasons, accounting for 19.6–24.4% of all cases. The incidence of traumatic and non-traumatic ED visits among the HIV-positive participants ranged from 7.2–9.3 and 27.0–33.9 per 100 people, respectively. The average direct medical cost of traumatic and non-traumatic ED visits ranged from $89.3–112.0 and $96.6–120.0, respectively. In conclusion, a lower incidence of ED visits for all reasons and fewer ED visits owing to traumatic causes were observed in the population living with HIV in comparison with the general population; however, the direct medical cost of each ED visit owing to both traumatic and non-traumatic causes was greater among those living with HIV than in the general population.

Predicting Factors and Risk Stratification for Return Visits to the Emergency Department Within 72 Hours in Pediatric Patients

OBJECTIVES

A return visit (RV) to the emergency department (ED) is usually used as a quality indicator for EDs. A thorough comprehension of factors affecting RVs is beneficial to enhancing the quality of emergency care. We performed this study to identify pediatric patients at high risk of RVs using readily available characteristics during an ED visit.

METHODS

We retrospectively collected data of pediatric patients visiting 6 branches of an urban hospital during 2007. Potential variables were analyzed using a multivariable logistic regression analysis to determine factors associated with RVs and a classification and regression tree technique to identify high-risk groups.

RESULTS

Of the 35,435 visits from which patients were discharged home, 2291 (6.47%) visits incurred an RV within 72 hours. On multivariable analysis, younger age, weekday visits, diagnoses belonging to the category of symptoms, signs, and ill-defined conditions, and being seen by a female physician were associated with a higher probability of RVs. Children younger than 6.5 years who visited on weekdays or between midnight and 8:00 AM on weekends or holidays had the highest probability of returning to the ED within 72 hours.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study reexamined several important factors that could affect RVs of pediatric patients to the ED and identified high-risk groups of RVs. Further intervention studies or qualitative research could be targeted on these at-risk groups.

Effects of a Public Education Campaign on the Association Between Knowledge of Early Stroke Symptoms and Intention to Call an Ambulance at Stroke Onset: The Acquisition of Stroke Knowledge (ASK) Study

Background

An immediate ambulance call offers the greatest opportunity for acute stroke therapy. Effectively using ambulance services requires strengthening the association between knowledge of early stroke symptoms and intention to call an ambulance at stroke onset, and encouraging the public to use ambulance services.

Methods

The present study utilized data from the Acquisition of Stroke Knowledge (ASK) study, which administered multiple-choice, mail-in surveys regarding awareness of early stroke symptoms and response to a stroke attack before and after a 2-year stroke education campaign in two areas subject to intensive and moderate intervention, as well as in a control area, in Japan. In these three areas, 3833 individuals (1680, 1088 and 1065 participants in intensive intervention, moderate intervention, and control areas, respectively), aged 40 to 74 years, who responded appropriately to each survey were included in the present study.

Results

After the intervention, the number of correctly identified symptoms significantly associated with intention to call an ambulance (P < 0.05) increased (eg, from 4 to 5 correctly identified symptoms), without increasing choice of decoy symptoms in the intensive intervention area. Meanwhile, in other areas, rate of identification of not only correct symptoms but also decoy symptoms associated with intention to call an ambulance increased. Furthermore, the association between improvement in the knowledge of stroke symptoms and intention to call an ambulance was observed only in the intensive intervention area (P = 0.009).

Conclusions

Our results indicate that intensive interventions are useful for strengthening the association between correct knowledge of early stroke symptoms and intention to call an ambulance, without strengthening the association between incorrect knowledge and intention to call an ambulance.

Incidence of and Predictors for Early Return Visits to the Emergency Department: A Population-Based Survey

The aim of this study is to estimate the proportion of and predictors for early return visits (ERVs) to the emergency department (ED) in Taiwan.This is a population-based study using data of 1 million people randomly selected from all beneficiaries of the Taiwan National Health Insurance. All ED visits in 2012 were analyzed. The ERVs to the ED were defined as those ED revisits within 3 days after the initial ED visit. We employed a generalized estimation equation model to investigate the independent effects of various characteristics associated with the initial ED visit on ERVs.The overall proportion of ERVs within 3 days with a same dichotomous diagnostic category according to injury or noninjury was 4.3% (6740/158,132), and the overall proportion of hospitalizations after ERVs was 24.1% (1627/6740). Male subjects (4.3%) were more likely to have ERVs with an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 1.10 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04-1.16). Compared with patients aged 18 to 64 years (4.0%), those aged >64 years had a significantly increased risk of ERVs (6.2%, AOR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.39-1.59). In comparison to patients with injury diagnoses (2.2%), those with noninjury diagnoses had a higher risk of ERVs (5.2%, AOR: 2.50, 95% CI: 2.33-2.70). Compared with patients initially treated at medical centers (3.7%), those initially treated at regional (4.5%, AOR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.20-1.37) or district hospitals (4.5%, AOR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.27-1.49) had significantly higher risks of ERVs. Among the 6740 patients with ERVs, 2622 (38.9%) returned to a different hospital, and these patients tended to be those aged 18 to 64 years and initially treated at district hospitals.The risk of ERVs was associated with demographic characteristics and accreditation level of hospital. We noted a large proportion of patients with ERVs to a different hospital. The reason underlying this phenomenon warrants further investigations.

Prevalence of and Predictors for Frequent Utilization of Emergency Department: A Population-Based Study

Frequent emergency department (ED) users contribute to a disproportionate number of ED visits that consume a substantial amount of medical resources. Additionally, people with frequent ED visits may be at greater risks of illnesses and injury and are vulnerable to even more severe health events. We conducted, based on a nationally representative sample, a population-based study to estimate the prevalence of frequent ED users among all ED users, and to explore factors associated with frequent ED visits. This is a population-based cross-sectional study. Data of 1 million people randomly selected from all beneficiaries of Taiwan's National Health Insurance claim database in 2010 were analyzed to estimate the distribution of ED visit among ED users. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to calculate the independent associations of factors with prevalence of frequent (4-12 ED visits per year) and highly frequent (>12 ED visits per year) ED visits. Of the 1 million beneficiaries 170,475 subjects used ED service in 2010 and 103,111 (60.5%), 37,964 (22.3%), 14,881 (8.7%), 14,041 (8.2%), and 460 (0.3%) subjects had 1, 2, 3, 4 to 12, and more than 12 ED visits, respectively. ED users with 4 to 12 visits and those with >12 visits disproportionally accounted for 24.1% and 3.0%, respectively, of all ED visits in 2010. We noted significant associations of frequent ED visit with a number of factors including socio-demographics, health care utilization, and comorbidity. Among them, the most increased adjusted odds ratio (AOR) was noted for hospitalization during the past year (AOR = 1.85) and younger ages (1-6 years) (AOR = 1.84). On the contrary, the significant predictors for highly frequent ED visit with greater AOR included hospitalization during the past year (AOR = 3.95), > 12 outpatient visits during the past year (AOR = 2.66), and a history of congestive heart failure (AOR = 2.64) and psychiatric disorders (AOR = 2.35). People admitted and with frequent outpatient visits were at greater risk of frequent ED visit. Because people with a history of various comorbidities were also vulnerable to become frequent ED users, careful management of those comorbidities by clinicians may help further reduce the likelihood of frequent ED visit.

Emergency visits among end-of-life cancer patients in Taiwan: a nationwide population-based study

BACKGROUND

An increased number of emergency visits at the end of life may indicate poor-quality cancer care. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence and utilization of emergency visits and to explore the reasons for emergency department (ED) visits among cancer patients at the end of life.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was performed by tracking one year of ambulatory medical service records before death. Data were collected from the cancer dataset of Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD).

RESULTS

A total of 32,772 (19.2%) patients with malignant cancer visited EDs, and 23,883 patients died during the study period. Of these, the prevalence of emergency visits in the mortality group was 81.5%, and their ED utilization was significantly increased monthly to the end of life. The most frequent types of cancer were digestive and peritoneum cancers (34.8%), followed by breast cancer (17.7%) and head and neck cancers (13.3%). Older patients, males, and those diagnosed with metastases, respiratory or digestive cancer were more likely to use ED services at the end of life. Use of an ED service in the nearest community hospital to replace medical centers for dying cancer patients would be more acceptable in emergency situations.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study provided population-based evidence related to ED utilization. An understanding of the reasons for such visits could be useful in preventing overuse of ED visits to improve the quality of end-of-life care.

Emergency department utilization can indicate early diagnosis of digestive tract cancers: A population-based study in Taiwan

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Patients who visit emergency department (ED) may have symptoms of occult cancers.

METHODS

We studied a random cohort of one million subjects from Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between 2000 and 2008 to evaluate the ED utilization of individuals who were subsequently diagnosed with digestive tract cancers. The case group was digestive tract cancer patients and the control group was traumatic fracture patients. We reviewed record of ED visits only from 4 to 15 months before the cancer diagnoses.

RESULTS

There were 2635 and 6665 in the case and control groups respectively. Patients' adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval for the case group were 1.36 (1.06-1.74) for Abdominal ultrasound, 2.16 (1.61-2.90) pan-endoscopy, 1.72 (1.33-2.22) guaiac fecal-occult blood test, 1.42 (1.28-1.58) plain abdominal X-rays, 1.20 (1.09-1.32) SGOT, 1.27 (1.14-1.40) SGPT, 1.66 (1.41-1.95) total bilirubin, 2.41 (1.89-3.08) direct bilirubin, 1.21 (1.01-1.46) hemoglobin and 3.63 (2.66-4.94) blood transfusion, respectively. Blood transfusion in the ED was a significant predictor of the individual subsequently diagnosed with digestive tract cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

The health system could identify high risk patients early by real-time review of their ED utilization before the diagnosis of digestive tract cancers. We proposed a follow-up methodology for daily screening of patients with high risk of digestive tract cancer by informatics system in the ED.

A 10-year population-based nationwide descriptive analysis of pediatric emergency care

BACKGROUND

Pediatric emergency care medicine is an important field of health care. This study aimed to investigate the 10-year pediatric emergency care in children aged 0-17 years old in Taiwan.

METHODS

Systematic random samples from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan in the period 2000-2009 were analyzed. Children recorded as undergoing emergency care were enrolled and divided into different age groups. The frequency of emergency visits, age, cost per visit, seasonality, number of hospitalizations, and diagnosis were analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 764,598 children were enrolled. These children accounted for 25% of all emergency cases and their mean age was 6.1 years. Children aged 0-5 years formed the largest group, with male predominance (57.5%). The incidence of emergency visits was 29133 ± 3104 per 100,000 children per year (mean ± SD). Acute upper airway infection, fever, and acute gastrointestinal illness were the most common diagnoses among all non-hospitalized children. Some (4.51%) required subsequent hospitalization and their most common diagnoses were fluid/electrolyte disorder, upper/lower airway infection, and acute gastrointestinal illness. The group of children aged 12-17 years had cases of traumatic injury and childbirth.

CONCLUSIONS

In Taiwan, 25% of individuals seeking emergency care are children, mostly aged 0-5 years old. Costs and disease patterns vary among different age groups. Preventive measures targeting all children should focus on respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases, but should target different diseases for different age groups to improve child health.

Epidemiology of hospitalized traumatic pelvic fractures and their combined injuries in Taiwan: 2000-2011 National Health Insurance data surveillance

Background. From the viewpoint of prehospital emergency medicine, a greater proportion of pelvic fractures not of a life-threatening status but combined with other injuries need more comprehensive recognition. Methods. A 12-year nationwide health database of inpatients was reviewed. All cases diagnosed as pelvic fractures were enrolled. The associated injuries classified into 20 categories were further analyzed. Results. During 2000–2011, the hospitalized incidence of pelvic fractures in Taiwan ranged from 17.17 to 19.42 per 100,000, and an increasing trend with age was observed. The mean case-fatality rate was 1.6% for females and 2.1% for males; male patients with pelvic fractures had a significantly higher risk of death than female patients after adjusting for other covariates. 74.2% of these cases were combined with other injuries. The most common associated injuries in an identified body region were other orthopedic fractures of the lower limbs (21.50%), spine/trunk (20.97%), or upper limbs (18.18%), followed by significant head injuries (17.59%), intra-abdominal injuries (11.00%), and thoracic injuries (7.20%). Conclusion. The incidence of hospitalized pelvic fractures in Taiwan was low and the case-fatality rate was lower than those of other countries. Concurrently, coexistence of major combined injuries with pelvic fractures was easily treated at medical centers.

Nationwide retrospective cohort survey of orthopedic injuries in members of the Taiwanese population with psychiatric disorders, 2000-2005

BACKGROUND

The relationship between psychiatric disorders and musculoskeletal injuries is interesting but has not been investigated in depth.

STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study, based on a large-sample nationwide database, was performed during 2000-2005 in Taiwan.

METHODS

All subjects matching the inclusion criteria of psychiatric-associated ICD9-CM diagnostic codes in 2000 were selected as the inception cohort population. Another cohort-based case-control study was designed, and one sex-matched and age-matched (1:1) control group randomly selected from the population without any prevalent psychiatric disorder in 2000 and incident psychiatric disorder in 2001-2005 was used for comparison.

RESULTS

64,662 Taiwanese people with any prevalent psychiatric disorder were enrolled in this study in 2000. The 6-year cumulative incidences of orthopedic injuries were 13.61/10,000 for femoral neck/femur fracture and 4.64/10,000, 3.40/10,000, 3.25/10,000, and 3.09/10,000 for radius/ulna or hand fracture, tibia/fibula or patella fracture, ankle or foot fracture, and humeral fracture, respectively. Compared with the control group, this Taiwanese population with prevalent psychiatric disorders had fewer incidences of all orthopedic injuries during the 6 years since 2000, and their cumulative incidence ratios ranged from 0.04 to 0.4 for the different injury sites. For lower-limb fractures, compared with the age stratum of less than 20-years-old, the odds ratios (OR) for the age strata 80-years-old or more and 60-79-years-old were 15.84 (95 % CI 4.55-55.20) and 6.11 (95 % CI 1.92-19.49), respectively. The people with organic psychotic conditions had a significantly greater tendency to suffer upper-limb and lower-limb fractures than those with other psychiatric diagnoses (the ranges of ORs were 3.23-16.67 and 2.13-25.00, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Subjects with prevalent psychiatric disorders had fewer occurrences of orthopedic injuries than the general population. Among this specific population, an organic psychotic condition and old age were risk factors for suffering fracture of a limb.

Comparisons of medical utilizations and categorical diagnoses of emergency visits between the elderly with catastrophic illness certificates and those without

Background

In Taiwan, the policy of catastrophic illness certificates has benefited some populations with specific diseases, but its effect on the use of medical services and the sequence of public health has not been examined. As a pilot of a series of studies, focused on emergency department (ED) visits, the present study aimed to compare medical utilization and various diagnostic categories at EDs between the elderly with an identified catastrophic illness and the elderly without.

Methods

A cross-sectional study, based on a large-sample nationwide database (one million of the population, randomly sampled from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD)), was performed in Taiwan. The 2008 insurance records of ambulatory medical services for subjects aged 65 years or more among the above one million of the population were further selected and analyzed. Taiwan’s registered catastrophic illness dataset for 2008 was linked in order to identify the target subgroup.

Results

The prevalence of certificated catastrophic illness in Taiwan’s elderly utilizing ambulatory medical services was 10.16%. On average, 61.62 emergency department (ED) visits/1,000 persons (95% CI: 59.22–64.01) per month was estimated for the elderly Taiwanese with catastrophic illness, which was significantly greater than that for the elderly without a catastrophic illness (mean 33.53, 95% CI: 32.34–34.71). A significantly greater total medical expenditure for emergency care was observed in the catastrophic illness subgroup (US$145.6 ± 193.5) as compared with the non-catastrophic illness group (US$108.7 ± 338.0) (p < 0.001). The three most common medical problems diagnosed when visiting EDs were injury/poisoning (14.22%), genitourinary disorders (11.26%) and neoplasm-related morbidity (10.77%) for the elderly population with a catastrophic illness, which differed from those for the elderly without a catastrophic illness.

Conclusions

In Taiwan, the elderly with any certificated catastrophic illness had significantly more ED visits and a higher ED medical cost due to untypical medical complaints.

The association between the availability of ambulatory care and non-emergency treatment in emergency medicine departments: a comprehensive and nationwide validation

OBJECTIVES

To quantify dynamic availability of ambulatory care, and to examine possible associations with non-emergency treatments in emergency departments (EDs).

METHODS

Longitudinal data from the Taiwan National health Insurance Research Database were used to evaluate 749,584 emergency-medicine cases occurring between 2005 and 2010 according to a modified New York University algorithm. Multivariable-cumulative-logistic-regression analysis with generalized estimating-equation methods was used to determine associations between availability of ambulatory care and the urgency of patients' medical needs during ED visits.

RESULTS

More than half (53.04%) of the ED visits that were evaluated in our study were classified as non-emergencies, and over half of these occurred despite a high availability of ambulatory care facilities (median > 96%). Compared with patients in areas with a low availability of ambulatory care, patients in areas of medium to high availability showed approximately 0.8 times lower odds ratios for associations with non-emergency ED visits.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-emergency ED visits may be reduced by increasing the availability of ambulatory care facilities in areas with deficits in the availability of such facilities. However, increasing the availability of ambulatory care by raising the number of available ambulatory care physicians or the number of ambulatory care facilities may not reduce non-emergency ED visits in areas with medium to high availability of ambulatory care facilities.

Epidemiological survey of orthopedic joint dislocations based on nationwide insurance data in Taiwan, 2000-2005

BACKGROUND

The epidemiology of acute orthopedic dislocations is poorly understood. A nationwide database provides a valuable resource for examining this issue in the Taiwanese population.

METHODS

A 6-year retrospective cohort study of 1,000,000 randomly-sampled beneficiaries from the year 2005 was used as the original population. Based on the hospitalized and ambulatory data, the concomitant ICD9-CM diagnosis codes and treatment codes were evaluated and classified into 8 and 3 major categories, respectively. The cases matching both inclusive criteria of dislocation-related diagnosis codes and treatment codes were defined as incident cases.

RESULTS

During 2000-2005, the estimated annual incidence (per 100,000 population) of total orthopedic dislocations in Taiwan was 42.1 (95%CI: 38.1-46.1). The major cause of these orthopedic dislocations was traffic accidents (57.4%), followed by accident falls (27.5%). The annual incidence dislocation by location was shoulder, 15.3; elbow, 7.7; wrist, 3.5; finger, 4.6; hip, 5.2; knee, 1.4; ankle, 2.0; and foot, 2.4. Approximately 16% of shoulder dislocations occurred with other concomitant fractures, compared with 17%, 53%, 16%, 76% and 52%, respectively, of dislocated elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle cases. Including both simple and complex dislocated cases, the mean medical cost was US$612 for treatment of a shoulder dislocation, $504 for the elbow, $1,232 for the wrist, $1,103 for the hip, $1,888 for the knee, and $1,248 for the ankle.

CONCLUSIONS

In Taiwan, three-quarters of all orthopedic dislocations were of the upper limbs. The most common complex fracture-dislocation was of the knee, followed by the wrist and the ankle. Those usually needed a treatment combined with open reduction of fractures and resulted in a higher direct medical expenditure.

Estimated prevalence of orthopaedic fractures in Taiwan--A cross-sectional study based on nationwide insurance data

BACKGROUND

Injury is the most common diagnostic category in the emergency unit, but no survey of epidemiological data for trauma or orthopaedic fractures has been made to date in Taiwan. A nationwide study of orthopaedic injuries is therefore necessary and would be of benefit to the Taiwanese population.

METHODS

A qualified dataset, provided by a governmental authority, containing the original claims data of 1,000,000 randomly-sampled claimants from the year 2005 in Taiwan was analyzed, and a survey was made of 12 categories of orthopaedic fracture based on the ICD9-CM codes using two sets of data: inpatient data and ambulatory care data.

RESULTS

The prevalence of orthopaedic fractures in Taiwan was estimated to be 234.9 (95% CI: 226.8-235.0) per 10,000 for ambulatory visitors and 61.2 (95% CI: 59.7-62.7) per 10,000 for inpatients. After combining these two datasets, the overall prevalence of fractures of various bones were estimated to be as follows (per 10,000): clavicle or scapula, 16.8; humerus, 15.9; radius or ulna, 38.6; carpal, metacarpal or phalanges, 31.5; femoral neck, 17.4; femur, 13.5; patella, 6.1; tibia or fibula, 24.8; ankle, 13.1; tarsal, metatarsal or foot phalanges, 22.7; vertebrae, 42.4; and pelvis, 4.6. The estimated lifetime prevalence of any fracture was calculated at 23.4% for female and 15.8% for male Taiwanese aged 85 years.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of various orthopaedic fractures increases with age, and a higher prevalence of orthopaedic fractures but a lower admission rate were found in Taiwan in comparison with other countries. In addition, the estimated lifetime fracture rates for men and women were more equal and lower in Taiwan than in other countries.

Evaluation of an algorithm for estimating a patient's life threat risk from an ambulance call

Background

Utilizing a computer algorithm, information from calls to an ambulance service was used to calculate the risk of patients being in a life-threatening condition (life threat risk), at the time of the call. If the estimated life threat risk was higher than 10%, the probability that a patient faced a risk of dying was recognized as very high and categorized as category A+. The present study aimed to review the accuracy of the algorithm.

Methods

Data collected for six months from the Yokohama new emergency system was used. In the system, emergency call workers interviewed ambulance callers to obtain information necessary to assess triage, which included consciousness level, breathing status, walking ability, position, and complexion. An emergency patient's life threat risk was then estimated by a computer algorithm applying logistic models. This study compared the estimated life threat risk occurring at the time of the emergency call to the patients' state or severity of condition, i.e. death confirmed at the scene by ambulance crews, resulted in death at emergency departments, life-threatening condition with occurrence of cardiac and/or pulmonary arrest (CPA), life-threatening condition without CPA, serious but not life-threatening condition, moderate condition, and mild condition. The sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and likelihood ratios of the algorithm for categorizing A+ were calculated.

Results

The number of emergency dispatches over the six months was 73,992. Triage assessment was conducted for 68,692 of these calls. The study targets account for 88.8% of patients who were involved in triage calls. There were 2,349 cases where the patient had died or had suffered CPA. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio of the algorithm at predicting cases that would result in a death or CPA were 80.2% (95% confidence interval: 78.6% - 81.8%), 96.0% (95.8% - 96.1%), 42.6% (41.1% - 44.0%), 99.2% (99.2% - 99.3%), 19.9 (18.8 - 21.1), and 0.21 (0.19 - 0.22), respectively.

Conclusion

A patient's life threat risk was quantitatively assessed at the moment of the emergency call with a moderate level of accuracy.

Prevalence of associated injuries of spinal trauma and their effect on medical utilization among hospitalized adult subjects--a nationwide data-based study

BACKGROUND

This study was wanted to investigate the prevalence of concomitant injuries among hospitalized acute spinal trauma patients aged 20 and over and the effects of those injuries on medical utilization in Taiwan.

METHODS

Nationwide inpatient datasets of Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) database from between 2000 and 2003 were used. The major inclusion criteria used to select cases admitted due to acute spinal trauma were based on three diagnostic International Classification of Disease, 9th Version (ICD-9) codes items: (1) fracture of vertebral column without mention of spinal cord injury; (2) fracture of vertebral column with spinal cord injury; or (3) spinal cord lesion without evidence of spinal bone injury. To investigate the associated injuries among the eligible subjects, the concomitant ICD-9 diagnosis codes were evaluated and classified into six co-injury categories: (1) head trauma; (2) chest trauma; (3) abdominal trauma; (4) pelvic trauma; (5) upper extremities trauma; (6) lower extremities trauma.

RESULTS

There were 51,641 cases studied; 27.6% of these subjects suffered from neurological deficit, but only 17.3% underwent a surgical procedure for spinal injury. Among them, the prevalence of associated injuries were as follows: head trauma, 17.2%; chest injury, 2.9%; abdominal trauma, 1.5%; pelvic injury or fracture, 2.5%; upper limb fracture, 4.4%; lower limb fracture, 5.9%. The three major locations of acute spinal injury (cervical, thoracic, or lumbar spine) were found to be combined with unequal distributions of associated injuries. By stepwise multiple linear regression, gender, age, location of spinal injury, neurological deficit, surgical intervention and the six combined injuries were identified significantly as associated factors of the two kinds of medical utilization, length of stay (LOS) and direct medical cost. The combinations of acute spinal trauma with lower extremity injury, pelvic injury, chest injury, abdominal injury and upper extremity injury resulted in of the highest utilization of medical resources, the estimated additional LOS being between 4.3 and 1.2 days, and the extra medical cost calculated as being between $1,230 and $320.

CONCLUSION

The occurrence of associated Injuries among hospitalized acute spinal trauma patients in Taiwan is not uncommon, and results in an obvious effect on medical utilization.