The effect of emergency department crowding on clinically oriented outcomes

Low caregiver health literacy is associated with higher pediatric emergency department use and nonurgent visits

OBJECTIVE

We sought to determine the association between low caregiver health literacy and child emergency department (ED) use, both the number and urgency of ED visits.

METHODS

This year long cross-sectional study utilized the Newest Vital Sign questionnaire to measure the health literacy of caregivers accompanying children to a pediatric ED. Prior ED visits were extracted from a regional database. ED visit urgency was classified by resources utilized during the index ED visit. Regression analyses were used to model 2 outcomes-prior ED visits and ED visit urgency-stratified by chronic illness. Analyses were weighted by triage level.

RESULTS

Overall, 503 caregivers completed the study; 55% demonstrated low health literacy. Children of caregivers with low health literacy had more prior ED visits (adjusted incidence rate ratio 1.5; 95% confidence interval 1.2, 1.8) and increased odds of a nonurgent index ED visit (adjusted odds ratio 2.4; 95% confidence interval 1.3, 4.4). Among children without chronic illness, low caregiver health literacy was associated with an increased proportion of nonurgent index ED visits (48% vs. 22%; adjusted odds ratio 3.2; 1.8, 5.7).

CONCLUSIONS

Over half of caregivers presenting with their children to the ED have low health literacy. Low caregiver health literacy is an independent predictor of higher ED use and use of the ED for nonurgent conditions. In children without a chronic illness, low health literate caregivers had more than 3 times greater odds of presenting for a nonurgent condition than those with adequate health literacy.

A 2-Hour Accelerated Chest Pain Protocol to Assess Patients with Chest Pain Symptoms in an Accident and Emergency Department in Hong Kong

Background

The present study is a follow up analysis of ASPECT study. We aimed to prospectively validate a 2-hour accelerated chest pain protocol (ACPP) to assess patients presenting to emergency department with chest pain symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome.

Methods

This observational study was carried out between June 2009 and July 2010. Patients were included if they were older than 18 years old and presented with at least 5 minutes duration of chest pain. The ACPP included modified Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction score, electrocardiograph and point-of-care troponin I at presentation and 2-hour after. Primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac event (MACE) at 45-day of initial hospital attendance.

Results

A total of 384 Chinese patients were recruited and completed 45-day follow up. Forty-five (11.7%) had 45-d MACE. The ACPP identified 124 (32.3%) low risk patients who could be discharged early. No MACE occurred within 45 days among these patients, giving a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI 90-100), a negative predictive value of 100% (96-100), and a specificity of 36.6% (31.5-42).

Conclusions

The ACPP is able to identify very low risk chest pain patients who might be suitable for early discharge without increasing risk of developing MACE. The observation period can be shortened to 2-hour of ED presentation. The variables are objective and easily available. This 2-hour Hong Kong Chest Pain Rule is applicable to Chinese population and has the potential to change the current practice in Emergency Departments in Hong Kong and China. (Hong Kong j.emerg.med. 2013;20: 261-269)

The use of a kiosk-model bilingual self-triage system in the pediatric emergency department

BACKGROUND

Streamlining the triage process is the key in improving emergency department (ED) workflow. Our objective was to determine if parents of pediatric ED patients in, low-literacy, inner-city hospital, who used the audio-assisted bilingual (English/Spanish) self-triage kiosk, were able to enter their child's medical history data using a touch screen panel with greater speed and accuracy than routine nurse-initiated triage.

METHODS

Parent/child dyads visiting the pediatric ED for nonurgent conditions (February to April 2012) were randomized prospectively to self-triage kiosk group (n = 200) and standard nurse triage group (n = 200). Both groups underwent routine nurse-initiated triage that included verbal elicitation of basic medical history and manual entry into patients' electronic medical records.

RESULTS

The kiosk user was a parent in 88.5% of the cases, a patient (range, 11-17 years) in 9.5% of the cases, and a proxy user (sibling or friend) in 2% of the cases. Language choice for kiosk use was equally distributed (English vs Spanish, 50.5% vs 49.5%). The mean (SD) time to enter medical history data by the kiosk group was significantly shorter than the standard nurse triage group (94.38 [38.61] vs 126.72 [62.61] seconds; P < 0.001). Significant inverse relationship was observed between parent education level and kiosk usage time (r = -0.26; P < 0.001). The mean inaccuracies were significantly lower for kiosk group (P < 0.05) in areas of medical, medication and immunization histories, and total discrepancy score.

CONCLUSIONS

Kiosk triage enabled users to enter basic medical triage history data quickly and accurately in an ED setting with future potential for its wider use in improving ED workflow efficiency.

Traditional nurse triage vs physician telepresence in a pediatric ED

OBJECTIVES

The objective of the study is to compare traditional nurse triage (TNT) in a pediatric emergency department (PED) with physician telepresence (PTP).

METHODS

This is a prospective 2 × 2 crossover study with random assignment using a sample of walk-in patients seeking care in a PED at a large, tertiary care children's hospital, from May 2012 to January 2013. Outcomes of triage times, documentation errors, triage scores, and survey responses were compared between TNT and PTP. Comparison between PTP to actual treating PED physicians regarding the accuracy of ordering blood and urine tests, throat cultures, and radiologic imaging was also studied.

RESULTS

Paired samples t tests showed a statistically significant difference in triage time between TNT and PTP (P = .03) but no significant difference in documentation errors (P = .10). Triage scores of TNT were 71% accurate, compared with PTP, which were 95% accurate. Both parents and children had favorable scores regarding PTP, and most indicated that they would prefer PTP again at their next PED visit. Physician telepresence diagnostic ordering was comparable with the actual PED physician ordering, showing no statistical differences.

CONCLUSIONS

Using PTP technology to remotely perform triage is a feasible alternative to traditional nurse triage, with no clinically significant differences in time, triage scores, errors, and patient and parent satisfaction.

The relationship between emergency department crowding and patient outcomes: a systematic review

PURPOSE

Emergency department (ED) crowding is a significant patient safety concern associated with poor quality of care. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the relationship between ED crowding and patient outcomes.

DESIGN

We searched the Medline search engine and relevant emergency medicine and nursing journals for studies published in the past decade that pertained to ED crowding and the following patient outcome measures: mortality, morbidity, patient satisfaction, and leaving the ED without being seen. All articles were appraised for study quality.

FINDINGS

A total of 196 abstracts were screened and 11 articles met inclusion criteria. Three of the eleven studies reported a significant positive relationship between ED crowding and mortality either among patients admitted to the hospital or discharged home. Five studies reported that ED crowding is associated with higher rates of patients leaving the ED without being seen. Measures of ED crowding varied across studies.

CONCLUSIONS

ED crowding is a major patient safety concern associated with poor patient outcomes. Interventions and policies are needed to address this significant problem.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

This review details the negative patient outcomes associated with ED crowding. Study results are relevant to medical professionals and those that seek care in the ED.

Detecting and diagnosing hotspots for the enhanced management of hospital Emergency Departments in Queensland, Australia

BACKGROUND

Predictive tools are already being implemented to assist in Emergency Department bed management by forecasting the expected total volume of patients. Yet these tools are unable to detect and diagnose when estimates fall short. Early detection of hotspots, that is subpopulations of patients presenting in unusually high numbers, would help authorities to manage limited health resources and communicate effectively about emerging risks. We evaluate an anomaly detection tool that signals when, and in what way Emergency Departments in 18 hospitals across the state of Queensland, Australia, are significantly exceeding their forecasted patient volumes.

METHODS

The tool in question is an adaptation of the Surveillance Tree methodology initially proposed in Sparks and Okugami (IntStatl 1:2-24, 2010). for the monitoring of vehicle crashes. The methodology was trained on presentations to 18 Emergency Departments across Queensland over the period 2006 to 2008. Artificial increases were added to simulated, in-control counts for these data to evaluate the tool's sensitivity, timeliness and diagnostic capability. The results were compared with those from a univariate control chart. The tool was then applied to data from 2009, the year of the H1N1 (or 'Swine Flu') pandemic.

RESULTS

The Surveillance Tree method was found to be at least as effective as a univariate, exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control chart when increases occurred in a subgroup of the monitored population. The method has advantages over the univariate control chart in that it allows for the monitoring of multiple disease groups while still allowing control of the overall false alarm rate. It is also able to detect changes in the makeup of the Emergency Department presentations, even when the total count remains unchanged. Furthermore, the Surveillance Tree method provides diagnostic information useful for service improvements or disease management.

CONCLUSIONS

Multivariate surveillance provides a useful tool in the management of hospital Emergency Departments by not only efficiently detecting unusually high numbers of presentations, but by providing information about which groups of patients are causing the increase.

Implementing wait-time reductions under Ontario government benchmarks (Pay-for-Results): a Cluster Randomized Trial of the Effect of a Physician-Nurse Supplementary Triage Assistance team (MDRNSTAT) on emergency department patient wait times

Background

Internationally, emergency departments are struggling with crowding and its associated morbidity, mortality, and decreased patient and health-care worker satisfaction. The objective was to evaluate the addition of a MDRNSTAT (Physician (MD)-Nurse (RN) Supplementary Team At Triage) on emergency department patient flow and quality of care.

Methods

Pragmatic cluster randomized trial. From 131 weekday shifts (8:00–14:30) during a 26-week period, we randomized 65 days (3173 visits) to the intervention cluster with a MDRNSTAT presence, and 66 days (3163 visits) to the nurse-only triage control cluster. The primary outcome was emergency department length-of-stay (EDLOS) for patients managed and discharged only by the emergency department. Secondary outcomes included EDLOS for patients initially seen by the emergency department, and subsequently consulted and admitted, patients reaching government-mandated thresholds, time to initial physician assessment, left-without being seen rate, time to investigation, and measurement of harm.

Results

The intervention’s median EDLOS for discharged, non-consulted, high acuity patients was 4:05 [95^th% CI: 3:58 to 4:15] versus 4:29 [95^th% CI: 4:19–4:38] during comparator shifts. The intervention’s median EDLOS for discharged, non-consulted, low acuity patients was 1:55 [95^th% CI: 1:48 to 2:05] versus 2:08 [95^th% CI: 2:02–2:14]. The intervention’s median physician initial assessment time was 0:55 [95^th% CI: 0:53 to 0:58] versus 1:21 [95^th% CI: 1:18 to 1:25]. The intervention’s left-without-being-seen rate was 1.5% versus 2.2% for the control (p = 0.06). The MDRNSTAT subgroup analysis resulted in significant decreases in median EDLOS for discharged, non-consulted high (4:01 [95^th% CI: 3:43–4:16]) and low acuity patients (1:10 95^th% CI: 0:58–1:19]), as well as physician initial assessment time (0:25 [95^th% CI: 0:23–0:26]). No patients returned to the emergency department after being discharged by the MDRNSTAT at triage.

Conclusions

The intervention reduced delays and left-without-being-seen rate without increased return visits or jeopardizing urgent care of severely ill patients.

Trial registration number

NCT00991471 ClinicalTrials.gov

Decreasing length of stay in the emergency department with a split emergency severity index 3 patient flow model

OBJECTIVES

There has been a steady increase in emergency department (ED) patient volume and wait times. The desire to maintain or decrease costs while improving throughput requires novel approaches to patient flow. The break-out session "Interventions to Improve the Timeliness of Emergency Care" at the June 2011 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference "Interventions to Assure Quality in the Crowded Emergency Department" posed the challenge for more research of the split Emergency Severity Index (ESI) 3 patient flow model. A split ESI 3 patient flow model divides high-variability ESI 3 patients from low-variability ESI 3 patients. The study objective was to determine the effect of implementing a split ESI 3 flow model has on patient length of stay (LOS) for discharged patients.

METHODS

This was a retrospective chart review at an urban academic ED seeing over 70,000 adult patients a year. Cases consisted of adults who presented from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. from June 1, 2011, to December 31, 2011, and were discharged. Controls were patients who presented on the same times and days, but in 2010. Visit descriptors included age, race, sex, ESI score, and first diagnosis. The first diagnosis was coded based on methods used by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to codify International Classification of Diseases, ninth version, into disease groups. Linear models compared log-transformed LOS for cases and controls. A front-end ED redesign involved creating guidelines to split ESI 3 patients into low and high variability, a hybrid sort/triage registered nurse, an intake area consisting of an internal results waiting room, and a treatment area for patients after initial assessment. The previous low-acuity area (ESI 4s and 5s) began to see low-variability ESI 3 patients as well. This was done without additional beds. The intake area was staffed with an attending emergency physician (EP), a physician assistant (PA), three nurses, two medical technicians, and a scribe.

RESULTS

There was a 5.9% decrease, from 2.58 to 2.43 hours, in the geometric mean of LOS for discharged patients from 2010 to 2011 (95% confidence interval CI = 4.5% to 7.2%; 2010, n = 20,215; 2011, n = 20,653). Abdominal pain was the most common diagnostic grouping (2010, n = 2,484; 2011, n = 2,464) with a reduction in LOS of 12.9%, from 4.37 to 3.8 hours (95% CI = 10.3% to 15.3%).

CONCLUSIONS

A split ESI 3 patient flow model improves door-to-discharge LOS in the ED.

The 'who are all these people?' study

BACKGROUND

Overcrowding of emergency departments (EDs) adversely affects the delivery of emergency care and results in increased patient mortality.

OBJECTIVE AND METHODS

To examine what contributes to the ED crowd and to specifically examine the patient associated population. The ED in which the research was performed is consistently one of the most overcrowded in Ireland.

RESULTS

On average 66.7% of the patients in the ED during the study period were boarded awaiting a hospital bed following full processing by the ED staff and agreement by the on-call team that admission was required. The most overcrowded part of the department was the majors area. In this area 55.5% of those present were patients, visitors accounted for 16.6% of occupants, nursing staff 11%, on-call teams 7% and the ED doctors 6.3%.

CONCLUSIONS

Knowing who the people in the crowd are helps to guide management decisions about how the crowd might be reduced. Our department now has a strict accompanying person/visitor policy that limits the number of visitors to patients and limits visiting times for those relatives with a patient who is experiencing a prolonged stay in the ED.

Further characterization of the influence of crowding on medication errors

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Our prior analysis suggested that error frequency increases disproportionately with Emergency department (ED) crowding. To further characterize, we measured this association while controlling for the number of charts reviewed and the presence of ambulance diversion status. We hypothesized that errors would occur significantly more frequently as crowding increased, even after controlling for higher patient volumes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We performed a prospective, observational study in a large, community hospital ED from May to October of 2009. Our ED has full-time pharmacists who review orders of patients to help identify errors prior to their causing harm. Research volunteers shadowed our ED pharmacists over discrete 4- hour time periods during their reviews of orders on patients in the ED. The total numbers of charts reviewed and errors identified were documented along with details for each error type, severity, and category. We then measured the correlation between error rate (number of errors divided by total number of charts reviewed) and ED occupancy rate while controlling for diversion status during the observational period. We estimated a sample size requirement of at least 45 errors identified to allow detection of an effect size of 0.6 based on our historical data.

RESULTS

During 324 hours of surveillance, 1171 charts were reviewed and 87 errors were identified. Median error rate per 4-hour block was 5.8% of charts reviewed (IQR 0-13). No significant change was seen with ED occupancy rate (Spearman's rho = -.08, P = .49). Median error rate during times on ambulance diversion was almost twice as large (11%, IQR 0-17), but this rate did not reach statistical significance in univariate or multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

Error frequency appears to remain relatively constant across the range of crowding in our ED when controlling for patient volume via the quantity of orders reviewed. Error quantity therefore increases with crowding, but not at a rate greater than the expected baseline error rate that occurs in uncrowded conditions. These findings suggest that crowding will increase error quantity in a linear fashion.

Emergency department crowding and younger age are associated with delayed corticosteroid administration to children with acute asthma

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to identify factors associated with delayed or omission of indicated steroids for children seen in the emergency department (ED) for moderate-to-severe asthma exacerbation.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study of pediatric (age ≤ 21 years) patients treated in a general academic ED from January 2006 to September 2011 with a primary diagnosis of asthma (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision code 493.xx) and moderate-to-severe exacerbations. A moderate-to-severe exacerbation was defined as requiring 2 or more (or continuous) bronchodilators. We determined the proportion of visits in which steroids were inappropriately omitted or delayed (>1 hour from arrival). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify patient, physician, and system factors associated with delayed or omitted steroids.

RESULTS

Of 1333 pediatric asthma ED visits, 817 were for moderate-to-severe exacerbation; 645 (79%) received steroids. Patients younger than 6 years (odds ratio [OR], 2.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19-4.24), requiring more bronchodilators (OR, 2.82; 95% CI, 2.10-3.79), initially hypoxic (OR, 2.78; 95% CI, 1.33-5.83), or tachypneic (OR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.05-2.20) were more likely to receive steroids. Median time to steroid administration was 108 minutes (interquartile range, 65-164 minutes). Steroid administration was delayed in 502 visits (78%). Patients with hypoxia (OR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.11-3.27) or tachypnea (OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.17-2.84) were more likely to receive steroids 1 hour or less of arrival, whereas children younger than 2 years (OR, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.07-0.35) and those arriving during periods of higher ED volume (OR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.67-0.94) were less likely to receive timely steroids.

CONCLUSIONS

In this ED, steroids were underprescribed and frequently delayed for pediatric ED patients with moderate-to-severe asthma exacerbation. Greater ED volume and younger age are associated with delays. Interventions are needed to expedite steroid administration, improving adherence to National Institutes of Health asthma guidelines.

Emergency department conditions associated with the number of patients who leave a pediatric emergency department before physician assessment

OBJECTIVES

As emergency department (ED) waiting times and volumes increase, substantial numbers of patients leave without being seen (LWBS) by a physician. The objective of this study was to identify ED conditions reflecting patient input, throughput, and output associated with the number of patients who LWBS in a pediatric setting.

METHODS

This study was a retrospective, descriptive study using data from 1 urban, tertiary care pediatric ED. The study population consisted of all patient visits to the ED from April 2005 to March 2007. Multivariate Poisson regression analyses were used to examine the impact of the timing of patient arrival and ED conditions including patient acuity, volume, and waiting times on the number of patients who LWBS.

RESULTS

During the study period, there were 138,361 patient visits corresponding to 2190 consecutive shifts; 11,055 patients (8%) left without being seen by a physician.In the multivariate analysis, the throughput variables, time from triage to physician assessment (rate ratio, 2.11; 95% confidence interval, 2.01-2.21), and time from registration to triage (rate ratio, 1.55; 95% confidence interval, 1.25-1.90) had the largest association with the number of patients who LWBS.

CONCLUSIONS

In the study ED, throughput variables played a more important role than input or output variables on the number of patients who LWBS. This finding, which contrasts with a work done previously in an ED serving primarily adults, highlights the importance of pediatric specific research on the impacts of increasing ED waiting times and volumes.

Patients overwhelmingly prefer inpatient boarding to emergency department boarding

BACKGROUND

Boarding of admitted patients in the emergency department (ED) is a major cause of crowding. One alternative to boarding in the ED, a full-capacity protocol where boarded patients are redeployed to inpatient units, can reduce crowding and improve overall flow.

OBJECTIVE

Our aim was to compare patient satisfaction with boarding in the ED vs. inpatient hallways.

METHODS

We performed a structured telephone survey regarding patient experiences and preferences for boarding among admitted ED patients who experienced boarding in the ED hallway and then were subsequently transferred to inpatient hallways. Demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as patient preferences, including items related to patient comfort and safety using a 5-point scale, were recorded and descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data.

RESULTS

Of 110 patients contacted, 105 consented to participate. Mean age was 57 ± 16 years and 52% were female. All patients were initially boarded in the ED in a hallway before their transfer to an inpatient hallway bed. The overall preferred location after admission was the inpatient hallway in 85% (95% confidence interval 75-90) of respondents. In comparing ED vs. inpatient hallway boarding, the following percentages of respondents preferred inpatient boarding with regard to the following 8 items: rest, 85%; safety, 83%; confidentiality, 82%; treatment, 78%; comfort, 79%; quiet, 84%; staff availability, 84%; and privacy, 84%. For no item was there a preference for boarding in the ED.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients overwhelmingly preferred the inpatient hallway rather than the ED hallway when admitted to the hospital.

The potential lost hospital income from miscoded emergency department boarders in Ireland

BACKGROUND

Emergency department (ED) boarders, namely patients who have been admitted under an in-patient service but remain on a trolley in the ED, have long been a problem in the Irish healthcare system.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective analysis of all ED boarders in Cork University Hospital (CUH) for a 6-month period from January to July 2011. Data were obtained from the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry Office (HIPE). The income generated by the hospital for a subset of these patients (January and February attendances) was obtained from the Finance Office in the hospital, based on diagnoses as recorded on the HIPE system. A convenience sample of two-thirds of the 39 acute hospitals nationally was surveyed to ascertain whether ED boarders were coded by individual HIPE offices as hospital in-patients or as ED attendees.

RESULTS

A total of 806 patients were admitted to an in-patient service from January to July 2011 in CUH and subsequently discharged, having completed their entire stay in the ED. The income generated by a sub-sample of 228 patients (January and February ED boarders) was determined. The hospital was remunerated by <euro>685,111 for these patients, i.e. an average income of <euro>3,098 per patient. Only 8 hospitals of the 27 surveyed hospitals coded overnight ED Boarders as in-patients and were thus able to request income for these patients appropriately.

CONCLUSION

Discrepancies in coding of ED boarders may result in significant revenue losses for certain hospitals.

State of Emergency Medicine in Switzerland: a national profile of emergency departments in 2006

Background

Emergency departments (EDs) are an essential component of any developed health care system. There is, however, no national description of EDs in Switzerland. Our objective was to establish the number and location of EDs, patient visits and flow, medical staff and organization, and capabilities in 2006, as a benchmark before emergency medicine became a subspecialty in Switzerland.

Methods

In 2007, we started to create an inventory of all hospital-based EDs with a preliminary list from the Swiss Society of Emergency and Rescue Medicine that was improved with input from ED physicians nationwide. EDs were eligible if they offered acute care 24 h per day, 7 days per week. Our goal was to have 2006 data from at least 80% of all EDs. The survey was initiated in 2007 and the 80% threshold reached in 2012.

Results

In 2006, Switzerland had a total of 138 hospital-based EDs. The number of ED visits was 1.475 million visits or 20 visits per 100 inhabitants. The median number of visits was 8,806 per year; 25% of EDs admitted 5,000 patients or less, 31% 5,001-10,000 patients, 26% 10,001-20,000 patients, and 17% >20,000 patients per year. Crowding was reported by 84% of EDs with >20,000 visits/year. Residents with limited experience provided care for 77% of visits. Imaging was not immediately available for all patients: standard X-ray within 15 min (70%), non-contrast head CT scan within 15 min (38%), and focused sonography for trauma (70%); 67% of EDs had an intensive care unit within the hospital, and 87% had an operating room always available.

Conclusions

Swiss EDs were significant providers of health care in 2006. Crowding, physicians with limited experience, and the heterogeneity of emergency care capabilities were likely threats to the ubiquitous and consistent delivery of quality emergency care, particularly for time-sensitive conditions. Our survey establishes a benchmark to better understand future improvements in Swiss emergency care.

Prolonged emergency department length of stay is not associated with worse outcomes in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage

BACKGROUND

Prolonged emergency department length of stay (EDLOS) has been associated with worse patient outcomes, longer inpatient stays, and failure to meet quality measures in several acute medical conditions, but these findings have not been consistently reproduced. We performed this study to explore the hypothesis that longer EDLOS would be associated with worse outcomes in a large cohort of patients presenting with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

METHODS

We performed a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort of consecutive patients with spontaneous ICH who presented to a single academic referral center from February 2005 to October 2009. The primary exposure variable was EDLOS, and our primary outcome was neurologic status at hospital discharge, measured with a modified Rankin scale (mRS). Secondary outcomes were ICU length of stay, total hospital length of stay, and total hospital costs.

RESULTS

Our cohort included 616 visits of which 42 were excluded, leaving 574 patient encounters for analysis. Median age was 75 years (IQR 63-82), median EDLOS 5.1 h (IQR 3.7-7.1) and median discharge mRS 4 (IQR 3-6). Thirty percent of the subjects died in-hospital. Multivariable proportional odds logistic regression, controlling for age, initial Glasgow Coma Scale, initial hematoma volume, ED occupancy at registration, and the need for intubation or surgical intervention, demonstrated no association between EDLOS and outcome. Furthermore, multivariable analysis revealed no association of increased EDLOS with ICU or hospital length of stay or hospital costs.

CONCLUSION

We found no effect of EDLOS on neurologic outcome or resource utilization for patients presenting with spontaneous ICH.

National growth in intensive care unit admissions from emergency departments in the United States from 2002 to 2009

OBJECTIVES

The authors describe national trends in use, reasons for visit, most common diagnoses, and resource utilization in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) from hospital-based emergency departments (EDs) in the United States.

METHODS

This was an observational study using data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Care Survey, a nationally representative, weighted sample of U.S. hospital-based EDs from 2002 through 2009. The sample comprised a total of 4,267 patients aged 18 years or older admitted to the ICU from the ED, which represent over 14.5 million ED encounters from 2002 through 2009.

RESULTS

Over the study period, ICU admissions from EDs increased from 2.79 million in 2002/2003, to 4.14 million in 2008/2009, an absolute increase of 48.8% and a mean biennial increase of 14.2%. By comparison, overall ED visits increased a mean of 5.8% per biennial period. The three most common diagnoses for ICU admissions were unspecified chest pain, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia. Utilization rates of most tests and services delivered to patients admitted to the ICU from the ED increased, with the largest increase occurring in computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which increased from 16.8% in 2002/2003 to 37.4% in 2008/2009, a 6.9% mean biennial increase. Across all years, mean ED length of stay (LOS) for ICU admissions was 304 minutes (95% confidence interval [CI] = 286 to 323 minutes), and mean hospital LOS was 6.6 days (95% CI = 6.2 to 7.0 days). There was no significant change in either mean ED or hospital LOS over the study period.

CONCLUSIONS

Intensive care unit admissions from EDs are increasing at a greater rate than both population growth and overall ED visits. ED resource use, specifically advanced diagnostic imaging, has increased markedly among ICU admissions. While mean ED and hospital LOS have not changed significantly, the mean ICU admission spends over 5 hours in the ED prior to transfer to an ICU bed. A greater emphasis on the ED-ICU interface and critical care delivered in the ED may be warranted.

Comparison between emergency department and inpatient nurses' perceptions of boarding of admitted patients

Introduction:

The boarding of admitted patients in the emergency department (ED) is a major cause of crowding and access block. One solution is boarding admitted patients in inpatient ward (W) hallways. This study queried and compared ED and W nurses’ opinions toward ED and W boarding. It also assessed their preferred boarding location if they were patients.

Methods:

A survey administered to a convenience sample of ED and W nurses was performed in a 631-bed academic medical center (30,000 admissions/year) with a 68-bed ED (70,000 visits/ year). We identified nurses as ED or W, and if W, whether they had previously worked in the ED. The nurses were asked if there were any circumstances where admitted patients should be boarded in ED or W hallways. They were also asked their preferred location if they were admitted as a patient. Six clinical scenarios were then presented, and the nurses’ opinions on boarding based on each scenario were queried.

Results:

Ninety nurses completed the survey, with a response rate of 60%; 35 (39%) were current ED nurses (cED), 40 (44%) had previously worked in the ED (pED). For all nurses surveyed 46 (52%) believed admitted patients should board in the ED. Overall, 52 (58%) were opposed to W boarding, with 20% of cED versus 83% of current W (cW) nurses (P < 0.0001), and 28% of pED versus 85% of nurses never having worked in the ED (nED) were opposed (P < 0.001). If admitted as patients themselves, 43 (54%) of all nurses preferred W boarding, with 82% of cED versus 33% of cW nurses (P < 0.0001) and 74% of pED versus 34% nED nurses (P = 0.0007). The most commonly cited reasons for opposition to hallway boarding were lack of monitoring and patient privacy. For the 6 clinical scenarios, significant differences in opinion regarding W boarding existed in all but 2 cases: a patient with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease but requiring oxygen, and an intubated, unstable sepsis patient.

Conclusion:

Inpatient nurses and those who have never worked in the ED are more opposed to inpatient boarding than ED nurses and nurses who have worked previously in the ED. Primary nursing concerns about boarding are lack of monitoring and privacy in hallway beds. Nurses admitted as patients seemed to prefer not being boarded where they work. ED and inpatient nurses seemed to agree that unstable or potentially unstable patients should remain in the ED but disagreed on where more stable patients should board.

Patients' experience and satisfaction with GP led walk-in centres in the UK; a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND

GP led walk-in centres were established in the UK in 2009. Around 150 such clinics were initially planned to open. Their purpose is to provide a primary health care service to complement the urgent care services provided by Emergency Departments (ED), to reduce unnecessary patient attendance at ED, and to increase accessibility of health care services. The objectives of this study were to determine patient satisfaction and experiences with GP led walk-in centres in the UK.

METHODS

A survey was conducted in two GP led walk-in centres in the North of England over three weeks during September and October 2011. A self reported, validated questionnaire was used to survey patients presenting at these centres. A short post visit questionnaire was also sent to those who agreed. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from an NHS ethical review committee.

RESULTS

Based on a sample of 1030 survey participants (Centre A = 501; Centre B = 529), we found that 93% of patients were either highly or fairly satisfied with the service at centre A and 86% at centre B. The difference between centres was due to the longer reported waiting times which were seen in centre B. There was no difference in satisfaction between first time users and repeat users (P value = 0.8). Roughly 50% (n = 507) of patients reported that their reason for using the walk-in centre was having GP access without an appointment, and 9% (n = 87) reported that their GP surgery was closed. A further 20% of patients (n = 205) reported that they were not able to see their own GP because of their working hours.In the post visit survey (n = 258), nearly all patients reported complying with the advice given (around 90% at both study centres), and most of the patients (86%) reported their problem had resolved a few days later. In addition, 56% of patients at centre B and 58% at centre A reported that they had also visited another NHS service for the same problem, mostly their own GP (66%).

CONCLUSIONS

The GP led walk-in centres increased access to GP care and most of the patients were satisfied with the service.

Interventions to mitigate emergency department and hospital crowding during an infectious respiratory disease outbreak: results from an expert panel

OBJECTIVE

To identify and prioritize potential Emergency Department (ED) and hospital-based interventions which could mitigate the impact of crowding during patient surge from a widespread infectious respiratory disease outbreak and determine potential data sources that may be useful for triggering decisions to implement these high priority interventions.

DESIGN

Expert panel utilizing Nominal Group Technique to identify and prioritize interventions, and in addition, determine appropriate "triggers" for implementation of the high priority interventions in the context of four different infectious respiratory disease scenarios that vary by patient volumes (high versus low) and illness severity (high versus low).

SETTING

One day in-person conference held November, 2011.

PARTICIPANTS

Regional and national experts representing the fields of public health, disease surveillance, clinical medicine, ED operations, and hospital operations.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Prioritized list of potential interventions to reduce ED and hospital crowding, respectively. In addition, we created a prioritized list of potential data sources which could be useful to trigger interventions.

RESULTS

High priority interventions to mitigate ED surge included standardizing admission and discharge criteria and instituting infection control measures. To mitigate hospital crowding, panelists prioritized mandatory vaccination and an algorithm for antiviral use. Data sources identified for triggering implementation of these interventions were most commonly ED and hospital utilization metrics.

CONCLUSIONS

We developed a prioritized list of potentially useful interventions to mitigate ED and hospital crowding in various outbreak scenarios. The data sources identified to "trigger" the implementation of these high priority interventions consist mainly of sources available at the local, institutional level.

Impact of seasonal and pandemic influenza on emergency department visits, 2003-2010, Ontario, Canada

Objectives

Weekly influenza-like illness (ILI) consultation rates are an integral part of influenza surveillance. However, in most health care settings, only a small proportion of true influenza cases are clinically diagnosed as influenza or ILI. The primary objective of this study was to estimate the number and rate of visits to the emergency department (ED) that are attributable to seasonal and pandemic influenza and to describe the effect of influenza on the ED by age, diagnostic categories, and visit disposition. A secondary objective was to assess the weekly “real-time” time series of ILI ED visits as an indicator of the full burden due to influenza.

Methods

The authors performed an ecologic analysis of ED records extracted from the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NARCS) database for the province of Ontario, Canada, from September 2003 to March 2010 and stratified by diagnostic characteristics (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision [ICD-10]), age, and visit disposition. A regression model was used to estimate the seasonal baseline. The weekly number of influenza-attributable ED visits was calculated as the difference between the weekly number of visits predicted by the statistical model and the estimated baseline.

Results

The estimated rate of ED visits attributable to influenza was elevated during the H1N1/2009 pandemic period at 1,000 per 100,000 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 920 to 1,100) population compared to an average annual rate of 500 per 100,000 (95% CI = 450 to 550) for seasonal influenza. ILI or influenza was clinically diagnosed in one of 2.6 (38%) and one of 14 (7%) of these visits, respectively. While the ILI or clinical influenza diagnosis was the diagnosis most specific to influenza, only 87% and 58% of the clinically diagnosed ILI or influenza visits for pandemic and seasonal influenza, respectively, were likely directly due to an influenza infection. Rates for ILI ED visits were highest for younger age groups, while the likelihood of admission to hospital was highest in older persons. During periods of seasonal influenza activity, there was a significant increase in the number of persons who registered with nonrespiratory complaints, but left without being seen. This effect was more pronounced during the 2009 pandemic. The ratio of influenza-attributed respiratory visits to influenza-attributed ILI visits varied from 2.4:1 for the fall H1N1/2009 wave to 9:1 for the 2003/04 influenza A(H3N2) season and 28:1 for the 2007/08 H1N1 season.

Conclusions

Influenza appears to have had a much larger effect on ED visits than was captured by clinical diagnoses of influenza or ILI. Throughout the study period, ILI ED visits were strongly associated with excess respiratory complaints. However, the relationship between ILI ED visits and the estimated effect of influenza on ED visits was not consistent enough from year to year to predict the effect of influenza on the ED or downstream in-hospital resource requirements.

High-frequency users of emergency department care

BACKGROUND

The heterogeneous group of patients who frequently use the Emergency Department (ED) have been of interest in public health care reform debate, but little is known about the subgroup of the highest frequency users.

STUDY OBJECTIVES

We sought to describe the demographic and utilization characteristics of patients who visit the ED 20 or more times per year.

METHODS

We retrospectively studied patients who visited a large, urban ED over a 1-year period, identifying all patients using the department 20 or more times. Age, gender, insurance, psychosocial factors, chief complaint, and visit disposition were described for all visits. Inferential tests assessed associations between demographic variables, insurance status, and admission rates.

RESULTS

Of the 59,172 unique patients to visit the ED between December 1, 2009 and November 30, 2010, 31 patients were identified as high-frequency ED users, contributing 1.1% of all visits. Patients were more likely to be 30-59 years of age (52%), stably insured (81%), and have at least one significant psychosocial cofactor (65%). Their admission rate was 15%, as compared to 21% for all other patients.

CONCLUSIONS

High-frequency users are patients with significant psychiatric and social comorbidities. Given their small proportion of visits, lower admission rates, and favorable insurance status, the impact of high-frequency users of the ED may be out of proportion to common perceptions.

Conducting Evaluation Research in the Clinical Setting

Unexpected, yet intriguing, artifacts were unearthed while working with clinician-researchers to examine the potential benefits of an interprofessional-interdepartmental intervention introduced at a local hospital. This brief commentary is a reflection on those specific issues. The phrase “Know before You Dig” should be taken as an advisement to those interested in expanding their social research into the clinical setting to not only engage in preliminary field work (i.e. observations or semi-structured interviews) before embarking on the full thrust of data gathering, but also to consult with those on their research team that are familiar with or active in the field before actually entering that field. Although primarily aimed towards green medical sociologists and interested clinician-researchers, this commentary may speak to various types of social science scholars involved in research in and of the clinical health arena.

Influenza forecasting with Google Flu Trends

BACKGROUND

We developed a practical influenza forecast model based on real-time, geographically focused, and easy to access data, designed to provide individual medical centers with advanced warning of the expected number of influenza cases, thus allowing for sufficient time to implement interventions. Secondly, we evaluated the effects of incorporating a real-time influenza surveillance system, Google Flu Trends, and meteorological and temporal information on forecast accuracy.

METHODS

Forecast models designed to predict one week in advance were developed from weekly counts of confirmed influenza cases over seven seasons (2004-2011) divided into seven training and out-of-sample verification sets. Forecasting procedures using classical Box-Jenkins, generalized linear models (GLM), and generalized linear autoregressive moving average (GARMA) methods were employed to develop the final model and assess the relative contribution of external variables such as, Google Flu Trends, meteorological data, and temporal information.

RESULTS

A GARMA(3,0) forecast model with Negative Binomial distribution integrating Google Flu Trends information provided the most accurate influenza case predictions. The model, on the average, predicts weekly influenza cases during 7 out-of-sample outbreaks within 7 cases for 83% of estimates. Google Flu Trend data was the only source of external information to provide statistically significant forecast improvements over the base model in four of the seven out-of-sample verification sets. Overall, the p-value of adding this external information to the model is 0.0005. The other exogenous variables did not yield a statistically significant improvement in any of the verification sets.

CONCLUSIONS

Integer-valued autoregression of influenza cases provides a strong base forecast model, which is enhanced by the addition of Google Flu Trends confirming the predictive capabilities of search query based syndromic surveillance. This accessible and flexible forecast model can be used by individual medical centers to provide advanced warning of future influenza cases.

Development and Validation of Models to Predict Hospital Admission for Emergency Department Patients

Background: Boarding, or patients waiting to be admitted to hospital, has been shown as a significant contributing factor at overcrowding in emergency departments (ED). Predicting hospital admission at triage has been proposed as having the potential to help alleviate ED overcrowding. The objective of this paper is to develop and validate a model to predict hospital admission at triage to help alleviate ED overcrowding. Methods: Administrative records between April 1, 2010 and November 31, 2010 in an adult ED were used to derive and validate two prediction models, one based on Coxian phase type distribution (the PH model), the other based on logistic regression. Separate data sets were used for model development (data between April 1, 2010 and July 31, 2010) and validation (data between August 1, 2010 and November 31, 2010). Results: There were a total of 14,542 ED visits and 2,602 (17.89%) hospital admissions in the derivation cohort. In both models, acuity levels, model of arrival, and main reason of the visit are strong predictors of hospital admission; number of patients at the ED, as well as gender, are also predictors, albeit with ORs closer to 1. Patient age and timing of visits are not strong predictors. The PH model has an AUC of 0.89 compared with AUC of 0.83 for logistic regression model; with a cut- off value of 0.50, the PH model correctly predicted 86.3% of visits, compared to 84.4% for the logistic regression model. Results of the validation cohort were similar: the PH model has an AUC of 0.88, compared to AUC of 0.83 for the logistic model. Conclusions: PH and logistic models can be used to provide reasonably accurate prediction of hospital admission for ED patients, with the PH model offering more accurate predictions

Improved physician consult response times in an academic Emergency Department after implementation of an institutional guideline

BACKGROUND

Physician consultation in the Emergency Department (ED) can account for a significant portion of ED length of stay, which can lead to poor clinical outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine whether an institutional guideline could lead to a reduction in time between consult request and admission decision. This guideline codified a 90-min expected time interval to arrive and complete an admission disposition where the consulting and admitting service were the same in an academic ED with weekly audits and reports to departmental chairs and hospital administrators.

METHODS

This was a study of consultation times of patients who presented to an academic ED 6 months before the adoption of an institutional guideline and 6 months after the adoption of the guideline. Data measurement in both periods included the length of time from ED consult order to admission disposition, time of ED discharge, number of ED consultations (single and multiple), ED admissions, and the hospital discharge time of admitted patients.

RESULTS

Physician consult response time decreased from 121 min to 100 min (p < 0.0001), and patients left the ED 18 min earlier (p = 0.0221) after implementation of the consultation guideline despite more ED visits, consultations, and admissions in the post-implementation time period. Patients were discharged from the inpatient setting 50 min later (p < 0.0001) after implementation of the guideline.

CONCLUSION

An institutional guideline codifying timely ED consultations led to a significant reduction in the time from ED consultation to admission disposition while also allowing patients to leave the ED earlier in a high-occupancy academic medical center. However, the discharge time of admitted hospital patients was later after implementation of the guideline.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of peer pressure to change disposition decisions and patient throughput by emergency physician

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to develop a strategy for imposing peer pressure on emergency physicians to discharge patients and to evaluate patient throughput before and after intervention.

METHODS

A before-and-after study was conducted in a medical center with more than 120 000 annual emergency department (ED) visits. All nontraumatic adult patients who presented to the ED between 7:30 and 11:30 am Wednesday to Sunday were reviewed. We created a "team norm" imposed peer-pressure effect by announcing the patient discharge rate of each emergency physician through monthly e-mail reminders. Emergency department length of stay (LOS) and 8-hour (the end of shift) and final disposition of patients before (June 1, 2011-September 30, 2011) and after (October 1, 2011-January 30, 2012) intervention were compared.

RESULTS

Patients enrolled before and after intervention totaled 3305 and 2945. No differences existed for age, sex, or average number of patient visits per shift. The 8-hour discharge rate increased significantly for all patients (53.5% vs 48.2%, P < .001), particularly for triage level III patients (odds ratio, 1.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-1.38) after intervention and without corresponding differences in the final disposition (P = .165) or admission rate (33.7% vs 31.6%, P = .079). Patients with a final discharge disposition had a shorter LOS (median, 140.4 min vs 158.3 min; P < .001) after intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

The intervention strategy used peer pressure to enhance patient flow and throughput. More patients were discharged at the end of shifts, particularly triage level III patients. The ED LOS for patients whose final disposition was discharge decreased significantly.

Solutions to emergency department 'boarding' and crowding are underused and may need to be legislated

The practice of keeping admitted patients on stretchers in hospital emergency department hallways for hours or days, called "boarding," causes emergency department crowding and can be harmful to patients. Boarding increases patients' morbidity, lengths of hospital stay, and mortality. Strategies that optimize bed management reduce boarding by improving the efficiency of hospital patient flow, but these strategies are grossly underused. Convincing hospital leaders of the value of such solutions, and educating patients to advocate for such changes, may promote improvements. If these strategies do not work, legislation may be required to effect meaningful change.

Missing the boat: odds for the patients who leave ED without being seen

BACKGROUND

A patient left without being seen is a well-recognized indicator of Emergency Department overcrowding. The aim of this study was to define the characteristics of LWBS patients, their rates and associated factors from a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan.

METHODS

A retrospective patient record review was undertaken. All patients presenting to the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, between April and December of the year 2010, were included in the study. Information was collected on age, sex, presenting complaints, ED capacity, month, time, shift, day of the week, and waiting times in the ED. A basic descriptive analysis was made and the rates of LWBS patients were determined among the patient subgroups. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the risk factors associated with a patient not being seen in the ED.

RESULTS

A total of 38,762 patients visited ED during the study period. Among them 5,086 (13%) patients left without being seen. Percentage of leaving was highest in the night shift (20%). The percentage was twice as high when the ED was on diversion (19.8%) compared to regular periods of operation (9.8%). Mean waiting time before leaving the ED in pediatric patients was 154 minutes while for adults it was 171 minutes. More than 32% of patients had waited for more than 180 minutes before they left without being seen, compared to the patients who were seen in ED. Important predictors for LWBS included; Triage category P4 i.e. walk -in-patients had an OR of 13.62(8.72-21.3), Diversion status, OR 1.49(1.26-1.76), night shift , OR 2.44(1.95-3.05) and Pediatric age, OR 0.57(0.48-0.66).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study elucidates the LWBS population characteristics and identifies the risk factors for this phenomenon. Targeted interventions should be planned and implemented to decrease the waiting time and alternate services should be provided for high-risk patients (for LWBS) to minimize their number.

Effect of surgery resident change of shift on trauma resuscitations and outcomes

INTRODUCTION

The ability of surgery residents to provide continuity of care has come under scrutiny with work hour restrictions. The impact of the surgery resident sign-out period (6-8am and 6-8pm) on trauma outcomes remains unknown. We hypothesize that during shift change, resuscitation times are prolonged with worse outcomes.

METHODS

Records of patients treated at a university-based urban trauma center during 2008 and 2009 were reviewed. Patients were separated into a shift change group (6-8am and 6-8pm) and a control group of all other time periods and compared using ANOVA, chi square, and unpaired t-tests.

RESULTS

We reviewed the charts of 4361 consecutive trauma patients. There was no difference in gender, acuity, resuscitation times, Glasgow Coma Scale, revised trauma score, injury severity score (ISS), or probability of survival score between patients arriving during shift change compared to other times (p>0.2). There was no difference in total emergency department time for patients arriving during shift change (p = 0.07), even when stratified by ISS (ISS<15, p = 0.09; ISS>15, p = 0.2). Length of stay was increased for patients arriving during shift change compared to other times (5 vs 4 days, p<0.05). This was more pronounced for those with ISS>15 (16 vs 11 days, p = 0.03); however, there was no impact on intensive care unit length of stay, ventilator days, and mortality (p>0.3) regardless of ISS.

CONCLUSIONS

Trauma outcomes are generally unaffected by patient arrival during shift change when resident sign-outs occur. Although adaptations are being made to accommodate trauma patient arrival during these times, we need to continue paying close attention, especially to seriously injured patients, to ensure that there are no delays in care that may potentially affect patient outcomes.