Initial emergency department diagnosis and return visits: risk versus perception

Evaluation of a Structured Review Process for Emergency Department Return Visits with Admission

BACKGROUND

Review of emergency department (ED) revisits with admission allows the identification of improvement opportunities. Applying a health equity lens to revisits may highlight potential disparities in care transitions. Universal definitions or practicable frameworks for these assessments are lacking. The authors aimed to develop a structured methodology for this quality assurance (QA) process, with a layered equity analysis.

METHODS

The authors developed a classification instrument to identify potentially preventable 72-hour returns with admission (PPRA-72), accounting for directed, unrelated, unanticipated, or disease progression returns. A second review team assessed the instrument reliability. A self-reported race/ethnicity (R/E) and language algorithm was developed to minimize uncategorizable data. Disposition distribution, return rates, and PPRA-72 classifications were analyzed for disparities using Pearson chi-square and Fisher's exact tests.

RESULTS

The PPRA-72 rate was 4.8% for 2022 ED return visits requiring admission. Review teams achieved 93% agreement (κ = 0.51) for the binary determination of PPRA-72 vs. nonpreventable returns. There were significant differences between R/E and language in ED dispositions (p < 0.001), with more frequent admissions for the R/E White at the index visit and Other at the 72-hour return visit. Rates of return visits within 72 hours differed significantly by R/E (p < 0.001) but not by language (p = 0.156), with the R/E Black most frequent to have a 72-hour return. There were no differences between R/E (p = 0.446) or language (p = 0.248) in PPRA-72 rates. The initiative led to system improvements through informatics optimizations, triage protocols, provider feedback, and education.

CONCLUSION

The authors developed a review methodology for identifying improvement opportunities across ED 72-hour returns. This QA process enabled the identification of areas of disparity, with the continuous aim to develop next steps in ensuring health equity in care transitions.

Impact of Fatigue on Emergency Physicians' Decision-making for Computed Tomographic Scan Requests and Inpatient Referrals: An Observational Study from a Tertiary Care Medical Center of the Sultanate of Oman

Objective

Multiple factors contribute to decision fatigue experienced by emergency physicians (EPs). This study examines the association between decision fatigue and the frequency of computed tomographic (CT) scan requests and inpatient referrals among EPs.

Methods

This retrospective database analysis was done for 3 months. Scans and inpatient referral requests were coded and analyzed to assess the impact of physician fatigue on decision-making. Subsequently, the outcomes were evaluated.

Results

The majority of patients (n = 481; 51.1%) had a CT brain request. Among these requests, the morning shift (8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.) accounted for the highest number (n = 400; 42.5%), followed by the evening shift (3:00-11:00 p.m.) (n = 345; 36.7%). Approximately one-third of the patients (n = 301; 31.9%) had positive CT scan findings. Statistical analysis comparing the first and the second halves of each shift did not reveal significant variations in the percentage of negative CT results (p-value: 0.093). Inpatient referral was necessary for over half of the patients (n = 1,048; 52.7%), and the majority of these referrals (n = 778; 74.2%) were deemed necessary for treatment under various surgical or medical specialties. There was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of negative inpatient referrals between the first and the second halves of the afternoon shift (p-value < 0.001).

Conclusions

Fatigue among EPs was observed, leading to more frequent consultations without inpatient admission during the latter half of the afternoon shift. However, the study found no significant impact of decision fatigue on CT scan decision-making.

How to cite this article

Al-Arimi AH, Hazra D, Al-Alawi AKA. Impact of Fatigue on Emergency Physicians' Decision-making for Computed Tomographic Scan Requests and Inpatient Referrals: An Observational Study from a Tertiary Care Medical Center of the Sultanate of Oman. Indian J Crit Care Med 2023;27(9):620-624.

Return visits to the emergency department: An analysis using group based curve models

Stratification modeling in health services is useful to identify differential patient risk groups, or latent classes. Given the frequency and costs, repeated emergency department (ED) may be an appropriate candidate for risk stratification modeling. We applied a method called group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) to a sample of 37,416 patients who visited an urban, safety-net ED between 2006 and 2016. Patients had up to 10 ED visits during the study period. Data sources included the hospital's electronic health record (EHR), the state-wide health information exchange system, and area-level social determinants of health factors. Results revealed three distinct trajectory groups. Trajectories with a higher risk of revisit were marked by more patients with behavioral diagnoses, injuries, alcohol & substance abuse, stroke, diabetes, and other factors. The application of advanced computational techniques, like GBTM, provides opportunities for health care organizations to better understand the underlying risks of their large patient populations. Identifying those patients who are likely to be members of high-risk trajectories allows healthcare organizations to stratify patients by level of risk and develop early targeted interventions.

Intravenous antibiotics at the index emergency department visit as an independent risk factor for hospital admission at the return visit within 72 hours

Introduction

Although infection was the most common symptom in patients returning to the ED, whether intravenous antibiotic administration at the index visit could serve as an indicator of patients with infectious diseases at high risk for hospital admission after returning to the ED within a short period of time remains unclear. The study aimed to investigate the potential risk factors for hospital admission in patients returning to the ED within 72 hours with a final diagnosis of infectious diseases.

Material and methods

This retrospective cohort study analyzed return visits to the ED from January to December 2019. Adult patients aged >20 years who had a return visit to the ED within 72 hours with an infectious disease were included herein. In total, 715 eligible patients were classified into the intravenous antibiotics and non-intravenous antibiotics group (reference group). The outcome studied was hospital admission to general ward and intensive care unit (ICU) at the return visits.

Results

Patients receiving intravenous antibiotics at index visits had significantly higher risk—approximately two times—for hospital admission at the return visits than those did not (adjusted odds ratio = 2.47, 95% CI = 1.34–4.57, p = 0.004). For every 10 years increase in age, the likelihood for hospital admission increased by 38%. Other factors included abnormal respiratory rate and high C-reactive protein levels.

Conclusions

Intravenous antibiotic administration at the index visit was an independent risk factor for hospital admission at return visits in patients with an infection disease. Physicians should consider carefully before discharging patients receiving intravenous antibiotics.

Fluid Intake Recommendation Considering the Physiological Adaptations of Adults Over 65 Years: A Critical Review

The aim of this critical review was to clarify recommended fluid intake for older people. A literature search of published articles and guidelines on fluid intake recommendations until April 2020 was carried out using PUBMED, Scopus, Cochrane, and Google Scholar. In this review, we focused on people over 65 years old at different care levels. The results show that the mean fluid intake ranges between 311 and 2390 mL/day. However, it is difficult to know whether this corresponds to the real pattern of fluid intake, due to the variability of data collection methods. With respect to the recommendations, most international organizations do not take into consideration the physiology of ageing or the health problems associated with an older population. In conclusions, we recommend to follow the guideline of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). ESPEN is the only guideline which takes into account age. It is also based on EFSA recommendations. This authority takes into consideration all fluids consumed (ranging from food to fluids). If it is known that around 20% of all fluids consumed come from food, the result would effectively be that the EFSA recommends the same as the ESPEN guidelines: 1.6 L/day for females and 2.0 L/day for males. The findings could help raise the awareness of professionals in the sector with respect to the required fluid intake of the elderly and, in this way, contribute to avoiding the consequences of dehydration.

Application of Machine Learning Techniques to Analyze Patient Returns to the Emergency Department

The study of the quality of hospital emergency services is based on analyzing a set of indicators such as the average time of first medical attention, the average time spent in the emergency department, degree of completion of the medical report and others. In this paper, an analysis is presented of one of the quality indicators: the rate of return of patients to the emergency service less than 72 h from their discharge. The objective of the analysis was to know the variables that influence the rate of return and which prediction model is the best. In order to do this, the data of the activity of the emergency service of a hospital of a reference population of 290,000 inhabitants were analyzed, and prediction models were created for the binary objective variable (rate of return to emergencies) using the logistic regression techniques, neural networks, random forest, gradient boosting and assembly models. Each of the models was analyzed and the result shows that the best model is achieved through a neural network with activation function tanh, algorithm levmar and three nodes in the hidden layer. This model obtains the lowest mean squared error (MSE) and the best area under the curve (AUC) with respect to the rest of the models used.

Characteristics and determinants of high-risk unscheduled return visits to the emergency department

Background

High-risk unscheduled return visits (HRURVs), defined as return visits within 72 hours that require admission or die in the emergency department (ED) on representation, are a key quality metric in the ED. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence and describe the characteristics and predictors of HRURVs to the ED.

Methods

Case–control study, conducted between 1 November 2014 and 31 October 2015. Cases included all HRURVs over the age of 18 that presented to the ED. Controls were selected from patients who were discharged from the ED during the study period and did not return in the next 72 hours. Controls were matched to cases based on gender, age (±5 years) and date of presentation.

Results

Out of 38 886 ED visits during the study period, 271 are HRURVs, giving an incidence of HRURV of 0.70% (95% CI 0.62% to 0.78%). Our final analysis includes 270 HRURV cases and 270 controls, with an in-ED mortality rate of 0.7%, intensive care unit admission of 11.1% and need for surgical intervention of 22.2%. After adjusting for other factors, HRURV cases are more likely to be discharged with a diagnosis related to digestive system or infectious disease (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.65 and OR 2.81, 95% CI 1.05 to 7.51, respectively). Furthermore, presentation to the ED during off-hours is a significant predictor of HRURV (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.11 to 2.43) as is the presence of a handover during the patient visit (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.75).

Conclusion

HRURV is an important key quality outcome metric that reflects a subgroup of ED patients with specific characteristics and predictors. Efforts to reduce this HRURV rate should focus on interventions targeting patients discharged with digestive system, kidney and urinary tract and infectious diseases diagnosis as well as exploring the role of handover tools in reducing HRURVs.

Application of the Informatics Stack framework to describe a population-level emergency department return visit continuous quality improvement program

INTRODUCTION

Population health programs are increasingly reliant on Health Information Technology (HIT). Program HIT architecture description is a necessary step prior to evaluation. Several sociotechnical frameworks have been used previously with HIT programs. The Informatics Stack is a novel framework that provides a thorough description of HIT program architecture. The Emergency Department Return Visit Quality Program (EDRVQP) is a population-level continuous quality improvement (QI) program connecting EDs across Ontario. The objectives of the study were to utilize the Informatics Stack to provide a description of the EDRVQP HIT architecture and to delineate population health program factors that are enablers or barriers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Informatics Stack was used to describe the HIT architecture. A qualitative study was completed with semi-structured interviews of key informants across stakeholder organizations. Emergency departments were selected randomly. Purposive sampling identified key informants. Interviews were conducted until saturation. An inductive qualitative analysis using grounded theory was completed. A literature review of peer-reviewed background literature, and stakeholder organization reports was also conducted.

RESULTS

23 business actors from 15 organizations were interviewed. The EDRVQP architecture description is presented across the Informatics Stack levels. The levels from most comprehensive to most basic are world, organization, perspectives/roles, goals/functions, workflow/behaviour/adoption, information systems, modules, data/information/knowledge/wisdom/algorithms, and technology. Enabling factors were the high rate of electronic health record adoption, legislative mandate for data collection, use of functional data standards, implementation flexibility, leveraging validated algorithms, and leveraging existing local health networks. Barriers were privacy legislation and a high turn-around time.

DISCUSSION

The Informatics Stack provides a robust approach to thoroughly describe the HIT architecture of population health programs prior to program replication. The EDRVQP is a population health program that illustrates the pragmatic use of continuous QI methodology across a population (provincial) level.

Predicting Emergency Department "Bouncebacks": A Retrospective Cohort Analysis

INTRODUCTION

The short-term return visit rate among patients discharged from emergency departments (ED) is a quality metric and target for interventions. The ability to accurately identify which patients are more likely to revisit the ED could allow EDs and health systems to develop more focused interventions, but efforts to reduce revisits have not yet found success. Whether patients with a high number of ED visits are at increased risk of a return visit remains underexplored.

METHODS

This was a population-based, retrospective, cohort study using administrative data from a large physician partnership. We included patients discharged from EDs from 80 hospitals in seven states from July 2014 - June 2016. We performed multivariable logistic regression of short-term return visits on patient, visit, hospital, and community characteristics. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who had a return visit within 14 days of an index ED visit.

RESULTS

Among 6,699,717 index visits, the overall risk of 14-day revisit was 12.6%. Frequent visitors accounted for 18.7% of all visits and 40.2% of all 14-day revisits. Frequent visitor status was associated with the highest odds of a revisit (odds ratio [OR] 3.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.041 - 3.073). Other predictors of revisits were cellulitis (OR 2.131; 95% CI, 2.106 - 2.156), alcohol-related disorders (OR 1.579; 95%CI, 1.548 - 1.610), congestive heart failure (OR 1.175; 95% CI, 1.126 - 1.226), and public insurance (Medicaid OR 1.514; 95% CI, 1.501 - 1.528; Medicare OR 1.601; 95% CI, 1.583 - 1.620).

CONCLUSION

Previous ED use - even a single previous visit - was a stronger predictor of a return visit than any other patient, hospital, or community characteristic. Clinicians should consider previous ED use when considering treatment decisions and risk of return visit, as should stakeholders targeting patients at risk of a return visit.

Predicting 72-hour and 9-day return to the emergency department using machine learning

Objectives

To predict 72-h and 9-day emergency department (ED) return by using gradient boosting on an expansive set of clinical variables from the electronic health record.

Methods

This retrospective study included all adult discharges from a level 1 trauma center ED and a community hospital ED covering the period of March 2013 to July 2017. A total of 1500 variables were extracted for each visit, and samples split randomly into training, validation, and test sets (80%, 10%, and 10%). Gradient boosting models were fit on 3 selections of the data: administrative data (demographics, prior hospital usage, and comorbidity categories), data available at triage, and the full set of data available at discharge. A logistic regression (LR) model built on administrative data was used for baseline comparison. Finally, the top 20 most informative variables identified from the full gradient boosting models were used to build a reduced model for each outcome.

Results

A total of 330 631 discharges were available for analysis, with 29 058 discharges (8.8%) resulting in 72-h return and 52 748 discharges (16.0%) resulting in 9-day return to either ED. LR models using administrative data yielded test AUCs of 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.68–0.70) and 0.71(95% CI 0.70–0.72), while gradient boosting models using administrative data yielded test AUCs of 0.73 (95% CI 0.72–0.74) and 0.74 (95% CI 0.73–0.74) for 72-h and 9-day return, respectively. Gradient boosting models using variables available at triage yielded test AUCs of 0.75 (95% CI 0.74–0.76) and 0.75 (95% CI 0.74–0.75), while those using the full set of variables yielded test AUCs of 0.76 (95% CI 0.75–0.77) and 0.75 (95% CI 0.75–0.76). Reduced models using the top 20 variables yielded test AUCs of 0.73 (95% CI 0.71–0.74) and 0.73 (95% CI 0.72–0.74).

Discussion and Conclusion

Gradient boosting models leveraging clinical data are superior to LR models built on administrative data at predicting 72-h and 9-day returns.

Factors Affecting Unscheduled Return Visits to the Emergency Department among Minor Head Injury Patients

Study Objectives

Differences between returning and non-returning minor head injury (MHI) emergency department (ED) patients, between the characteristics of the first visit and revisit, and between admitted and nonadmitted returning patients were investigated.

Methods

This was a retrospective study. All discharged ED patients with ICD-9 codes 850.0 to 850.9, 920, and 959.01 in 2013 were enrolled. Patients' demographic data, vital signs, Glasgow Coma Scale, ED diagnosis, length of stay, triage levels, ED examinations performed, and comorbidities were recorded for analysis.

Results

A total of 2,815 patients were enrolled. Of 57 (2%) patients who revisited the ED, 47 (82%) were discharged from the ED and ten (18%) were admitted to the hospital. Patients who returned to the ED were older, and they exhibited more comorbidities. Those who presented with vomiting, triage level of 1 or 2, and GCS score of <15 and who received more blood tests during their first visit were more likely to be admitted when they returned to the ED.

Conclusions

Discharging MHI patients who are older or exhibit comorbidities only when symptoms and concerns are relieved completely, providing clear discharge instructions, and arranging timely clinical follow-ups may help reduce such patients' return rate.

Risk factors for early return visits to the emergency department in patients with urinary tract infection

BACKGROUND

Optimal management of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in the emergency department (ED) is challenging due to high patient turnover, decreased continuity of care, and treatment decisions made in the absence of microbiologic data. We sought to identify risk factors for return visits in ED patients treated for UTI.

METHODS

A random sample of 350 adult ED patients with UTI by ICD 9/10 codes was selected for review. Relevant data was extracted from medical charts and compared between patients with and without ED return visits within 30days (ERVs).

RESULTS

We identified 51 patients (15%) with 59 ERVs, of whom 6% returned within 72h. Nearly half of ERVs (47%) were UTI-related and 33% of ERV patients required hospitalization. ERVs were significantly more likely (P<0.05) in patients with the following: age≥65years; pregnancy; skilled nursing facility residence; dementia; psychiatric disorder; obstructive uropathy; healthcare exposure; temperature≥38 °C heart rate>100; and bacteremia. Escherichia coli was the most common uropathogen (70%) and susceptibility rates to most oral antibiotics were below 80% in both groups except nitrofurantoin (99% susceptible). Cephalexin was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic (51% vs. 44%; P=0.32). Cephalexin bug-drug mismatches were more common in ERV patients (41% vs. 15%; P=0.02). Culture follow-up occurred less frequently in ERV patients (75% vs. 100%; P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

ERV in UTI patients may be minimized by using ED-source specific antibiogram data to guide empiric treatment decisions and by targeting at-risk patients for post-discharge follow-up.

Is Tachycardia at Discharge From the Pediatric Emergency Department a Cause for Concern? A Nonconcurrent Cohort Study

STUDY OBJECTIVE

We evaluate the association between discharge tachycardia and (1) emergency department (ED) and urgent care revisit and (2) receipt of clinically important intervention at the revisit.

METHODS

The study included a nonconcurrent cohort of children aged 0 to younger than 19 years, discharged from 2 pediatric EDs and 4 pediatric urgent care centers in 2013. The primary exposure was discharge tachycardia (last recorded pulse rate ≥99th percentile for age). The main outcome was ED or urgent care revisit within 72 hours of discharge. Additional outcomes included interventions received and disposition at the revisit, prevalence of discharge tachycardia at the index visit, and associations of pain, fever, and medications with discharge tachycardia. Multivariable logistic regression determined relative risk ratios for revisit and receipt of clinically important intervention at the revisit.

RESULTS

Of eligible visits, 126,774 were included, of which 10,470 patients (8.3%) had discharge tachycardia. Discharge tachycardia was associated with an increased risk of revisit (adjusted RR 1.3; 95% confidence interval 1.2 to 1.5), increased risk of tachycardia at the revisit (relative risk 3.1; 95% confidence interval 2.6 to 3.7), and of the receipt of certain clinically important interventions (supplemental oxygen, respiratory medications and admission, antibiotics and admission, and peripheral intravenous line placement and admission). However, there was no increased risk for the composite outcome of receipt of any clinically important intervention or admission on revisit.

CONCLUSION

Discharge tachycardia is associated with an increased risk of revisit. It is likely that tachycardia at discharge is not a critical factor associated with impending physiologic deterioration.

Characteristics and outcomes of patients with emergency department revisits within 72 hours and subsequent admission to the intensive care unit

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with emergency department (ED) revisits within 72 hours and subsequent admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The medical records of all adult patients revisiting the ED of a single tertiary referral medical center with ICU admissions between January 2012 and September 2014 were reviewed in terms of patient characteristics, clinical manifestations, diagnoses, triage according to the Taiwan Triage and Acuity Scale, causes of revisits, and mortality.

RESULTS

The majority of the 51 patients reviewed were male (64.7%). Their mean age was 62.9 ± 14.9 years. Most patients visited the ED during the evening shift (51%) and were categorized into triage Level III (76.5%) during their first ED visit. The causes of revisits were doctor-related (21/51, 41.1%), illness-related (18/51, 35.3%), and patient-related (12/51, 23.5%). Disease categories included the neurological (23.5%), digestive (23.5%), and cardiovascular systems (21.6%). Abdominal pain and vertigo/dizziness were the two most common initial manifestations. The mortality rate was 27.5%. Malignancy and hepatic diseases were the two most common underlying medical conditions for nonsurvivors. In addition, patients initially presenting to the ED with lower triage scores (III & IV) had a higher mortality rate than those with higher scores (I & II).

CONCLUSION

Most of the patients who revisited the ED within 72 hours and were subsequently admitted to the ICU visited the ED during the evening shift and were categorized into triage Level III on their first visit. The most common chief complaint at the first visit was abdominal pain. The most common cause of revisits with ICU admission was doctor-related, while the most common underlying disease was hypertension. Significantly higher mortality was observed after ED revisits in patients with lower triage scores with underlying malignancy and liver cirrhosis.

Evaluating Unscheduled Readmission to Emergency Department in the Early Period

BACKGROUND

The readmission in the early period (RAEP) is defined as the admission of a patient to emergency department (ED) for the second time within 72 hours after discharge from the ED.

AIMS

The aim of this study was to determine the disease, patient, doctor, and system related causes of RAEP.

STUDY DESIGN

Descriptive study.

METHODS

This study is a two-stage study that was conducted at Department of Emergency, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine. The causes of RAEP were defined as disease, patient, doctor, and system related causes.

RESULTS

A total of 46,800 adult patients admitted to ED during the study period and 779 (1.66%) patients required RAEP. After the exclusion criteria, 429 of these patients were included the study. The most common reasons for RAEP were renal colic in 46 (10.7%) patients. It was detected that 60.4% of the causes of RAEP were related to disease, 20.0% were related to the doctor, 12.1% were related to the patient, and 7.5% were related to the hospital management system.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed that there are patient-, doctor-, and system-related preventable reasons for RAEP and the patients requiring RAEP constitute the high risk group.

Accuracy of diagnosis codes to identify febrile young infants using administrative data

BACKGROUND

Administrative data can be used to determine optimal management of febrile infants and aid clinical practice guideline development.

OBJECTIVE

Determine the most accurate International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) diagnosis coding strategies for identification of febrile infants.

DESIGN

Retrospective cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Eight emergency departments in the Pediatric Health Information System.

PATIENTS

Infants aged <90 days evaluated between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013 were randomly selected for medical record review from 1 of 4 ICD-9 diagnosis code groups: (1) discharge diagnosis of fever, (2) admission diagnosis of fever without discharge diagnosis of fever, (3) discharge diagnosis of serious infection without diagnosis of fever, and (4) no diagnosis of fever or serious infection.

EXPOSURE

The ICD-9 diagnosis code groups were compared in 4 case-identification algorithms to a reference standard of fever ≥100.4°F documented in the medical record.

MEASUREMENTS

Algorithm predictive accuracy was measured using sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values.

RESULTS

Among 1790 medical records reviewed, 766 (42.8%) infants had fever. Discharge diagnosis of fever demonstrated high specificity (98.2%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 97.8-98.6) but low sensitivity (53.2%, 95% CI: 50.0-56.4). A case-identification algorithm of admission or discharge diagnosis of fever exhibited higher sensitivity (71.1%, 95% CI: 68.2-74.0), similar specificity (97.7%, 95% CI: 97.3-98.1), and the highest positive predictive value (86.9%, 95% CI: 84.5-89.3).

CONCLUSIONS

A case-identification strategy that includes admission or discharge diagnosis of fever should be considered for febrile infant studies using administrative data, though underclassification of patients is a potential limitation.

Understanding Emergency Department 72-Hour Revisits Among Medicaid Patients Using Electronic Healthcare Records

Electronic Healthcare Records (EHRs) have the potential to improve healthcare quality and to decrease costs by providing quality metrics, discovering actionable insights, and supporting decision-making to improve future outcomes. Within the United States Medicaid Program, rates of recidivism among emergency department (ED) patients serve as metrics of hospital performance that help ensure efficient and effective treatment within the ED. We analyze ED Medicaid patient data from 1,149,738 EHRs provided by a hospital over a 2-year period to understand the characteristics of the ED return visits within a 72-hour time frame. Frequent flyer patients with multiple revisits account for 47% of Medicaid patient revisits over this period. ED encounters by frequent flyer patients with prior 72-hour revisits in the last 6 months are thrice more likely to result in a readmit than those of infrequent patients. Statistical L1-logistic regression and random forest analyses reveal distinct patterns of ED usage and patient diagnoses between frequent and infrequent patient encounters, suggesting distinct opportunities for interventions to improve efficacy of care and streamline ED workflow. This work forms a foundation for future development of predictive models, which could flag patients at high risk of revisiting.

Unplanned 3-day re-attendance rate at Emergency Department (ED) and hospital's bed occupancy rate (BOR)

Background

Unplanned re-attendance at the Emergency Department (ED) is often monitored as a quality indicator of the care accorded to patients during their index ED visit. High bed occupancy rate (BOR) has been considered as a matter of reduced patient comfort and privacy. Most hospitals in Singapore operate under BORs above 85 %. This study aims to explore factors associated with the unplanned 3-day ED re-attendance rate and, in particular, if higher BOR is associated with higher 3-day unplanned ED re-attendance rate.

Methods

This was a multicenter retrospective study using time series data. Three acute tertiary hospitals were selected from all six adult public hospitals in Singapore based on data availability. Daily data from year 2008 to 2013 were collected from the study hospitals’ information systems. These included: ED visit date, day of week, month, year, public holiday, daily hospital BOR, daily bed waiting time (BWT) at ED (both median and 95th percentile), daily ED admission rate, and 3-day ED re-attendance rate. The primary outcome of the study was unplanned 3-day ED re-attendance rate from all reasons. Both univariate analysis and generalized linear regression were respectively applied to study the crude and adjusted association between the unplanned 3-day ED re-attendance rate and its potential associated factors. All analyses were conducted using SPSS 18 (PASW 18, IBM).

Results

The average age of patients who visited ED was 35 years old (SD = 2), 37 years old (SD = 2), and 40 years old (SD = 2) in hospitals A, B, and C respectively. The average 3-day unplanned ED re-attendance rate was 4.9 % (SE = 0.47 %) in hospital A, 3.9 % (SE = 0.35 %) in hospital B, and 4.4 % (SE = 0.30 %) in hospital C. After controlling for other covariates, the unplanned 3-day ED re-attendance rates were significantly associated with hospital, time trend, day of week, daily average BOR, and ED admission rate. Strong day-of-week effect on early ED re-attendance rate was first explored in this study. Thursday had the lowest re-attendance rate, while Sunday has the highest re-attendance rate. The patients who visited at ED on the dates with higher BOR were more likely to re-attend the ED within 3 days for hospitals A and B. There was no significant association between BOR and ED re-attendance rate in hospital C.

Conclusions

A study using time series data has been conducted to explore the factors associated with the unplanned 3-day ED re-attendance rate. Strong day-of-week effect was first reported. The association between BOR and the ED re-attendance rate varied with hospital.

Revisit rates and associated costs after an emergency department encounter: a multistate analysis

BACKGROUND

Return visits to the emergency department (ED) or hospital after an index ED visit strain the health system, but information about rates and determinants of revisits is limited.

OBJECTIVE

To describe revisit rates, variation in revisit rates by diagnosis and state, and associated costs.

DESIGN

Observational study using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project databases.

SETTING

6 U.S. states.

PATIENTS

Adults with ED visits between 2006 and 2010.

MEASUREMENTS

Revisit rates and costs.

RESULTS

Within 3 days of an index ED visit, 8.2% of patients had a revisit; 32% of those revisits occurred at a different institution. Revisit rates varied by diagnosis, with skin infections having the highest rate (23.1% [95% CI, 22.3% to 23.9%]). Revisit rates also varied by state. For skin infections, Florida had higher risk-adjusted revisit rates (24.8% [CI, 23.5% to 26.2%]) than Nebraska (10.6% [CI, 9.2% to 12.1%]). In Florida, the only state with complete cost data, total revisit costs for the 19.8% of patients with a revisit within 30 days were 118% of total index ED visit costs for all patients (including those with and without a revisit).

LIMITATION

Whether a revisit reflects inadequate access to primary care, a planned revisit, the patient's nonadherence to ED recommendations, or poor-quality care at the initial ED visit remains unknown.

CONCLUSION

Revisits after an index ED encounter are more frequent than previously reported, in part because many occur outside the index institution. Among ED patients in Florida, more resources are spent on revisits than on index ED visits.

PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Association of clinical practice guidelines with emergency department management of febrile infants ≤56 days of age

BACKGROUND

Differences among febrile infant institutional clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) may contribute to practice variation and increased healthcare costs.

OBJECTIVE

Determine the association between pediatric emergency department (ED) CPGs and laboratory testing, hospitalization, ceftriaxone use, and costs in febrile infants.

DESIGN

Retrospective cross-sectional study in 2013.

SETTING

Thirty-three hospitals in the Pediatric Health Information System.

PATIENTS

Infants aged ≤56 days with a diagnosis of fever.

EXPOSURES

The presence and content of ED-based febrile infant CPGs assessed by electronic survey.

MEASUREMENTS

Using generalized estimating equations, we evaluated the association between CPG recommendations and rates of urine, blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) testing, hospitalization, and ceftriaxone use at ED discharge in 2 age groups: ≤28 days and 29 to 56 days. We also assessed CPG impact on healthcare costs.

RESULTS

We included 9377 ED visits; 21 of 33 EDs (63.6%) had a CPG. For neonates ≤28 days, CPG recommendations did not vary and were not associated with differences in testing, hospitalization, or costs. Among infants 29 to 56 days, CPG recommendations for CSF testing and ceftriaxone use varied. CSF testing occurred less often at EDs with CPGs recommending limited testing compared to hospitals without CPGs (adjusted odds ratio: 0.5, 95% confidence interval: 0.3-0.8). Ceftriaxone use at ED discharge varied significantly based on CPG recommendations. Costs were higher for admitted and discharged infants 29 to 56 days old at hospitals with CPGs.

CONCLUSIONS

CPG recommendations for febrile infants 29 to 56 days old vary across institutions for CSF testing and ceftriaxone use, correlating with observed practice variation. CPGs were not associated with lower healthcare costs.

Emergency Department Bouncebacks: Is Lack of Primary Care Access the Primary Cause?

BACKGROUND

National emergency department (ED) bounceback rates within 30 days of previous ED discharge have been found to be as high as 26%. We hypothesize that having a primary care physician (PCP) would prevent bouncebacks to the ED because a patient would have a medical resource for follow-up and continued care.

METHODS

We performed a prospective, consecutive, anonymous survey study of adult ED patients at a suburban teaching hospital with 88,000 visits annually, from July 5, 2011 through August 8, 2011. Using chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests, we compared patients with an initial visit to those returning within 30 days of a previous visit to our ED.

RESULTS

We collected 1084 surveys. Those in the bounceback group were more likely to have no insurance (10.2% vs. 4.4%) or Medicaid (17.7% vs. 10.8%) and less likely to have a PCP (79% vs. 86%). Of those with a PCP, 9% in both groups had seen their PCP that day, 58% (initial visit) and 49% (bouncebacks) could have been seen that day, and 35% & 36%, respectively, within 1 week. Of those with a PCP, 38% of initial visits and 32% of bouncebacks stated they had already seen their physician at least once.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that patients who bounce back to the ED might have already contacted their PCP. Although insurance status and the lack thereof predict a higher likelihood to bounce back to the ED, many bouncebacks are insured patients with PCPs able to be seen the same day.

Accounting for repeat enrollments during an emergency clinical trial: the Rapid Anticonvulsant Medications Prior to Arrival Trial (RAMPART)

OBJECTIVES

The objectives were to describe the frequency of repeat enrollment within a specific exception from informed consent trial testing benzodiazepine treatment of prehospital status epilepticus and to estimate the effect of repeat enrollments on the analysis of the primary outcome.

METHODS

This was a secondary analysis of data collected as part of the Rapid Anticonvulsant Medication Prior to Arrival Trial (RAMPART), a study comparing intramuscular midazolam to intravenous lorazepam given by paramedics to patients with prehospital status epilepticus. Subjects in RAMPART achieved a successful primary outcome if they had cessation of seizures by the time of emergency department arrival. Data were collected on all subjects, but only the first enrollment for each individual was used in the primary analysis. The patterns of repeat enrollment are described, along with the demographics of these subjects. In addition, an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was estimated to assess the amount of within-subject correlation and its effect on the estimated treatment effect when all enrollments are included in the analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 1,023 enrollments occurred in RAMPART among 893 unique individuals (range of repeat enrollment observed = two to 14). The ICC for seizure cessation within individual was low at 0.119; when excluding subjects with benzodiazepine crossover, the ICC was 0.094.

CONCLUSIONS

In clinical trials of emergency conditions with interval complete resolution, accounting for repeat enrollments is feasible. The RAMPART experience demonstrated that in this setting the within-subject correlation is low and can be accounted for at relatively low statistical cost.

Predictors of admission after emergency department discharge in older adults

OBJECTIVES

To identify predictors of hospital inpatient admission of older Medicare beneficiaries after discharge from the emergency department (ED).

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

Nonfederal California hospitals (n = 284).

PARTICIPANTS

Visits of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older discharged from California EDs in 2007 (n = 505,315).

MEASUREMENTS

Using the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development files, predictors of hospital inpatient admission within 7 days of ED discharge in older adults (≥65) with Medicare were evaluated.

RESULTS

Hospital inpatient admissions within 7 days of ED discharge occurred in 23,340 (4.6%) visits and were associated with older age (70-74: adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07-1.17; 75-79: AOR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.13-1.23; ≥80: AOR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.35-1.46), skilled nursing facility use (AOR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.72-1.94), leaving the ED against medical advice (AOR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.67-1.98), and the following diagnoses with the highest odds of admission: end-stage renal disease (AOR = 3.83, 95% CI = 2.42-6.08), chronic renal disease (AOR = 3.19, 95% CI = 2.26-4.49), and congestive heart failure (AOR = 3.01, 95% CI = 2.59-3.50).

CONCLUSION

Five percent of older Medicare beneficiaries have a hospital inpatient admission after discharge from the ED. Chronic conditions such as renal disease and heart failure were associated with the greatest odds of admission.

Is low health literacy associated with increased emergency department utilization and recidivism?

OBJECTIVES

The objective was to determine whether patients with low health literacy have higher emergency department (ED) utilization and higher ED recidivism than patients with adequate health literacy.

METHODS

The study was conducted at an urban academic ED with more than 95,000 annual visits that is part of a 13-hospital health system, using electronic records that are captured in a central data repository. As part of a larger, cross-sectional, convenience sample study, health literacy testing was performed using the short test of functional health literacy in adults (S-TOFHLA) and standard test thresholds identifying those with inadequate, marginal, and adequate health literacy. The authors collected patients' demographic and clinical data, including items known to affect recidivism. This was a structured electronic record review directed at determining 1) the median number of total ED visits in this health system within a 2-year period and 2) the proportion of patients with each level of health literacy who had return visits within 3, 7, and 14 days of index visits. Descriptive data for demographics and ED returns are reported, stratified by health literacy level. The Mantel-Haenszel chi-square was used to test whether there is an association between health literacy and ED recidivism. A negative binomial multivariable model was performed to examine whether health literacy affects ED use, including variables significant at the 0.1 alpha level on bivariate analysis and retaining those significant at an alpha of 0.05 in the final model.

RESULTS

Among 431 patients evaluated, 13.2% had inadequate, 10% had marginal, and 76.3% had adequate health literacy as identified by S-TOFHLA. Patients with inadequate health literacy had higher ED utilization compared to those with adequate health literacy (p = 0.03). Variables retained in the final model included S-TOFHLA score, number of medications, having a personal doctor, being a property owner, race, insurance, age, and simple comorbidity score. During the study period, 118 unique patients each made at least one return ED visit within a 14-day period. The proportion of patients with inadequate health literacy making at least one return visit was higher than that of patients with adequate health literacy at 14 days, but was not significantly higher within 3 or 7 days.

CONCLUSIONS

In this single-center study, higher utilization of the ED by patients with inadequate health literacy when compared to those with adequate health literacy was observed. Patients with inadequate health literacy made a higher number of return visits at 14 days but not at 3 or 7 days.

Variation in care of the febrile young infant <90 days in US pediatric emergency departments

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Variation in patient care or outcomes may indicate an opportunity to improve quality of care. We evaluated the variation in testing, treatment, hospitalization rates, and outcomes of febrile young infants in US pediatric emergency departments (EDs).

METHODS

Retrospective cohort study of infants <90 days of age with a diagnosis code of fever who were evaluated in 1 of 37 pediatric EDs between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2013. We assessed patient- and hospital-level variation in testing, treatment, and disposition for patients in 3 distinct age groups: ≤28, 29 to 56, and 57 to 89 days. We also compared interhospital variation for 3-day revisits and revisits resulting in hospitalization.

RESULTS

We identified 35,070 ED visits that met inclusion criteria. The proportion of patients who underwent comprehensive evaluation, defined as urine, serum, and cerebrospinal fluid testing, decreased with increasing patient age: 72.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 71.0-73.0) of neonates ≤28 days, 49.0% (95% CI, 48.2-49.8) of infants 29 to 56 days, and 13.1% (95% CI, 12.5-13.6) of infants 57 to 89 days. Significant interhospital variation was demonstrated in testing, treatment, and hospitalization rates overall and across all 3 age groups, with little interhospital variation in outcomes. Hospitalization rate in the overall cohort did not correlate with 3-day revisits (R(2) = 0.10, P = .06) or revisits resulting in hospitalization (R(2) = 0.08, P = .09).

CONCLUSIONS

Substantial patient- and hospital-level variation was observed in the ED management of the febrile young infant, without concomitant differences in outcomes. Strategies to understand and address the modifiable sources of variation are needed.

A conceptual framework for improved analyses of 72-hour return cases

For more than 25 years, emergency medicine researchers have examined 72-hour return visits as a marker for high-risk patient visits and as a surrogate measure for quality of care. Individual emergency departments frequently use 72-hour returns as a screening tool to identify deficits in care, although comprehensive departmental reviews of this nature may consume considerable resources. We discuss the lack of published data supporting the use of 72-hour return frequency as an overall performance measure and examine why this is not a valid use, describe a conceptual framework for reviewing 72-hour return cases as a screening tool, and call for future studies to test various models for conducting such quality assurance reviews of patients who return to the emergency department within 72 hours.

Patient returns to the emergency department: the time-to-return curve

OBJECTIVES

Although 72-hour emergency department (ED) revisits are increasingly used as a hospital metric, there is no known empirical basis for this 72-hour threshold. The objective of this study was to determine the timing of ED revisits for adult patients within 30 days of ED discharge.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study of all nonfederal ED discharges in Florida and Nebraska from April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011, using data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). ED discharges were followed forward to identify ED revisits occurring at any hospital within the same state within 30 days. The cumulative hazard of an ED revisit was plotted. Parametric and nonparametric modeling was performed to characterize the rate of ED revisits.

RESULTS

There were 4,782,045 ED discharges, with 7.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.4% to 7.5%) associated with 3-day revisits, and 22.4% (95% CI = 22.3% to 22.4%) associated with 30-day revisits, inclusive of the 3-day revisits. A double-exponential model fit the data best (p < 0.0001), and a single hinge point at 9 days (multivariate adaptive regression splines [MARS] model) yielded the best linear fit to the data, suggesting 9 days as the most reasonable cutoff for identification of acute ED revisits. Multiple stratified and subgroup analyses produced similar results. Future work should focus on identifying primary reasons for potentially avoidable return ED visits instead of on the revisit occurrence itself, thus more directly measuring potential lapses in delivery of high-quality care.

CONCLUSIONS

Almost one-quarter of ED discharges are linked to 30-day ED revisits, and the current 72-hour ED metric misses close to 70% of these patients. Our findings support 9 days as a more inclusive cutoff for studies of ED revisits.

Unscheduled return visits to a Dutch inner-city emergency department

BACKGROUND

Unscheduled return visits to the emergency department (ED) may reflect shortcomings in care. This study characterized ED return visits with respect to incidence, risk factors, reasons and post-ED disposition. We hypothesized that risk factors for unscheduled return and reasons for returning would differ from previous studies, due to differences in health care systems.

METHODS

All unscheduled return visits occurring within 1 week and related to the initial ED visit were selected. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to determine independent factors associated with unscheduled return, using patient information available at the initial visit. Reasons for returning unscheduled were categorized into illness-, patient- or physician-related. Post-ED disposition was compared between patients with unscheduled return visits and the patients who did not return.

RESULTS

Five percent (n = 2,492) of total ED visits (n = 49,341) were unscheduled return visits. Patients with an urgent triage level, patients presenting during the night shift, with a wound or local infection, abdominal pain or urinary problems were more likely to return unscheduled. Reasons to revisit unscheduled were mostly illness-related (49%) or patient-related (41%). Admission rates for returning patients (16%) were the same as for the patients who did not return (17%).

CONCLUSIONS

Apart from abdominal complaints, risk factors for unscheduled return differ from previous studies. Short-term follow-up at the outpatient clinic or general practitioner for patients with urgent triage levels and suffering from wounds or local infections, abdominal pain or urinary problem might prevent unscheduled return.

Is emergency department crowding associated with increased "bounceback" admissions?

OBJECTIVE

Emergency department (ED) crowding is linked with poor quality of care and worse outcomes, including higher mortality. With the growing emphasis on hospital performance measures, there is additional concern whether inadequate care during crowded periods increases a patient's likelihood of subsequent inpatient admission. We sought to determine if ED crowding during the index visit was associated with these "bounceback" admissions.

METHODS

We used comprehensive, nonpublic, statewide ED and inpatient discharge data from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development from 2007 to identify index outpatient ED visits and bounceback admissions within 7 days. We further used ambulance diversion data collected from California local emergency medical services agencies to identify crowded days using intrahospital daily diversion hour quartiles. Using a hierarchical logistic regression model, we then determined if patients visiting on crowded days were more likely to have a subsequent bounceback admission.

RESULTS

We analyzed 3,368,527 index visits across 202 hospitals, of which 596,471 (17.7%) observations were on crowded days. We found no association between ED crowding and bounceback admissions. This lack of relationship persisted in both a discrete (high/low) model (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.99, 1.02) and a secondary model using ambulance diversion hours as a continuous predictor (OR, 1.00; 95% CI, 1.00, 1.00).

CONCLUSIONS

Crowding as measured by ambulance diversion does not have an association with hospitalization within 7 days of an ED visit discharge. Therefore, bounceback admission may be a poor measure of delayed or worsened quality of care due to crowding.

Unscheduled return visits (URV) in adults to the emergency department (ED): a rapid evidence assessment policy review

Unscheduled return visits (URV) to the emergency department (ED) may be an important quality indicator of performance of individual clinicians as well as organisations and systems responsible for the delivery of emergency care. The aim of this study was to perform a rapid evidence assessment policy-based literature review of studies that have looked at URVs presenting to the ED. A rapid evidence assessment using SCOPUS and PUBMED was used to identify articles looking at unplanned returns to EDs in adults; those relating to specific complaints or frequent attenders were not included. After exclusions, we identified 26 articles. We found a reported URV rate of between 0.4% and 43.9% with wide variation in the time period defined for a URV, which ranged from 24 h to undefined. Thematic analysis identified four broad subtypes of URVs: related to patient factors, to the illness, to the system or organisation and to the clinician. This review informed the development of national clinical quality indicators for England. URV rates may serve as an important indicator of quality performance within the ED. However, review of the literature shows major inconsistencies in the way URVs are defined and measured. Furthermore, the review has highlighted that there are potentially at least four subcategories of URVs (patient related, illness related, system related and clinician related). Further work is in progress to develop standardised definitions and methodologies that will allow comparable research and allow URVs to be used reliably as a quality indicator for the ED.

The characteristics and prognostic predictors of unplanned hospital admission within 72 hours after ED discharge

OBJECTIVES

The aims of this study were (1) to identify the characteristics of patients who return to the emergency department (ED) within 72 hours and are admitted to the hospital and (2) to identify the characteristics and predictors of in-hospital mortality subgroup.

METHODS

This study was conducted in a tertiary teaching hospital to identify characteristics of adult nontraumatic revisit-admission patients from January 1 to December 31, 2011. Demographic data, cause of revisit, and the underlying diseases as well as the in-hospital complications were reviewed.

RESULTS

Of the 72188 ED discharged patients, 690 revisit-admission patients were enrolled. The top 3 disease classifications were infection (38.7%), neurology (11.3%), and gastroenterology (11.2%). The etiology of the revisit included recurrent symptoms (72%), disease complications (15.8%), and inadequate diagnosis (12.1%). A total of 150 patients (21.7%) had complications, including receiving operation (17.2%), intensive care unit admission (4.2%), and cardiovascular conditions (2.5%). Forty-nine patients (7.1%) died during hospitalization owing to sepsis (57.1%), malignancy (34.7%), cardiogenic diseases (4.1%), and cerebrovascular conditions (4.1%). The nonsurvival group was older (64.1 ± 15.3 vs 55.7 ± 17.8; P < .001), had more patients with a diagnosis of moderate to severe liver disease (18.4% vs 4.8%; P < .001), malignancy (69.3% vs 20.1%; P < .001), and metastatic solid tumor (38.8% vs 6.2%; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Age and diagnosis with malignancy, metastatic tumors, or moderate-to-severe liver disease were predictors of in-hospital mortality among 72-hour revisit-admission patients.

Characteristics of patients and families who make early return visits to the pediatric emergency department

OBJECTIVES

The primary objective of this study was to identify reasons why parents make early return visits, within 72 hours of discharge from a tertiary care pediatric emergency department (PED). A secondary objective was to investigate associated demographic and diagnostic variables.

METHODS

A survey was conducted with a convenience sample of parents of children returning to the PED within 72 hours of discharge. A chart review was also completed for consented survey participants. Recruitment occurred from September 2005 to August 2006 at the Stollery Children's Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

RESULTS

A total of 264 parents were approached to participate. Overall, 231 surveys were returned and 212 (92%) charts were reviewed. The overall rate of early return during the study period was 5.4%. More than half of parents stated that they returned because their child's condition worsened and many parents (66.7%) reported feeling stressed. Patients were typically under 6 years of age (67.4%), and most frequently diagnosed with infectious diseases (38.0%). Patients triaged with the Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) as CTAS 2 (emergent) for initial visits were more likely to be admitted on return, regardless of age (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Variables associated with early returns included young age, diagnosis, triage acuity, and parental stress. Future variable definition should include a deeper exploration of modifiable factors such as parental stress and patient education. These next steps may help direct interventions and resources to address needs in this group and possibly pre-empt the need to return.

Multiple health care visits related to a pediatric emergency visit for young children with common illnesses

We aim to describe the number of health care visits before and after pediatric emergency department (PED) visits for common illnesses in a French tertiary pediatric hospital. This was a prospective cohort study with 501 children under 6 years of age who were evaluated and discharged from a tertiary care PED. Enrollment occurred on eight randomly selected study days between November 2010 and June 2011. The caregivers were then contacted via telephone 8 days later to obtain follow-up data, including information about return visits to health care facilities. Multiple visits were made by 206 (41 %) children, previous visits had occurred for 139 (28 %) children, and return visits had occurred for 94 (19 %) children. Previous and return visits were made at the PED as well as in general practitioners' offices and private pediatric offices. The median age of the subjects was 18 months. Fever was the most common complaint and was associated with more frequent multiple heath care visits.

CONCLUSION

Multiple heath care visits for the same illness are frequent, especially for febrile children. Interestingly, this phenomenon concerns every type of health care facility, including the PED, general practitioners' offices, and private pediatric offices. Further studies should be performed to achieve a better understanding of this phenomenon and to test specific interventions, such as parental education and improvement of the information system.

Factors associated with short-term bounce-back admissions after emergency department discharge

STUDY OBJECTIVE

Hospitalizations that occur shortly after emergency department (ED) discharge may reveal opportunities to improve ED or follow-up care. There currently is limited, population-level information about such events. We identify hospital- and visit-level predictors of bounce-back admissions, defined as 7-day unscheduled hospital admissions after ED discharge.

METHODS

Using the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development files, we conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of adult (aged >18 years) ED visits resulting in discharge in 2007. Candidate predictors included index hospital structural characteristics such as ownership, teaching affiliation, trauma status, and index ED size, along with index visit patient characteristics of demographic information, day of service, against medical advice or eloped disposition, insurance, and ED primary discharge diagnosis. We fit a multivariable, hierarchic logistic regression to account for clustering of ED visits by hospitals.

RESULTS

The study cohort contained a total of 5,035,833 visits to 288 facilities in 2007. Bounce-back admission within 7 days occurred in 130,526 (2.6%) visits and was associated with Medicaid (odds ratio [OR] 1.42; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.40 to 1.45) or Medicare insurance (OR 1.53; 95% CI 1.50 to 1.55) and a disposition of leaving against medical advice or before the evaluation was complete (OR 1.90; 95% CI 1.89 to 2.0). The 3 most common age-adjusted index ED discharge diagnoses associated with a bounce-back admission were chronic renal disease, not end stage (OR 3.3; 95% CI 2.8 to 3.8), end-stage renal disease (OR 2.9; 95% CI 2.4 to 3.6), and congestive heart failure (OR 2.5; 95% CI 2.3 to 2.6). Hospital characteristics associated with a higher bounce-back admission rate were for-profit status (OR 1.2; 95% CI 1.1 to 1.3) and teaching affiliation (OR 1.2; 95% CI 1.0 to 1.3).

CONCLUSION

We found 2.6% of discharged patients from California EDs to have a bounce-back admission within 7 days. We identified vulnerable populations, such as the very old and the use of Medicaid insurance, and chronic or end-stage renal disease as being especially at risk. Our findings suggest that quality improvement efforts focus on high-risk individuals and that the disposition plan of patients consider vulnerable populations.

Early emergency department representations

OBJECTIVE

The present study aims to describe early ED representation rates and identify the causes for this commonly seen problem.

METHODS

This was a retrospective chart review of all patients that represented within 72 h of discharge from a tertiary level ED in Sydney, Australia, over a 2 month period between 1 May 2010 and 30 June 2010. Presentations were categorised according to their diagnosis and cause for representation. Each representation was then classified as being avoidable or unavoidable.

RESULTS

There were 10 141 presentations to the ED during the study period, with 497 patients (4.9%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.5-5.3) representing within 72 h of discharge. Disease-related causes of representation were seen in 55.1% (95% CI 50.7-59.5), with 39% (95% CI 34.8-43.4) of these caused by disease progression and 12.3% (95% CI 9.6-15.5) for scheduled review. Patient-related causes were seen in 32.2% (95% CI 28.2-36.4) of representations with 20.9% (95% CI 17.6-24.7) of these for patients who did not wait or left against medical advice. Physician-related causes were seen in 3.2% (95% CI 2.0-5.2) of representations. Furthermore, 23.7% (95% CI 20.2-27.7) of patients who represented to the ED required hospital admission. A total of 37.0% (95% CI 32.9-41.4) of representations were assessed as being preventable.

CONCLUSION

Early ED representations are a common problem. The majority of preventable representations are patient related, and interventions to target these areas might be of benefit in reducing this problem.

The prevalence of quality issues and adverse outcomes among 72-hour return admissions in the emergency department

BACKGROUND

Records of patients discharged from the Emergency Department (ED) who return within 72 h and are admitted are often reviewed for potential quality issues.

OBJECTIVES

We explored 72-h return admissions and determined the prevalence and predictors for substandard management on the initial visit or any adverse outcome.

METHODS

Retrospective review of quality assurance data from 72-h return admissions in three hospitals from 2006-2010 was performed. Any substandard quality on the first visit or change in outcome on the return admission was considered "low quality." Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between cases judged as low quality vs. not low quality.

RESULTS

Of 741,132 ED visits across 5 years, 3682 (0.5%) were 72-h return admissions. Of those, 192 (5%) were low quality. In 158 (4%) and 8 (0.2%) there were moderate and severe deviations from care standards, respectively. Similarly, in 53 (1%) and 14 (0.4%) there were moderate and severe changes in outcome. In adjusted analysis, there were higher rates of low-quality 72-h return admissions in ambulance arrivals (odds ratio [OR] 1.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-2.1); and lower rates in Medicaid patients (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.2-0.7). There were higher rates in low-quality 72-h return admissions in hospital 1 (OR 3.6, 95% CI 2.2-6.1) and hospital 3 (OR 3.2, 95% CI 2.0-4.7) compared to hospital 2.

CONCLUSIONS

Poor care on the initial visit or any poor outcome upon returning in 72-h return admissions is relatively rare in the ED. Reporting 72-h return admissions without chart review may not be a good way to measure clinical quality.

Unscheduled return visits to the emergency department: consequences for triage

OBJECTIVES

The objective was to conduct a survey of unscheduled revisits (URs) to the emergency department (ED) within 8 days of a prior visit, to test the hypothesis that patients making these URs are disproportionately likely to suffer short-term mortality or manifest a need for any admission to the hospital (adverse events [AEs]) at the time of the UR, compared to patients triaged at the same level who did not have an unscheduled ED revisit within 8 days.

METHODS

This was a 1-year retrospective study of patients with an UR to the ED of an urban, 1,600-bed tertiary care center and teaching hospital. The criteria for inclusion as an UR were: 1) making an emergency visit to our adult ED during 2008, without being admitted to our hospital nor being transferred to another hospital; and 2) subsequently making an UR to the same ED within 8 days following the first one. Patients who were contacted by members of our staff and specifically asked to make return visits to our ED (such as those who returned for wound care follow-up visits), and those who made more than five visits to our ED during 2008, were excluded. AEs were defined as death or hospitalization within 8 days of the second visit.

RESULTS

During 2008, there were 946 patients with URs (2% of patients treated and released after the first ED visit), and 931 were analyzed (n = 15 missing values). Associated with the second visit, an AE was noted for 276 (30%) patients. Eight variables were significantly associated with AE: age ≥ 65 years, previously diagnosed cancer, previously diagnosed cardiac disease, previously diagnosed psychiatric disease, presence of a relative at the time of the UR, arrival with a letter from a general practitioner at the time of the UR, a higher level of severity assigned at triage for the UR than for the first ED visit, and having had blood sample analysis performed during the first visit. The median triage score for the UR was not significantly different from that group's median triage score for the first ED visit, whereas the proportion of admissions to the hospital (29%) or to the intensive care unit (ICU; 2%) was greater overall in the UR group than in the patients making their first ED visit.

CONCLUSIONS

The authors observed that 2% of patients had an UR. This UR population was at greater risk of AE at the time of their URs compared to their initial visits, but the median triage nurse score was not significantly different between the first visit and the UR. This suggests that the triage score should be systematically upgraded for UR patients.

State of the art: emergency department observation units

Hospitals and emergency departments face the challenges of escalating healthcare costs, mismatched resource utilization, concern over avoidable admissions, and hospital and emergency department overcrowding. One approach that has been used by hospitals to address these issues is the use of emergency department observation units. Research in this setting has increased in recent years, leading to a better understanding of the role of these units and their unique benefits. These benefits have been proven for health systems as a whole and for several acute conditions including chest pain, asthma, syncope, transient ischemic attack, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, abdominal pain, and more. Benefits include a decrease in diagnostic uncertainty, lower cost and resource utilization, improved patient satisfaction, and clinical outcomes that are comparable to admitted patients. As more hospitals begin to use observation units, there is a need for further education and research in how to optimize the use of emergency department observation units. The purpose of this article is to provide a general overview of observation units, including advancements and research in this field.

Early pediatric emergency department return visits: a prospective patient-centric assessment

BACKGROUND

A substantial percentage of emergency department (ED) patients return within 72 hours of their initial evaluation. Quality reviews typically demonstrate that most revisits do not seem to be directly related to problematic care provided on the first evaluation. We examined the possibility that return visits are related to nonmedical issues on the first visit, most notably patient discharge education. Objective We prospectively surveyed a convenience sample of caregivers in a pediatric ED to determine why they returned with their children within 72 hours of their initial ED visit.

DESIGN/METHODS

All patients who returned within 72 hours of a previous visit were identified and prospectively interviewed using a survey instrument with nominal (multiple choice) and brief descriptive responses.

RESULTS

Caregivers of 124 children were prospectively surveyed; 93 children (75%) returned because their symptoms had not improved or worsened. Only 50 (53%) had contacted their primary medical doctor (PMD) prior to the second visit; of these, 14 (28%) could not get an appointment, and 32 (64%) were told to return to the ED. Discharge instructions were felt to be informative by 94% (n = 86) of caregivers with the same number (94%) reported being satisfied with the first ED physician. Twenty-nine children (30%) were admitted on the second visit.

CONCLUSIONS

Among children who are discharged from the emergency department and return within 72 hours, most caregivers are satisfied with the care and instructions provided on their first visits. Though most patients have a PMD, many do not call them prior to their return ED visit, and those who do either cannot schedule an appointment or are told to return to the ED. The majority of patients return for clinical progression of illness.

A national depiction of children with return visits to the emergency department within 72 hours, 2001-2007

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this study were to estimate the frequency of pediatric 72-hour return visits (RVs) to the emergency department (ED) between 2001 and 2007 and to determine demographic and clinical characteristics associated with these RVs.

METHODS

Data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey between 2001 and 2007 were analyzed to estimate the frequency of RVs to EDs by children. Patient demographics and clinical variables were compared for RVs and non-RVs using the χ² test; RVs were further characterized using multivariable logistic regression.

RESULTS

Between 2001 and 2007, there was an annual average of 698,000 RVs by children (2.7% of all ED visits). The RV rate significantly increased from 2001 to 2007. Factors associated with an RV included age younger than 1 year or 13 to 18 years, arrival to the ED between 7 A.M. and 3 P.M., recent discharge from the hospital, and western region of the United States. During ED RVs, a complete blood count was more likely to be obtained, and the patient was more likely to be admitted. Insurance was not associated with an RV to the ED. On RV, patients were less likely to have a diagnosis related to trauma or injury.

CONCLUSIONS

Analysis of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey database offers a national perspective into ED RVs in children. In this era of increasing utilization, these results can help physicians and policy makers address the unique needs of this population and create interventions that will optimize patient service while attempting to control potentially unnecessary RVs.