Estimating the Cost of Care for Emergency Department Syncope Patients: Comparison of Three Models

POCUS-first for nephrolithiasis: A Monte Carlo simulation illustrating cost savings, LOS reduction, and preventable radiation

OBJECTIVES

Non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT) is the gold standard for nephrolithiasis evaluation in the emergency department (ED). However, Choosing Wisely guidelines recommend against ordering NCCT for patients with suspected nephrolithiasis who are <50 years old with a history of kidney stones. Our primary objective was to estimate the national annual cost savings from using a point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS)-first approach for patients with suspected nephrolithiasis meeting Choosing Wisely criteria. Our secondary objectives were to estimate reductions in ED length of stay (LOS) and preventable radiation exposure.

METHODS

We created a Monte Carlo simulation using available estimates for the frequency of ED visits for nephrolithiasis and eligibility for a POCUS-first approach. The study population included all ED patients diagnosed with nephrolithiasis. Based on 1000 trials of our simulation, we estimated national cost savings in averted advanced imaging from this strategy. We applied the same model to estimate the reduction in ED LOS and preventable radiation exposure.

RESULTS

Using this model, we estimate a POCUS-first approach for evaluating nephrolithiasis meeting Choosing Wisely guidelines to save a mean (±SD) of $16.5 million (±$2.1 million) by avoiding 159,000 (±18,000) NCCT scans annually. This resulted in a national cumulative decrease of 166,000 (±165,000) annual bed-hours in ED LOS. Additionally, this resulted in a national cumulative reduction in radiation exposure of 1.9 million person-mSv, which could potentially prevent 232 (±81) excess cancer cases and 118 (±43) excess cancer deaths annually.

CONCLUSION

If adopted widely, a POCUS-first approach for suspected nephrolithiasis in patients meeting Choosing Wisely criteria could yield significant national cost savings and a reduction in ED LOS and preventable radiation exposure. Further research is needed to explore the barriers to widespread adoption of this clinical workflow as well as the benefits of a POCUS-first approach in other patient populations.

Co-designing and piloting educational materials with patients and healthcare providers for syncope in the emergency department

Objective

The purpose of this study was to identify barriers and design interventions to promote adherence to 2017 Guideline for Syncope Evaluation and Management.

Methods

Focus groups and interviews were conducted to understand preferences, needs and barriers from patients and providers. Educational materials for patients were developed following a co-design, iterative process with patients, providers and hospital staff. The academic medical center's (AMC) Patient Education Department and Patient & Family Advisory Council reviewed materials to ensure health literacy. We piloted usability and feasibility of delivering the materials to a small cohort of patients.

Results

From Feb to March 2020, 24 patients were asked to watch the video. Twenty-two watched the intake video; of those 8 watched the discharge video. 95% of participants found the intake video informational and 86% would recommend it to others; 100% found the discharge video informational and would recommend it to others. Patients who watched both videos reported the videos improved their overall stay.

Conclusion

Our study described a patient-clinician-researcher codesign process and demonstrated feasibility of tools developed to communicate risk and uncertainty with patients and facilitate shared decision making in syncope evaluation.

Innovation

Engaging end users in developing interventions is critical for sustained practice change.

Troponin in early presenters to rule out myocardial infarction

AIMS

Whether a single cardiac troponin measurement can safely rule out myocardial infarction in patients presenting within a few hours of symptom onset is uncertain. The study aim was to assess the performance of troponin in early presenters.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In patients with possible myocardial infarction, the diagnostic performance of a single measurement of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I at presentation was evaluated and externally validated in those tested ≤3, 4-12, and >12 h from symptom onset. The limit-of-detection (2 ng/L), rule-out (5 ng/L), and sex-specific 99th centile (16 ng/L in women; 34 ng/L in men) thresholds were compared. In 41 103 consecutive patients [60 (17) years, 46% women], 12 595 (31%) presented within 3 h, and 3728 (9%) had myocardial infarction. In those presenting ≤3 h, a threshold of 2 ng/L had greater sensitivity and negative predictive value [99.4% (95% confidence interval 99.2%-99.5%) and 99.7% (99.6%-99.8%)] compared with 5 ng/L [96.5% (96.2%-96.8%) and 99.3% (99.1%-99.4%)]. In those presenting ≥3 h, the sensitivity and negative predictive value were similar for both thresholds. The sensitivity of the 99th centile was low in early and late presenters at 71.4% (70.6%-72.2%) and 92.5% (92.0%-93.0%), respectively. Findings were consistent in an external validation cohort of 7088 patients.

CONCLUSION

In early presenters, a single measurement of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I below the limit of detection may facilitate the safe rule out of myocardial infarction. The 99th centile should not be used to rule out myocardial infarction at presentation even in those presenting later following symptom onset.

Development of a Novel Emergency Department Quality Measure to Reduce Very Low-Risk Syncope Hospitalizations

STUDY OBJECTIVE

Emergency department (ED) evaluations for syncope are common, representing 1.3 million annual US visits and $2 billion in related hospitalizations. Despite evidence supporting risk stratification and outpatient management, variation in syncope hospitalization rates persist. We sought to develop a new quality measure for very low-risk adult ED patients with syncope that could be applied to administrative data.

METHODS

We developed this quality measure in 2 phases. First, we used an existing prospective, observational ED patient data set to identify a very low-risk cohort with unexplained syncope using 2 variables: age less than 50 years and no history of heart disease. We then applied this to the 2019 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) to assess its potential effect, assessing for hospital-level factors associated with hospitalization variation.

RESULTS

Of the 8,647 adult patients in the prospective cohort, 3,292 (38%) patients fulfilled these 2 criteria: age less than 50 years and no history of heart disease. Of these, 15 (0.46%) suffered serious adverse events within 30 days. In the NEDS, there were an estimated 566,031 patients meeting these 2 criteria, of whom 15,507 (2.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.48% to 3.00%) were hospitalized. We found substantial variation in the hospitalization rates for this very low-risk cohort, with a median rate of 1.7% (range 0% to 100%; interquartile range 0% to 3.9%). Factors associated with increased hospitalization rates included a yearly ED volume of more than 80,000 (odds ratio [OR] 3.14; 95% CI 2.02 to 4.89) and metropolitan teaching status (OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.24 to 1.81).

CONCLUSION

In summary, our novel syncope quality measure can assess variation in low-value hospitalizations for unexplained syncope. The application of this measure could improve the value of syncope care.

Point-of-care ultrasound-first for the evaluation of small bowel obstruction: National cost savings, length of stay reduction, and preventable radiation exposure

OBJECTIVES

Computed tomography (CT) has long been the gold standard in diagnosing patients with suspected small bowel obstruction (SBO). Recently, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has demonstrated comparable test characteristics to CT imaging for the diagnosis of SBO. Our primary objective was to estimate the annual national cost saving impact of a POCUS-first approach for the evaluation of SBO. Our secondary objectives were to estimate the reduction in radiation exposure and emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS).

METHODS

We created and ran 1000 trials of a Monte Carlo simulation. The study population included all patients presenting to the ED with abdominal pain who were diagnosed with SBO. Using this simulation, we modeled the national annual cost savings in averted advanced imaging from a POCUS-first approach for SBO. The model assumes that all patients who require surgery or have non-diagnostic POCUS exams undergo CT imaging. The model also conservatively assumes that a subset of patients with diagnostic POCUS exams undergo additional confirmatory CT imaging. We used the same Monte Carlo model to estimate the reduction in radiation exposure and total ED bed hours saved.

RESULTS

A POCUS-first approach for diagnosing SBO was estimated to save a mean (±SD) of $30.1 million (±8.9 million) by avoiding 143,000 (±31,000) CT scans. This resulted in a national cumulative decrease of 507,000 bed hours (±268,000) in ED LOS. The reduction in radiation exposure to patients could potentially prevent 195 (±56) excess annual cancer cases and 98 (±28) excess annual cancer deaths.

CONCLUSIONS

If adopted widely and used consistently, a POCUS-first algorithm for SBO could yield substantial national cost savings by averting advanced imaging, decreasing ED LOS, and reducing unnecessary radiation exposure in patients. Clinical decision tools are needed to better identify which patients would most benefit from CT imaging for SBO in the ED.

High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin on Presentation to Rule Out Myocardial Infarction: A Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

High-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays enable myocardial infarction to be ruled out earlier, but the safety and efficacy of this approach is uncertain. We investigated whether an early rule-out pathway is safe and effective for patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome.

METHODS

We performed a stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial in the emergency departments of 7 acute care hospitals in Scotland. Consecutive patients presenting with suspected acute coronary syndrome between December 2014 and December 2016 were included. Sites were randomized to implement an early rule-out pathway where myocardial infarction was excluded if high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I concentrations were <5 ng/L at presentation. During a previous validation phase, myocardial infarction was ruled out when troponin concentrations were <99th percentile at 6 to 12 hours after symptom onset. The coprimary outcome was length of stay (efficacy) and myocardial infarction or cardiac death after discharge at 30 days (safety). Patients were followed for 1 year to evaluate safety and other secondary outcomes.

RESULTS

We enrolled 31 492 patients (59±17 years of age [mean±SD]; 45% women) with troponin concentrations <99th percentile at presentation. Length of stay was reduced from 10.1±4.1 to 6.8±3.9 hours (adjusted geometric mean ratio, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.73-0.83]; P<0.001) after implementation and the proportion of patients discharged increased from 50% to 71% (adjusted odds ratio, 1.59 [95% CI, 1.45-1.75]). Noninferiority was not demonstrated for the 30-day safety outcome (upper limit of 1-sided 95% CI for adjusted risk difference, 0.70% [noninferiority margin 0.50%]; P=0.068), but the observed differences favored the early rule-out pathway (0.4% [57/14 700] versus 0.3% [56/16 792]). At 1 year, the safety outcome occurred in 2.7% (396/14 700) and 1.8% (307/16 792) of patients before and after implementation (adjusted odds ratio, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.74-1.40]; P=0.894), and there were no differences in hospital reattendance or all-cause mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Implementation of an early rule-out pathway for myocardial infarction reduced length of stay and hospital admission. Although noninferiority for the safety outcome was not demonstrated at 30 days, there was no increase in cardiac events at 1 year. Adoption of this pathway would have major benefits for patients and health care providers. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03005158.

"Passing Out is a Serious Thing": Patient Expectations for Syncope Evaluation and Management

PURPOSE

Syncope is a complex symptom requiring thoughtful evaluation. The ACC/AHA/HRS published syncope management guidelines in 2017. Effective guideline implementation hinges on overcoming multilevel barriers, including providers' perceptions that patients prefer aggressive diagnostic testing when presenting to the emergency department (ED) with syncope, which conflicts with the 2017 Guideline on Syncope. To better understand this perceived barrier, we explored patient and family caregiver expectations and preferences when presenting to the ED with syncope.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We conducted semi-structured focus groups (N=12) and in-depth interviews (N=19) with patients presenting to the ED with syncope as well as with their family caregivers. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed by a team of researchers following a directed content analysis. Results were reviewed and shared iteratively with all team members to confirm mutual understanding and agreement.

RESULTS

Syncope patients and caregivers discussed three main desires when presenting to the ED with syncope: 1) clarity regarding their diagnosis,; 2) context surrounding their care plan and diagnostic approach; and 3) to feel seen, heard and cared about by their health care team.

CONCLUSION

Clinicians have cited patient preferences for aggressive diagnostic testing as a barrier to adhering to the 2017 Guideline on Syncope, which recommends against routine administration of imaging testing (eg, echocardiograms). Our results suggest that while participants preferred diagnostic testing as a means to achieve clarity and even a feeling of being cared for, other strategies, such as a patient-engaged approach to communication and shared decision-making, may address the spectrum of patient expectations when presenting to the ED with syncope while adhering to guideline recommendations.

Triple Aim and the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program

Objectives:

Despite substantial attention on hospital readmission rates, the impact of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) on a comprehensive set of Triple Aim goals has not been studied: improve hospital quality, reduce cost, and improve patient experience.

Methods:

We analyze inpatient claims data from 2006 to 2015 from the Dallas Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation with a panel of 27,397 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure. We deploy a quasi-natural experiment using a difference-in-difference specification to estimate the effect of HRRP effect on readmission rates, length of stay (LOS), and hospital satisfaction.

Results:

We find that the likelihood of 30-day readmissions declined by 2.6%, average LOS decreased by 7.9%, and overall hospital rating increased by 2.1% among hospitals that fell under the scope of the HRRP, compared to non-HRRP hospitals. Our results provide evidence of a spillover effect of the HRRP in terms of its impact not only on Medicare patients, but across all insurance types, and other performance measures such as cost and patient experience.

Conclusion:

Our findings indicate that HRRP hospitals do not trade-off reductions in readmission rates with lower quality across other patient health outcomes. Rather, we find evidence that the HRRP has affected all 3 dimensions of the Triple Aim with respect to patient and hospital outcomes.

Value-based syncope evaluation and management: Perspectives of health care professionals on readiness, barriers and enablers

BACKGROUND

Syncope is a common condition seen in the emergency department. Given the multitude of etiologies, research exists on the evaluation and management of syncope. Yet, physicians' approach to patients with syncope is variable and often not value based. The 2017 ACC/AHA/HRS Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Patients with Syncope includes a focus on unnecessary medical testing. However, little research assesses implementation of the guidelines.

METHODS

Mixed methods approach was applied. The targeted provider specialties include emergency medicine, hospital medicine and cardiology. The Evidence-based Practice Attitude Scale-36 and the Organizational Readiness to Change Assessment surveys were distributed to four different hospital sites. We then conducted focus groups and key informant interviews to obtain more information about clinicians' perceptions to guideline-based practice and barriers/facilitators to implementation. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were used for survey analysis. Two-stage coding was used to identify themes with NVivo.

RESULTS

Analysis of surveys revealed that overall attitude toward evidence-based practices was moderate and implementation of new guidelines were seen as a burden, potentially decreasing compliance. There were differences across hospital settings. Five common themes emerged from interviews: uncertainty of a syncope diagnosis, rise of consumerism in health care, communication challenge with patient, provider differences in standardized care, and organizational processes to change.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite recommendations for the use of syncope guidelines, adherence is suboptimal. Overcoming barriers to use will require a paradigm shift. A multifaceted approach and collaborative relationships are needed to adhere to the Guidelines to improve patient care and operational efficiency.

A Call for a Reconsideration of the Use of Fecal Occult Blood Testing in Emergency Medicine

BACKGROUND

Fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) was developed to detect microscopic bleeding caused by colorectal neoplasms. The role of FOBT in the emergency department (ED) is typically used for 5 different clinical workups: trauma, anemia, syncope, hypotension, and before the administration of systemic anticoagulants or thrombolytics.

OBJECTIVE

We scrutinized the literature to assess the utility of FOBT for its 5 most common applications in the emergent setting.

DISCUSSION

Logic and clinical evidence advocating for FOBT usage in the aforementioned situations are lacking. The test itself requires specific drug and dietary restrictions that are often violated or never met when patients present to the ED with acute pathologies. In addition, the poor sensitivity and specificity of the test in these scenarios dictate that neither a negative nor positive FOBT should change the subsequent clinical workup of patients presenting to the ED.

CONCLUSION

Clinical decision making should seldom be predicated on the results of a FOBT in the ED setting.

Clinical Benefit of Hospitalization for Older Adults With Unexplained Syncope: A Propensity-Matched Analysis

STUDY OBJECTIVE

Many adults with syncope are hospitalized solely for observation and testing. We seek to determine whether hospitalization versus outpatient management for older adults with unexplained syncope is associated with a reduction in postdisposition serious adverse events at 30 days.

METHODS

We performed a propensity score analysis using data from a prospective, observational study of older adults with unexplained syncope or near syncope who presented to 11 emergency departments (EDs) in the United States. We enrolled adults (≥60 years) who presented with syncope or near syncope. We excluded patients with a serious diagnosis identified in the ED. Clinical and laboratory data were collected on all patients. The primary outcome was rate of post-ED serious adverse events at 30 days.

RESULTS

We enrolled 2,492 older adults with syncope and no serious ED diagnosis from April 2013 to September 2016. Mean age was 73 years (SD 8.9 years), and 51% were women. The incidence of serious adverse events within 30 days after the index visit was 7.4% for hospitalized patients and 3.19% for discharged patients, representing an unadjusted difference of 4.2% (95% confidence interval 2.38% to 6.02%). After propensity score matching on risk of hospitalization, there was no statistically significant difference in serious adverse events at 30 days between the hospitalized group (4.89%) and the discharged group (2.82%) (risk difference 2.07%; 95% confidence interval -0.24% to 4.38%).

CONCLUSION

In our propensity-matched sample of older adults with unexplained syncope, for those with clinical characteristics similar to that of the discharged cohort, hospitalization was not associated with improvement in 30-day serious adverse event rates.

Orthostatic vital signs do not predict 30 day serious outcomes in older emergency department patients with syncope: A multicenter observational study

BACKGROUND

Syncope is a common chief complaint among older adults in the Emergency Department (ED), and orthostatic vital signs are often a part of their evaluation. We assessed whether abnormal orthostatic vital signs in the ED are associated with composite 30-day serious outcomes in older adults presenting with syncope.

METHODS

We performed a secondary analysis of a prospective, observational study at 11 EDs in adults ≥ 60 years who presented with syncope or near syncope. We excluded patients lost to follow up. We used the standard definition of abnormal orthostatic vital signs or subjective symptoms of lightheadedness upon standing to define orthostasis. We determined the rate of composite 30-day serious outcomes, including those during the index ED visit, such as cardiac arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, cardiac intervention, new diagnosis of structural heart disease, stroke, pulmonary embolism, aortic dissection, subarachnoid hemorrhage, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, hemorrhage/anemia requiring transfusion, with major traumatic injury from fall, recurrent syncope, and death) between the groups with normal and abnormal orthostatic vital signs.

RESULTS

The study cohort included 1974 patients, of whom 51.2% were male and 725 patients (37.7%) had abnormal orthostatic vital signs. Comparing those with abnormal to those with normal orthostatic vital signs, we did not find a difference in composite 30-serious outcomes (111/725 (15.3%) vs 184/1249 (14.7%); unadjusted odds ratio, 1.05 [95%CI, 0.81-1.35], p = 0.73). After adjustment for gender, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure (CHF), history of arrhythmia, dyspnea, hypotension, any abnormal ECG, physician risk assessment, medication classes and disposition, there was no association with composite 30-serious outcomes (adjusted odds ratio, 0.82 [95%CI, 0.62-1.09], p = 0.18).

CONCLUSIONS

In a cohort of older adult patients presenting with syncope who were able to have orthostatic vital signs evaluated, abnormal orthostatic vital signs did not independently predict composite 30-day serious outcomes.

Variation in diagnostic testing for older patients with syncope in the emergency department

BACKGROUND

Older adults presenting with syncope often undergo intensive diagnostic testing with unclear benefit. We determined the variation, frequency, yield, and costs of tests obtained to evaluate older persons with syncope.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective, multicenter observational cohort study in 11 academic emergency departments in the United States of 3686 patients aged ≥60 years presenting with syncope or presyncope. We measured the frequency, variation, yield, and costs (based on Medicare payment tables) of diagnostic tests performed at the index visit.

RESULTS

While most study rates were similar across sites, some were notably discordant (e.g., carotid ultrasound: mean 9.5%, range 1.1% to 49.3%). The most frequently-obtained diagnostic tests were initial troponin (88.6%), chest x-ray (75.1%), head CT (42.5%) and echocardiogram (35.5%). The yield or proportion of abnormal findings by diagnostic test ranged from 1.9% (electrocardiogram) to 42.0% (coronary angiography). Among the most common tests, echocardiogram had the highest proportion of abnormal results at 22.1%. Echocardiogram was an outlier in total cost at $672,648, and had a cost per abnormal test of $3129.

CONCLUSION

Variation in diagnostic testing in older patients presenting with syncope exists. The yield and cost per abnormal result for common tests obtained to evaluate syncope are also highly variable. Selecting tests based on history and examination while also prioritizing less resource intensive and higher yield tests may ensure a more informed and cost-effective approach to evaluating older patients with syncope.

Development of a Patient Decision Aid for Syncope in the Emergency Department: the SynDA Tool

OBJECTIVES

The objective was to develop a patient decision aid (DA) to promote shared decision making (SDM) for stable, alert patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with syncope.

METHODS

Using input from patients, clinicians, and experts in the field of syncope, health care design, and SDM, we created a prototype of a paper-based DA to engage patients in the disposition decision (admission vs. discharge) after an unremarkable ED evaluation for syncope. In phase 1, we conducted one-on-one semistructured exploratory interviews with 10 emergency physicians and 10 ED syncope patients. In phase 2, we conducted one-on-one directed interviews with 15 emergency care clinicians, five cardiologists, and 12 ED syncope patients to get detailed feedback on DA content and design. We iteratively modified the aid using feedback from each interviewee until clarity and usability had been optimized.

RESULTS

The 11 × 17-inch, paper-based DA, titled SynDA, includes four sections: 1) explanation of syncope, 2) explanation of future risks, 3) personalized 30-day risk estimate, and 4) disposition options. The personalized risk estimate is calculated using a recently published syncope risk-stratification tool. This risk estimate is stated in natural frequency and graphically displayed using a 100-person color-coded pictogram. Patient-oriented questions are included to stimulate dialogue between patient and clinician. At the end of the development process, patient and physician participants expressed satisfaction with the clarity and usability of the DA.

CONCLUSIONS

We iteratively developed an evidence-based DA to facilitate SDM for alert syncope patients after an unremarkable ED evaluation. Further testing is required to determine its effects on patient care. This DA has the potential to improve care for syncope patients and promote patient-centered care in emergency medicine.