scholarly journals The association between vital signs and clinical outcomes in emergency department patients of different age categories

2022 ◽  
pp. emermed-2020-210628
Author(s):  
Bart GJ Candel ◽  
Renée Duijzer ◽  
Menno I Gaakeer ◽  
Ewoud ter Avest ◽  
Özcan Sir ◽  
...  

BackgroundAppropriate interpretation of vital signs is essential for risk stratification in the emergency department (ED) but may change with advancing age. In several guidelines, risk scores such as the Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) and Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) scores, commonly used in emergency medicine practice (as well as critical care) specify a single cut-off or threshold for each of the commonly measured vital signs. Although a single cut-off may be convenient, it is unknown whether a single cut-off for vital signs truly exists and if the association between vital signs and in-hospital mortality differs per age-category.AimsTo assess the association between initial vital signs and case-mix adjusted in-hospital mortality in different age categories.MethodsObservational multicentre cohort study using the Netherlands Emergency Department Evaluation Database (NEED) in which consecutive ED patients ≥18 years were included between 1 January 2017 and 12 January 2020. The association between vital signs and case-mix adjusted mortality were assessed in three age categories (18-65; 66-80; >80 years) using multivariable logistic regression. Vital signs were each divided into five to six categories, for example, systolic blood pressure (SBP) categories (≤80, 81–100, 101–120, 121–140, >140 mm Hg).ResultsWe included 101 416 patients of whom 2374 (2.3%) died. Adjusted ORs for mortality increased gradually with decreasing SBP and decreasing peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2). Diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) had quasi-U-shaped associations with mortality. Mortality did not increase for temperatures anywhere in the range between 35.5°C and 42.0°C, with a single cut-off around 35.5°C below which mortality increased. Single cut-offs were also found for MAP <70 mm Hg and respiratory rate >22/min. For all vital signs, older patients had larger increases in absolute mortality compared with younger patients.ConclusionFor SBP, DBP, SpO2 and HR, no single cut-off existed. The impact of changing vital sign categories on prognosis was larger in older patients. Our results have implications for the interpretation of vital signs in existing risk stratification tools and acute care guidelines.

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 619-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mats Warmerdam ◽  
Lucia Baris ◽  
Margo van Liebergen ◽  
Annemieke Ansems ◽  
Laura Esteve Cuevas ◽  
...  

ObjectiveIn existing risk stratification and resuscitation guidelines for sepsis, a hypotension threshold of systolic blood pressure (SBP) below 90–100 mmHg is typically used. However, for older patients, the clinical relevance of a SBP in a seemingly ‘normal’ range (>100 mmHg) is still poorly understood, as they may need higher SBP for adequate tissue perfusion due to arterial stiffening. We therefore investigated the association between SBP and mortality in older emergency department (ED) patients hospitalised with a suspected infection.MethodsIn this observational multicentre study in the Netherlands, we interrogated an existing prospective database of consecutive ED patients hospitalised with a suspected infection between 2011 and 2016. We investigated the association between SBP categories (≤100, 101–120, 121–139, ≥140 mmHg) and in-hospital mortality in patients of 70 years and older. We adjusted for demographics, comorbidity, disease severity and admission to ward/intensive care using multivariable logistic regression.ResultsIn the 833 included older patients, unadjusted in-hospital mortality increased from 4.7% (n=359) in SBP ≥140 mmHg to 20.8% (n=96) in SBP ≤100 mmHg. SBP categories were linearly associated with case-mix-adjusted in-hospital mortality. The adjusted ORs (95% CI) for ≤100, 101–120 and 121–139 mmHgcompared with the reference of ≥140 mmHg were 3.8 (1.8 to 7.8), 2.8 (1.4 to 5.5) and 1.9 (0.9 to 3.7), respectively.ConclusionIn older ED patients hospitalised with a suspected infection, we found an inverse linear association between SBP and case-mix-adjusted in-hospital mortality. Our data suggest that the commonly used threshold for hypotension is not clinically meaningful for risk stratification of older ED patients with a suspected infection.


2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (12) ◽  
pp. 1248-1252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric B. McClellan ◽  
Scott Bricker ◽  
Angela Neville ◽  
Frederic Bongard ◽  
Brant Putnam ◽  
...  

Trauma patients admitted without vital signs have little hope of survival even with extreme interventions. We performed this study to determine the effect of age on survival in patients in extremis undergoing urgent thoracotomy. The National Trauma Database was searched for patients presenting without a systolic blood pressure (0), a Glasgow Coma Scale score less than 8, and underwent an urgent thoracotomy. Mortality was determined for pediatric (younger than 16 years) and older patients (older than 60 years) and compared. Of 708 patients, 32 (4.5%) were pediatric and 57 (8.1%) were elderly. Pediatric mortality was 93.8 per cent (30) versus 95.6 per cent (646) for patients older than 16 years ( P = 0.981). Mortality in the older patients was 94.7 per cent (54) versus 95.5 per cent (622) in patients younger than 60 years ( P = 0.778). Race and blunt injury were independently associated with death. However, neither pediatric ( P = 0.418) nor older status ( P = 0.184) was predictive. Age does not significantly impact mortality in patients in extremis who undergo urgent thoracotomy. Age should not be a contributing factor in determining who should undergo more extreme maneuvers if they present as a reasonable candidate using other criteria.


2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (S4) ◽  
pp. 222-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Schönstein ◽  
H.-W. Wahl ◽  
H. A. Katus ◽  
A. Bahrmann

Abstract Background Risk stratification of older patients in the emergency department (ED) is seen as a promising and efficient solution for handling the increase in demand for geriatric emergency medicine. Previously, the predictive validity of commonly used tools for risk stratification, such as the identification of seniors at risk (ISAR), have found only limited evidence in German geriatric patient samples. Given that the adverse outcomes in question, such as rehospitalization, nursing home admission and mortality, are substantially associated with cognitive impairment, the potential of the short portable mental status questionnaire (SPMSQ) as a tool for risk stratification of older ED patients was investigated. Objective To estimate the predictive validity of the SPMSQ for a composite endpoint of adverse events (e.g. rehospitalization, nursing home admission and mortality). Method This was a prospective cohort study with 260 patients aged 70 years and above, recruited in a cardiology ED. Patients with a likely life-expectancy below 24 h were excluded. Follow-up examinations were conducted at 1, 3, 6 and 12 month(s) after recruitment. Results The SPMSQ was found to be a significant predictor of adverse outcomes not at 1 month (area under the curve, AUC 0.55, 95% confidence interval, CI 0.46–0.63) but at 3 months (AUC 0.61, 95% CI 0.54–0.68), 6 months (AUC 0.63, 95% CI 0.56–0.70) and 12 months (AUC 0.63, 95% CI 0.56–0.70) after initial contact. Conclusion For longer periods of observation the SPMSQ can be a predictor of a composite endpoint of adverse outcomes even when controlled for a range of confounders. Its characteristics, specifically the low sensitivity, make it unsuitable as an accurate risk stratification tool on its own.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e18618-e18618
Author(s):  
Alexander S. Qian ◽  
Edmund M. Qiao ◽  
Vinit Nalawade ◽  
Rohith S. Voora ◽  
Nikhil V. Kotha ◽  
...  

e18618 Background: Cancer patients frequently utilize the Emergency Department (ED) for a variety of diagnoses, both related and unrelated to their cancer. Patients with cancer have unique risks related to their cancer and treatment which could influence ED-related outcomes. A better understanding of these risks could help improve risk-stratification for these patients and help inform future interventions. This study sought to define the increased risks cancer patients face for inpatient admission and hospital mortality among cancer patients presenting to the ED. Methods: From the National Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) we identified patients with and without a diagnosis of cancer presenting to the ED between 2016 and 2018. We used International Classification of Diseases, version 10 (ICD10-CM) codes to identify patients with cancer, and to identify patient’s presenting diagnosis. Multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression models assessed the influence of cancer diagnoses on two endpoints: hospital admission from the ED, and inpatient hospital mortality. Results: There were 340 million weighted ED visits, of which 8.3 million (2.3%) occurred in patients with a cancer diagnosis. Compared to non-cancer patients, patients with cancer had an increased risk of inpatient admission (64.7% vs. 14.8%; p < 0.0001) and hospital mortality (4.6% vs. 0.5%; p < 0.0001). Factors associated with both an increased risk of hospitalization and death included older age, male gender, lower income level, discharge quarter, and receipt of care in a teaching hospital. We identified the top 15 most common presenting diagnoses among cancer patients, and among each of these diagnoses, cancer patients had increased risks of hospitalization (odds ratio [OR] range 2.0-13.2; all p < 0.05) and death (OR range 2.1-14.4; all p < 0.05) compared to non-cancer patients with the same diagnosis. Within the cancer patient cohort, cancer site was the most robust individual predictor associated with risk of hospitalization or death, with highest risk among patients with metastatic cancer, liver and lung cancers compared to the reference group of prostate cancer patients. Conclusions: Cancer patients presenting to the ED have high risks for hospital admission and death when compared to patients without cancer. Cancer patients represent a distinct population and may benefit from cancer-specific risk stratification or focused interventions tailored to improve outcomes in the ED setting.


2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-68
Author(s):  
Verônica Lourenço WITTMER ◽  
Rozy Tozetti LIMA ◽  
Michele Coutinho MAIA ◽  
Halina DUARTE ◽  
Flávia Marini PARO

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Liver cirrhosis is a highly prevalent disease that, at an advanced stage, usually causes ascites and associated respiratory changes. However, there are few studies evaluating and quantifying the impact of ascites and its relief through paracentesis on lung function and symptoms such as fatigue and dyspnea in cirrhotic patients. OBJECTIVE: To assess and quantify the impact of acute reduction of ascitic volume on respiratory parameters, fatigue and dyspnea symptoms in patients with hepatic cirrhosis, as well as to investigate possible correlations between these parameters. METHODS: Thirty patients with hepatic cirrhosis and ascites who underwent the following pre and post paracentesis evaluations: vital signs, respiratory pattern, thoracoabdominal mobility (cirtometry), pulmonary function (ventilometry), degree of dyspnea (numerical scale) and fatigue level (visual analog scale). RESULTS: There was a higher prevalence of patients classified as CHILD B and the mean MELD score was 14.73±5.75. The comparison of pre and post paracentesis parameters evidenced after paracentesis: increase of predominantly abdominal breathing pattern, improvement of ventilatory variables, increase of the differences obtained in axillary and abdominal cirtometry, reduction of dyspnea and fatigue level, blood pressure reduction and increased peripheral oxygen saturation. Positive correlations found: xiphoid with axillary cirtometry, degree of dyspnea with fatigue level, tidal volume with minute volume, Child “C” with higher MELD score, volume drained in paracentesis with higher MELD score and with Child “C”. We also observed a negative correlation between tidal volume and respiratory rate. CONCLUSION: Since ascites drainage in patients with liver cirrhosis improves pulmonary volumes and thoracic expansion as well as reduces symptoms such as fatigue and dyspnea, we can conclude that ascites have a negative respiratory and symptomatological impact in these patients.


2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A2.1-A2
Author(s):  
Sue Mason

IntroductionThe 4 h emergency standard for English acute trusts was introduced in 2003 and became full established by 2008 at 98% for all Emergency Department (ED) patients to be seen and discharged. This study examined the impact of the target for older patients attending departments.MethodsRoutine patient level data was received from 15 English EDs representing 774 095 individual patient attendances during May and June for 2003 to 2006. The data were used to determine the distribution of the total time spent in the EDs. Attendances were compared for older patients (65 years and above) with younger age groups.ResultsA total of 145 596 attendances were for patients aged 65+ years (18.9%). Across each year analysed, these older patients have a significantly longer median total time in the ED than those younger than 65 years (162 min vs 103 min, p<0.001). In addition, older patients are significantly more likely to leave the emergency department in the last 20 min prior to 4 h (12.4% vs 5.2% in those <65 years, p<0.001). This proportion is growing year on year in both the admitted and discharged categories of patients. Finally, older patients are significantly more likely to breach the 4-h than their younger counterparts (16.6% vs 6.3%, p<0.001).ConclusionsThere are some unintended consequences of introducing the 4 h target in UK emergency departments. While the target has reduced overall time in departments, the older patient appears to be disadvantaged relative to younger patients. Older patients are more likely to be ‘rushed through’ to other unmonitored areas of the hospital just prior to the target or to breach the target altogether. This finding calls in to question the benefits that the target is conveying for individual patients, and especially the most vulnerable in society.


2017 ◽  
Vol 08 (03) ◽  
pp. 794-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelby Martin ◽  
Jesse Wagner ◽  
Nicoleta Lupulescu-Mann ◽  
Katrina Ramsey ◽  
Aaron Cohen ◽  
...  

SummaryObjective: To measure variation among four different Electronic Health Record (EHR) system documentation locations versus ‘gold standard’ manual chart review for risk stratification in patients with multiple chronic illnesses.Methods: Adults seen in primary care with EHR evidence of at least one of 13 conditions were included. EHRs were manually reviewed to determine presence of active diagnoses, and risk scores were calculated using three different methodologies and five EHR documentation locations. Claims data were used to assess cost and utilization for the following year. Descriptive and diagnostic statistics were calculated for each EHR location. Criterion validity testing compared the gold standard verified diagnoses versus other EHR locations and risk scores in predicting future cost and utilization.Results: Nine hundred patients had 2,179 probable diagnoses. About 70% of the diagnoses from the EHR were verified by gold standard. For a subset of patients having baseline and prediction year data (n=750), modeling showed that the gold standard was the best predictor of outcomes on average for a subset of patients that had these data. However, combining all data sources together had nearly equivalent performance for prediction as the gold standard.Conclusions: EHR data locations were inaccurate 30% of the time, leading to improvement in overall modeling from a gold standard from chart review for individual diagnoses. However, the impact on identification of the highest risk patients was minor, and combining data from different EHR locations was equivalent to gold standard performance.Martin S, Wagner J, Lupulescu-Mann N et al. Comparison of EHR-based diagnosis documentation locations to a gold standard for risk stratification in patients with multiple chronic conditions . Appl Clin Inform 2017; 8: 794–809 https://doi.org/10.4338/ACI-2016-12-RA-0210


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
William P.T.M. van Doorn ◽  
Patricia M. Stassen ◽  
Hella F. Borggreve ◽  
Maaike J. Schalkwijk ◽  
Judith Stoffers ◽  
...  

AbstractIntroductionPatients with sepsis who present to an emergency department (ED) have highly variable underlying disease severity, and can be categorized from low to high risk. Development of a risk stratification tool for these patients is important for appropriate triage and early treatment. The aim of this study was to develop machine learning models predicting 31-day mortality in patients presenting to the ED with sepsis and to compare these to internal medicine physicians and clinical risk scores.MethodsA single-center, retrospective cohort study was conducted amongst 1,344 emergency department patients fulfilling sepsis criteria. Laboratory and clinical data that was available in the first two hours of presentation from these patients were randomly partitioned into a development (n=1,244) and validation dataset (n=100). Machine learning models were trained and evaluated on the development dataset and compared to internal medicine physicians and risk scores in the independent validation dataset. The primary outcome was 31-day mortality.ResultsA number of 1,344 patients were included of whom 174 (13.0%) died. Machine learning models trained with laboratory or a combination of laboratory + clinical data achieved an area-under-the ROC curve of 0.82 (95% CI: 0.80-0.84) and 0.84 (95% CI: 0.81-0.87) for predicting 31-day mortality, respectively. In the validation set, models outperformed internal medicine physicians and clinical risk scores in sensitivity (92% vs. 72% vs. 78%;p<0.001,all comparisons) while retaining comparable specificity (78% vs. 74% vs. 72%;p>0.02). The model had higher diagnostic accuracy with an area-under-the-ROC curve of 0.85 (95%CI: 0.78-0.92) compared to abbMEDS (0.63,0.54-0.73), mREMS (0.63,0.54-0.72) and internal medicine physicians (0.74,0.65-0.82).ConclusionMachine learning models outperformed internal medicine physicians and clinical risk scores in predicting 31-day mortality. These models are a promising tool to aid in risk stratification of patients presenting to the ED with sepsis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1155-1162
Author(s):  
Lorena Catarina Del Sant ◽  
Luciana Maria Sarin ◽  
Eduardo Jorge Muniz Magalhães ◽  
Ana Cecília Lucchese ◽  
Marco Aurélio Tuena ◽  
...  

Introduction and objectives: The impact of multiple subcutaneous (s.c.) esketamine injections on the blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) of patients with unipolar and bipolar treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the cardiovascular safety of multiple s.c. doses of esketamine in patients with TRD. Methods: Seventy TRD patients received 394 weekly s.c. esketamine injections in conjunction with oral antidepressant therapy for up to six weeks. Weekly esketamine doses were 0.5, 0.75 or 1.0 mg/kg according to each patient’s response to treatment. Participants were monitored before each treatment and every 15 minutes thereafter for 120 minutes. We assessed systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and HR measurements for the entire treatment course. Results: BP increased after the first s.c. esketamine injection, reaching maximum mean SBP/DBP levels of 4.87/5.54 mmHg within 30–45 minutes. At the end of monitoring, 120 minutes post dose, vital signs returned to pretreatment levels. We did not detect significant differences in BP between doses of 0.5, 0.75, and 1 mg/kg esketamine. Mean HR did not differ significantly between doses or before and after s.c. esketamine injection. Conclusions: The BP changes observed with repeated s.c. esketamine injections were mild and well tolerated for doses up to 1 mg/kg. The s.c. route is a simple and safe method of esketamine administration, even for patients with clinical comorbidities, including obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. However, 14/70 patients experienced treatment-emergent transient hypertension (SBP >180 mmHg and/or a DBP >110 mmHg). Therefore, we strongly recommend monitoring BP for 90 minutes after esketamine dosing. Since s.c. esketamine is cheap, requires less frequent dosing (once a week), and is a simpler procedure compared to intravenous infusions, it might have an impact on public health.


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