Impact of 24/7/365 Attending Radiologist Coverage on the Turnaround Time in an Emergency and Trauma Radiology Department

2020 ◽  
pp. 084653711989932
Author(s):  
Sabeena Jalal ◽  
Hugue Ouellette ◽  
Zharmaine Ante ◽  
Peter Munk ◽  
Faisal Khosa ◽  
...  

Objective: To study the impact of 24/7/365 attending radiologist coverage on the turnaround time (TAT) of trauma and nontrauma cases in an emergency and trauma radiology department. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective chart review in which TAT of patients coming to the emergency department between 2 periods: (1) December 1, 2012, to September 30, 2013, and (2) January 1, 2017, to January 30, 2018, and whose reports were read by an attending emergency and trauma radiologist was noted. Results: The 24/7/365 radiology coverage was associated with a significant reduction in TAT of computed tomography reports, and the time reduction was comparable between trauma and nontrauma cases. In adjusted models, the extension of radiology coverage was associated with an average of 7.83 hours reduction in overall TAT (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.44-8.22) for reports related to trauma, in which 2.73 hours were due to reduction in completion to transcription time (TC; 95% CI: 2.53-2.93), and 5.10 hours were due to reduction in transcription to finalization time (TF; 95% CI: 4.75-5.44). For reports related to nontrauma cases, 24/7/365 coverage was associated with an average of 6.07 hours reduction in overall TAT (95% CI: 3.54-8.59), 2.91 hours reduction in TC (95% CI: 1.55-4.26), and 3.16 hours reduction in TF (95% CI: 0.90-5.42). Conclusion: Our pilot study demonstrates that the implementation of on-site 24/7/365 attending emergency radiology coverage at a tertiary care center was associated with a reduced TAT for trauma and nontrauma patients imaging studies. Although the magnitude and precision of estimates were slightly higher for trauma cases as compared to nontrauma cases. Trauma examinations stand to benefit the most from 24/7/365 attending level radiology coverage.

2020 ◽  
pp. 084653712090204
Author(s):  
Sabeena Jalal ◽  
Zharmaine Ante ◽  
Hugue Ouellette ◽  
Stephen Peters ◽  
Peter Munk ◽  
...  

Objective: To offer an evidence-based account of the effect of 24/7/365 attending radiologist coverage on the turnaround time (TAT) of trauma-related radiographs finalized within 48 hours of exam completion, drawing data from an emergency radiology department of a tertiary care hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective chart review, where TATs of imaging studies for a sample of trauma patients, who had visited the emergency department of the Vancouver General Hospital between two time periods, January 1 to September 30, 2013, and January 1 to September 30, 2017, were noted. Results: In models adjusted for patient’s age, sex, and seasonality, the 24/7/365 attending radiologist coverage was associated with an average of 19.1 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 18.7-19.4) hours of reduction in time from exam completion to report finalization by an attending radiologist. Approximately 11.3 (95% CI: 18.7-19.4) hours was due to reduction in time from exam completion to preliminary diagnosis of reports. When the impact of the increased number of radiology staff in 2017 was removed in the analysis, the overall TAT was reduced by 13.3 (95% CI: 13.0-13.6) hours and the time from exam completion to preliminary report was reduced by 7.8 (95% CI: 7.6-8.1) hours. Limitation: Since we have used a simple random sample (SRS) for this research, this study does not describe the burden of reports that are finalized in the emergency and trauma radiology department during the given time periods. Conclusion: Our pilot study demonstrates that the implementation of 24/7/365 attending radiology coverage significantly reduces TAT for finalized radiology reports of all modalities of trauma imaging studies in an emergency and trauma radiology department. Policy implication: This research serves the contemporary health-care administration, policymaking information needs by providing the evidence for significantly reduced TAT of finalized radiology reports from a Canadian perspective.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s263-s264
Author(s):  
Jordan Polistico ◽  
Avnish Sandhu ◽  
Teena Chopra ◽  
Erin Goldman ◽  
Jennifer LeRose ◽  
...  

Background: Influenza causes a high burden of disease in the United States, with an estimate of 960,000 hospitalizations in the 2017–2018 flu season. Traditional flu diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests have a longer (24 hours or more) turnaround time that may lead to an increase in unnecessary inpatient admissions during peak influenza season. A new point-of-care rapid PCR assays, Xpert Flu, is an FDA-approved PCR test that has a significant decrease in turnaround time (2 hours). The present study sought to understand the impact of implementing a new Xpert Flu test on the rate of inpatient admissions. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to compare rates of inpatient admissions in patients tested with traditional flu PCR during the 2017–2018 flu season and the rapid flu PCR during the 2018–2019 flu season in a tertiary-care center in greater Detroit area. The center has 1 pediatric hospital (hospital A) and 3 adult hospitals (hospital B, C, D). Patients with influenza-like illness who presented to all 4 hospitals during 2 consecutive influenza seasons were analyzed. Results: In total, 20,923 patients were tested with either the rapid flu PCR or the traditional flu PCR. Among these, 14,124 patients (67.2%) were discharged from the emergency department and 6,844 (32.7%) were admitted. There was a significant decrease in inpatient admissions in the traditional flu PCR group compared to the rapid flu PCR group across all hospitals (49.56% vs 26.6% respectively; P < .001). As expected, a significant proportion of influenza testing was performed in the pediatric hospital, 10,513 (50.2%). A greater reduction (30% decrease in the rapid flu PCR group compared to the traditional flu PCR group) was observed in inpatient admissions in the pediatric hospital (Table 1) Conclusions: Rapid molecular influenza testing can significantly decrease inpatient admissions in a busy tertiary-care hospital, which can indirectly lead to improved patient quality with easy bed availability and less time spent in a private room with droplet precautions. Last but not the least, this testing method can certainly lead to lower healthcare costs.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None


Author(s):  
Khadija Hafidh ◽  
Saira Abbas ◽  
Arhsee Khan ◽  
Touseef Kazmi ◽  
Zufana Nazir ◽  
...  

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Uncontrolled glycemia is a well-recognized predictor of severity and deaths in previous respiratory viral outbreaks. We aimed to describe the characteristics and clinical course of patients with diabetes admitted with COVID-19 infection at a tertiary care center in the Emirate of Dubai, UAE, and assess the impact of hyperglycemia on the clinical outcomes. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This study is a single-center, observational, retrospective chart review of 250 cases during the months of March to May 2020. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Among the 250 cases studied, 235 (94%) were male. The mean age of the study group was 49.6 ± 10.4 years, with an age range of 21–78 years. Diabetes was previously known in 166 (66.4%) of the patients. The mortality (<i>p</i> = 0.03) and requirement for mechanical ventilation (<i>p</i> = 0.02) were higher for the cases with newly diagnosed diabetes when compared to those with pre-existing diabetes. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Uncontrolled hyperglycemia adversely affects patients with COVID-19 infection. Newly diagnosed and previously undiagnosed hyperglycemia poses an added risk for complications. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, optimizing glycemia in hospitalized patients is of paramount importance and screening to detect undiagnosed cases of diabetes may be particularly relevant.


2008 ◽  
Vol 139 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. P36-P36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yalon Dolev ◽  
Martin J Black ◽  
Michael P Hier ◽  
Michael Tamilia ◽  
Richard J Payne

Objective To clearly define what constitutes successful parathyroidectomy in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism and to review our institution's results. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted for consecutive patients who underwent parathyroidectomy at a university-affiliated tertiary care center between January 1998 and February 2006. Intraoperative pre- and post-excision PTH levels were recorded. PTH and calcium levels were recorded at 3 – 6 month intervals in the first 2 years and then yearly. Results 84 patients were analyzed. 50 (60%) had normal calcium and normal PTH levels following surgery, 28 (33%) had normal calcium and elevated PTH following surgery, and 6 (7%) had both elevated calcium and PTH. The mean follow-up time was 2.23 years, with a range of 0.25 to 5 years. Conclusions Surgery was successful, as indicated by normocalcemia, in 78 patients (93%). Of these 78 patients, 28 (33%) developed persistent PTH elevation without developing hypercalcemia. Other studies have studied this subgroup of patients with normalized post-operative calcium and consistently elevated PTH levels and noted that these new set points persist. Consequently, successful parathyroidectomy should be defined by serum calcium and not PTH levels.


2021 ◽  
pp. 019459982110089
Author(s):  
Quinn Dunlap ◽  
James Reed Gardner ◽  
Amanda Ederle ◽  
Deanne King ◽  
Maya Merriweather ◽  
...  

Objective Neck dissection (ND) is one of the most commonly performed procedures in head and neck surgery. We sought to compare the morbidity of elective ND (END) versus therapeutic ND (TND). Study Design Retrospective chart review. Setting Academic tertiary care center. Methods Retrospective chart review of 373 NDs performed from January 2015 to December 2018. Patients with radical ND or inadequate chart documentation were excluded. Demographics, clinicopathologic data, complications, and sacrificed structures during ND were retrieved. Statistical analysis was performed with χ2 and analysis of variance for comparison of categorical and continuous variables, respectively, with statistical alpha set a 0.05. Results Patients examined consisted of 224 males (60%) with a mean age of 60 years. TND accounted for 79% (n = 296) as compared with 21% (n = 77) for END. Other than a significantly higher history of radiation (37% vs 7%, P < .001) and endocrine pathology (34% vs 2.6%, P < .001) in the TND group, no significant differences in demographics were found between the therapeutic and elective groups. A significantly higher rate of structure sacrifice and extranodal extension within the TND group was noted to hold in overall and subgroup comparisons. No significant difference in rate of surgical complications was appreciated between groups in overall or subgroup analysis. Conclusion While the significantly higher rate of structure sacrifice among the TND population represents an increased morbidity profile in these patients, no significant difference was found in the rate of surgical complications between groups. The significant difference seen between groups regarding history of radiation and endocrine pathology likely represents selection bias.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Sneha Rangu ◽  
Leslie Castelo-Soccio

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Trichotillomania (TTM) is a complex disease with varying clinical characteristics, and psychosocial impairment is noted in many TTM patients. Despite its prevalence in childhood, there is limited research on pediatric TTM. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> To analyze the clinical and epidemiologic features of TTM in children evaluated by dermatologists and behavioral health specialists. <b><i>Method:</i></b> We performed a retrospective chart review of 137 pediatric patients seen at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with initial presentation of TTM at age 17 or younger. Patients were treated by dermatology or behavioral health. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The majority of the patients were females, with an average diagnosis age around 8 years. Over half had a psychiatric comorbidity, and over a quarter had a skin disorder. Skin disorders were more commonly present in those evaluated by dermatology, and psychiatric comorbidities were more commonly present in those evaluated by behavioral health. The most common form of treatment was behavioral therapy, with medications prescribed more often by dermatologists. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> TTM patients choose to present to behavioral health or dermatology; however, there are distinctive differences between the two cohorts. With behavioral and pharmacologic treatment options, a relationship between dermatologists and behavioral health specialists is necessary for multifactorial management of TTM.


2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (7) ◽  
pp. 627-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather VanderMeulen ◽  
Jeffrey M. Pernica ◽  
Madan Roy ◽  
April J. Kam

Objective. To assess the promptness and appropriateness of management in pediatric cases of necrotizing fasciitis (NF). Methods. A retrospective chart review examined cases of pediatric NF treated at a pediatric tertiary care center over a 10-year period. Results. Twelve patients were identified over the 10-year period. The median (25th to 75th centile) times to appropriate antibiotic administration, infectious disease consults, surgical consults and debridement surgeries were 2.6 (2.1-3.2), 7.7 (3.4-24.4), 4.6 (1.7-21.0), and 22.1 (10.3-28.4) hours following assessment at triage. The initial antibiotic(s) administered covered the causative organism in 9 of 12 cases. The median (25th to 75th centile) length of hospital stay was 21 (14.0-35.5) days. Conclusions. The large variability in the care of these patients speaks to the range of their presenting symptomatology. The lack of a standardized approach to the pediatric patient with suspected NF results in delays in management and suboptimal antibiotic choice.


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