A Longer Route to the PICU Can Lead to a Longer Stay in the PICU: A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study

2020 ◽  
pp. 088506662096910
Author(s):  
Sandeep Tripathi ◽  
Logan J. Meixsell ◽  
Michele Astle ◽  
Minchul Kim ◽  
Yamini Kapileshwar ◽  
...  

Introduction: Admission to the pediatric ICU versus general pediatric floor for patients is a significant triage decision for emergency department physicians. Escalation of care within 24 hours of hospital admission is considered as a quality metric for pediatric E.R. There exists, however, a lack of data to show that such escalation leads to a poor outcome. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to compare outcomes of patients who required escalation of care within 24 hours of hospital admission to the pediatric ICU (cases) from 01/01 2015 to 02/28 2019 with those who were directly admitted from emergency department to the PICU (controls). A total of 327 cases were compared to 931 controls. Univariate and multivariable regression analysis was done to compare the length of stay and mortality data. Results: Patients who required escalation of care were significantly younger (median age 1.9 years compared to 4.6 years for controls) and had lower severity of illness score (PIM 3). Cases had a much higher proportion of respiratory diagnosis. ICU length of stay, hospital length of stay and the direct cost was significantly higher for cases compared to controls. This difference persisted for all age groups and respiratory diagnosis. The cost of care, however, was only different for 1-5 years and >5 years age groups. The difference in ICU length of stay (Δ11.1%) and hospital length of stay (Δ7.8%) persisted on multivariate regression analysis after controlling for age, sex, PIM3 score, and diagnostic variables. There was no difference in mortality on the univariate or multivariate analysis between the 2 groups. Conclusions: Patients who required escalation of care within 24 hours of hospital admissions have more prolonged ICU and hospital stay and potentially increased cost of care. This measure should be considered while making patient disposition decisions in the emergency department.

Diagnosis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Eames ◽  
Arie Eisenman ◽  
Richard J. Schuster

AbstractPrevious studies have shown that changes in diagnoses from admission to discharge are associated with poorer outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate how diagnostic discordance affects patient outcomes.: The first three digits of ICD-9-CM codes at admission and discharge were compared for concordance. The study involved 6281 patients admitted to the Western Galilee Medical Center, Naharyia, Israel from the emergency department (ED) between 01 November 2012 and 21 January 2013. Concordant and discordant diagnoses were compared in terms of, length of stay, number of transfers, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, readmission, and mortality.: Discordant diagnoses was associated with increases in patient mortality rate (5.1% vs. 1.5%; RR 3.35, 95% CI 2.43, 4.62; p<0.001), the number of ICU admissions (6.7% vs. 2.7%; RR 2.58, 95% CI 2.07, 3.32; p<0.001), hospital length of stay (3.8 vs. 2.5 days; difference 1.3 days, 95% CI 1.2, 1.4; p<0.001), ICU length of stay (5.2 vs. 3.8 days; difference 1.4 days, 95% CI 1.0, 1.9; p<0.001), and 30 days readmission (14.11% vs. 12.38%; RR 1.14, 95% CI 1.00, 1.30; p=0.0418). ED length of stay was also greater for the discordant group (3.0 vs. 2.9 h; difference 8.8 min; 95% CI 0.1, 0.2; p<0.001): These findings indicate discordant admission and discharge diagnoses are associated with increases in morbidity and mortality. Further research should identify modifiable causes of discordance.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e018190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Émond ◽  
Valérie Boucher ◽  
Pierre-Hugues Carmichael ◽  
Philippe Voyer ◽  
Mathieu Pelletier ◽  
...  

ObjectiveWe aim to determine the incidence of delirium and describe its impacts on hospital length of stay (LOS) among non-delirious community-dwelling older adults with an 8-hour exposure to the emergency department (ED) environment.DesignThis is a prospective observational multicentre cohort study (March–July 2015). Patients were assessed two times per day during their entire ED stay and up to 24 hours on hospital ward.SettingThe study took place in four Canadian EDs.Participants338 included patients: (1) aged ≥65 years; (2) who had an ED stay ≥8 hours; (3) were admitted to hospital ward and (4) were independent/semi-independent.Main outcome(s) and measure(s)The primary outcomes of this study were incident delirium in the ED or within 24 hours of ward admission and ED and hospital LOS. Functional and cognitive status were assessed using validated Older Americans Resources and Services and the modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status tools. The Confusion Assessment Method was used to detect incident delirium. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to evaluate outcomes.ResultsMean age was 76.8 (±8.1), 17.7% were aged >85 years old and 48.8% were men. The mean incidence of delirium was 12.1% (n=41). Median IQR ED LOS was 32.4 (24.5–47.9) hours and hospital LOS was 146.6 (75.2–267.8) hours. Adjusted mean hospital LOS was increased by 105.4 hours (4.4 days) (95% CI 25.1 to 162.0, P<0.001) for patients who developed an episode of delirium compared with non-delirious patient.ConclusionsAn incident delirium was observed in one of eight independent/semi-independent older adults after an 8-hour ED exposure. An episode of delirium increases hospital LOS by 4 days and therefore has important implications for patients and could contribute to ED overcrowding through a deleterious feedback loop.


CJEM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (S1) ◽  
pp. S56-S56
Author(s):  
A. Mokhtari ◽  
D. Simonyan ◽  
A. Pineault ◽  
M. Mallet ◽  
S. Blais ◽  
...  

Introduction: A physician handoff is the process through which physicians transfer the primary responsibility of a care unit. The emergency department (ED) is a fast-paced and crowded environment where the risk of information loss between shifts is significant. Yet, the impact of handoffs between emergency physicians on patient outcomes remains understudied. We performed a retrospective cohort study in the ED to determine if handed-off patients, when compared to non-handed-off patients, were at higher risk of negative outcomes. Methods: We included every adult patient first assessed by an emergency physician and subsequently admitted to hospital in one of the five sites of the CHU de Québec-Université Laval during fiscal year 2016-17. Data were extracted from the local hospital discharge database and the ED information system. Primary outcome was mortality. Secondary outcomes were incidence of ICU admission and surgery and hospital length of stay. We conducted multilevel multivariate regression analyses, accounting for patient and hospital clusters and adjusting for demographics, CTAS score, comorbidities, admitting department delay before evaluation by an emergency physician and by another specialty, emergency department crowding, initial ED orientation and handoff timing. We conducted sensitivity analyses excluding patients that had an ED length of stay > 24 hours or events that happened after 72 hours of hospitalization. Results: 21,136 ED visits and 17,150 unique individuals were included in the study. Median[Q1-Q3] age, Charlson index score, door-to-emergency-physician time and ED length of stay were 71[55-83] years old, 3[1-4], 48 [24,90] minutes, 20.8[9.9,32.7] hours, respectively. In multilevel multivariate analysis (OR handoff/no handoff [CI95%] or GMR[SE]), handoff status was not associated with mortality 0.89[0.77,1.02], surgery 0.95[0.85,1.07] or hospital length of stay (-0.02[0.03]). Non-handed-off patients had an increased risk of ICU admission (0.75[0.64,0.87]). ED occupancy rate was an independent predictor of mortality and ICU admission rate irrespectively of handoff status. Sensitivity and sub-group based analyses yielded no further information. Conclusion: Emergency physicians’ handoffs do not seem to increase the risk of severe in-hospital adverse events. ED occupancy rate is an independent predictor of mortality. Further studies are needed to explore the impact of ED handoffs on adverse events of low and moderate severity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 263-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Li ◽  
Mei H. Chang ◽  
Yeismel Miranda-Valdes ◽  
Kirsten Vest ◽  
Troy D. Kish

Abstract Introduction Intensive care unit (ICU) delirium is a major contributing factor to increased mortality, length of stay, and cost of care. Psychotropic medications may often require extensive tapering to prevent withdrawal symptoms; during ICU admission, home psychotropics are frequently held which may precipitate acute drug withdrawal and subsequent delirium. Methods This is a single-center, observational, retrospective chart review. The primary endpoint was the total number of new-start antipsychotics used to treat ICU delirium. Secondary endpoints included use of restraints, ICU length of stay, and hospital length of stay. Results A total of 2334 charts were reviewed for inclusion; 55 patients were categorized into each group. There was no statistically significant difference in the requirement for new-start antipsychotics (P = 1.0), restraint use (P = .057), or ICU length of stay (P = .71). There was a statistically significant decrease in hospital length of stay (P = .048). Discussion Early reinitiation was associated with a decrease in hospital length of stay but was not associated with a decrease in the number of new-start antipsychotics, use of restraints, or ICU length of stay.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-49
Author(s):  
Alexandra K. Wilson ◽  
Carolyn E. Ragsdale ◽  
Ila Sehgal ◽  
Micah Vaughn ◽  
Eimeira Padilla-Tolentino ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE Determine if a standardized methadone and lorazepam weaning protocol that is based on dose and duration of exposure can reduce the length of opioid and benzodiazepine weaning and shorten hospital stay. METHODS Retrospective cohort study performed in a 24-bed medical/surgical PICU. A total of 177 patients on opioid and/or benzodiazepine infusions for &gt;3 days were included; 75 patients pre protocol (June 2012– June 2013) were compared with 102 patients post implementation of a standardized weaning protocol of methadone and lorazepam (March 2014–March 2015). The recommended wean was based on duration of infusions of &gt;3 days up to 5 days (no wean), 5 to 13 days (short wean), and ≥14 days (long wean). RESULTS Median number of days on methadone for patients on opioid infusions for 5 to 13 days was reduced from 8.5 to 5.7 days (p = 0.001; n = 45 [pre], n = 68 [post]) and for patients on opioid infusions for ≥14 days, from 29.7 to 11.5 days (p = 0.003; n = 9 [pre], n = 9 [post]) after protocol implementation. The median number of days on lorazepam for patients on benzodiazepine infusions for 5 to 13 days was reduced from 8.1 to 5.2 days (p = 0.020; n = 43 [pre], n = 55 [post]) and for patients on benzodiazepine infusions for ≥14 days, from 27.4 to 9.3 days (p = 0.011; n = 9 [pre], n = 8 [post]). There was no difference in methadone or lorazepam wean length for patients on 3 to 5 days of infusions. There was no difference in adverse events or hospital length of stay. CONCLUSIONS A methadone and lorazepam weaning protocol based on patient's exposure to opioids and benzodiazepines (dose and duration) reduces weaning length.


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