scholarly journals Performance of a three-level triage scale in live triage encounters in an emergency department in Hong Kong.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rex Pui Kin Lam ◽  
Shing Lam Kwok ◽  
Vi Ka Chaang ◽  
Lujie Chen ◽  
Eric Ho Yin Lau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Value ◽  
Weighted Kappa ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Medical Attention ◽  
Kappa Statistics ◽  
Triage Nurse ◽  
Real Patient ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Low Volume

Abstract Background Despite its continued use in many low-volume emergency departments (EDs), 3-level triage systems have not been extensively studied, especially on live triage cases. We have modified from the Australasian Triage Scale and developed a 3-level triage scale, and sought to evaluate its validity, reliability, over- and under-triage rates in real patient encounters in our setting. Method This was a cross-sectional study in a single ED with 24,000 attendances per year. At triage, each patient was simultaneously assessed by a triage nurse, an adjudicator (the “criterion standard”), and a study nurse independently. Predictive validity was determined by comparing clinical outcomes, such as hospitalization, across triage levels. The discriminating performance of the triage tool in identifying patient requiring earlier medical attention was determined. Inter-observer reliability between the triage nurse and criterion standard, and across providers were determined using kappa statistics. Results In total, 453 triage ratings of 151 triage cases, involving 17 ED triage nurses and 57 nurse pairs, were analysed. The proportion of hospital admission significantly increased with a higher triage rating. The performance of the scale in identifying patient requiring earlier medical attention was: sensitivity, 68.2% (95% CI 45.1-86.1%); specificity, 99.2% (95% CI 95.8-100%); positive predictive value, 93.8% (95% CI 67.6-99.1%); negative predictive value, 94.8% (95% CI 90.8-97.1%). The over-triage and under-triage rates were 0.7% and 4.6%, respectively. Agreement between the triage nurse and criterion standard was substantial (quadratic-weighted kappa = 0.76, 95% CI, 0.60-0.92, p<0.001), so was the agreement across nurses (quadratic-weighted kappa=0.81, 95% CI 0.65-0.97, p<0.001). Conclusions The 3-level triage system appears to have good validity and reasonable reliability in a low-volume ED setting. Further studies comparing 3-level and prevailing 5-level triage scales in live triage encounters and different ED settings are warranted.

scholarly journals Performance of a three-level triage scale in live triage encounters in an emergency department in Hong Kong.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rex Pui Kin Lam ◽  
Shing Lam Kwok ◽  
Vi Ka Chaang ◽  
Lujie Chen ◽  
Eric Ho Yin Lau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Value ◽  
Weighted Kappa ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Medical Attention ◽  
Kappa Statistics ◽  
Triage Nurse ◽  
Real Patient ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Low Volume

Abstract Background Despite its continued use in many low-volume emergency departments (EDs), 3-level triage systems have not been extensively studied, especially on live triage cases. We have modified from the Australasian Triage Scale and developed a 3-level triage scale, and sought to evaluate its validity, reliability, over- and under-triage rates in real patient encounters in our setting. Method This was a cross-sectional study in a single ED with 24,000 attendances per year. At triage, each patient was simultaneously assessed by a triage nurse, an adjudicator (the “criterion standard”), and a study nurse independently. Predictive validity was determined by comparing clinical outcomes, such as hospitalization, across triage levels. The discriminating performance of the triage tool in identifying patients requiring earlier medical attention was determined. Inter-observer reliability between the triage nurse and criterion standard, and across providers were determined using kappa statistics. Results In total, 453 triage ratings of 151 triage cases, involving 17 ED triage nurses and 57 nurse pairs, were analysed. The proportion of hospital admission significantly increased with a higher triage rating. The performance of the scale in identifying patients requiring earlier medical attention was: sensitivity, 68.2% (95% CI 45.1-86.1%); specificity, 99.2% (95% CI 95.8-100%); positive predictive value, 93.8% (95% CI 67.6-99.1%); negative predictive value, 94.8% (95% CI 90.8-97.1%). The over-triage and under-triage rates were 0.7% and 4.6%, respectively. Agreement between the triage nurse and criterion standard was substantial (quadratic-weighted kappa = 0.76, 95% CI, 0.60-0.92, p<0.001), so was the agreement across nurses (quadratic-weighted kappa=0.81, 95% CI 0.65-0.97, p<0.001). Conclusions The 3-level triage system appears to have good validity and reasonable reliability in a low-volume ED setting. Further studies comparing 3-level and prevailing 5-level triage scales in live triage encounters and different ED settings are warranted.

scholarly journals Validation of the SavvyCheckTM Vaginal Yeast Test for Screening Pregnant Women for Vulvovaginal Candidosis: A Prospective, Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
Philipp Foessleitner ◽  
Herbert Kiss ◽  
Julia Deinsberger ◽  
Julia Ott ◽  
Lorenz Zierhut ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Gram Stain ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Point Of Care Test ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Vulvovaginal Candidosis

Pregnant women have an increased risk of vulvovaginal candidosis. Recurrent candidosis is under debate as a contributor to preterm birth, and vertical transmission may cause diaper dermatitis and oral thrush in the newborn. Apart from cultural methods, the gold standard for diagnosing candidosis is Gram staining, which is time-consuming and requires laboratory facilities. The objective of this prospective study was to validate a point-of-care vaginal yeast detection assay (SavvyCheckÔ Vaginal Yeast Test) and to evaluate it in asymptomatic pregnant women. We enrolled 200 participants, 100 of whom had vulvovaginal candidosis according to Gram stain (study group) and 100 were healthy pregnant controls (control group). Of these, 22 participants (11%) had invalid test results. The point-of-care test of the remaining 85 and 93 study participants in the study and control groups, respectively, showed a sensitivity of 94.1%, specificity of 98.9%, positive predictive value of 90.3%, and negative predictive value of 99.4% when compared with Gram stain. In conclusion, we found a high correlation between the SavvyCheckÔ Vaginal Yeast Test and Gram-stained smears during pregnancy. This suggests a potential role of this point-of-care test as a screening tool for asymptomatic pregnant women in early gestation.

scholarly journals Vacuum Dynamics as an Alternative Method for Detection of Bimodal Milk Ejection in Dairy Cows

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1860
Author(s):  
Matthias Wieland ◽  
Christina Marie Geary ◽  
Gloria Gioia ◽  
Kerry Lynn Case ◽  
Paolo Moroni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Cow Milk ◽  
Kappa Statistics ◽  
Flow Meter ◽  
Flow Curves ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Gold Standard Method ◽  
Milk Flow

The primary objective of our study was to assess the ability of a vacuum recorder to detect the presence of bimodal milk flow curves in dairy cows compared with a portable milk flow meter. In a cross-sectional study, 241 individual cow milking observations were analyzed. We simultaneously collected (1) individual cow vacuum events during milking using portable vacuum recorders, and (2) individual cow milk flow curves by attaching a portable milk flow meter to the same milking unit. Presence of bimodality was assessed with the vacuum recorder visually (BIMVA) and with the gold standard method of a milk flow meter through automatic detection (BIMLA). Kappa statistics revealed moderate agreement between BIMVA and BIMLA [κ, 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) = 0.59 (0.46–0.71)]. Diagnostic test statistics for BIMVA for detection of bimodality indicated moderate performance for sensitivity [0.65 (0.52–0.76)] and positive predictive value [0.71 (0.58–0.82)] and high values for specificity [0.92 (0.87–0.95)] and negative predictive value [0.93 (0.84–0.93)]. We conclude that milking vacuum dynamics are a suitable measure to assess bimodal milk flow curves in dairy cows.

Predictive value of rectal aberrant crypt foci for intraepithelial neoplasia in ulcerative colitis – a cross-sectional study

2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (10) ◽  
pp. 1219-1229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Freire ◽  
Pedro Figueiredo ◽  
Ricardo Cardoso ◽  
Maria Manuel Donato ◽  
Manuela Ferreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ulcerative Colitis ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Intraepithelial Neoplasia ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Aberrant Crypt Foci ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional

scholarly journals Prevalence of health services usage and associated factors in the Amazon region of Brazil: a population-based cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. e017966 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Elizete A Araujo ◽  
Marcus T Silva ◽  
Tais F Galvao ◽  
Mauricio G Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Associated Factors ◽  
Prevalence Ratio ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Medical Attention ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Physician Visits

ObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence of healthcare use and associated factors in the Manaus metropolitan region and to describe the reasons for lack of access.DesignCross-sectional population-based study.SettingA survey conducted between May and August of 2015 in eight cities from Manaus metropolitan region, Amazonas, Brazil.Participants4001 adults ≥18 years of age.Primary outcomes measuresPhysician visits, dentist visits and hospitalisations in the last 12 months were the primary outcomes. Associated factors were investigated through the calculation of prevalence ratio (PR) obtained by hierarchical Poisson regression modelling.Results4001 adults were included in the study, 53% of whom were women. The self-reported prevalence of medical visits was 77% (95% CI 75% to 77%); dentist visits, 36% (95% CI 34% to 37%) and hospital admission, 7% (95% CI 6% to 7%). Physician visits were higher in women PR=1.18 (95% CI 1.14 to 1.23), the elderly PR=1.18 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.26) and people with health insurance PR=1.14 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.19). Dentist visits declined with older age PR=0.38 (95% CI 0.30 to 0.49), lower education level PR=0.62 (95% CI 0.51 to 0.74) and lower economic class PR=0.65 (95% CI 0.57 to 0.75). Hospitalisations were found to be twice as frequent for women than for men and three times as frequent among those who reported very poor health status. Among the individuals who did not receive medical attention in the previous 2 weeks, 58% reported lack of facilities or appointment unavailable and 14% reported lack of doctors.ConclusionWhile more than half visited the doctor in the last year, a lower proportion of people with socioeconomic inequities visited the dentist. Organisational and service policies are needed to increase equity in health services in the region.

Diagnostic Accuracy of HRCT Chest in Detection of Covid-19 Infection Taking PCR as Gold Standard

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1679-1681
Author(s):  
Afaque Ali ◽  
Majid Shaikh ◽  
Ahsanullah . ◽  
Adeel Ahmed ◽  
Abid Ali Sahito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Computed Tomography ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Diagnostic Accuracy ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Radiology Department ◽  
High Resolution Computed Tomography ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Head Of Department

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) chest in detection of covid-19 infection taking PCR as gold standard. Study Design: Cross-sectional study Setting: Radiology department of Tabba Hospital, Karachi. Duration: From March 2019 to September 2020 Material and Methods: All the clinically suspected patients of covid-19, of any age, both genders and those referred to radiology for High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) chest to detect the covid-19 infection were included. After two days, patients’ PCR reports were collected from the ward, after taking informed consent and permission from head of department. The diagnostic accuracy of HRCT was established with respect to sensitivity, PPV, NPV, and specificity by taking PCR as gold standard. All the information was collected via study proforma. Results: Total 70 patients suspected for COVID-19 were studied, and the patients’ mean age was 58.23±9.52 years. Males were in majority 54(77.1%). As per HRCT findings, COVID-19 infection was positive in 46 patients, however, 48 patients were detected positive for COVID-19 infection as per PCR findings. In the detection of COVID-19 infection, HRCT chest showed sensitivity of 91%, specificity of 90%, PPV of 83%, NPV of 84% and diagnostic accuracy of 94%; by taking PCR as gold standard. Conclusion: High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is a reliable diagnostic approach in promptly detecting the COVID-19; with 91% sensitivity, 90% specificity, 83% positive predictive value, 84% negative predictive value and 94% diagnostic accuracy. Keywords: Accuracy, HRCT, COVID-19

scholarly journals Role of transvaginal sonography in the detection of endometrial carcinoma

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-85
Author(s):  
MS Showkat ◽  
S Nabi ◽  
L Khondker ◽  
B Bhowmik ◽  
SN Tushar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endometrial Carcinoma ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Transvaginal Sonography ◽  
Histopathological Diagnosis ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Menopausal Women ◽  
Post Menopausal ◽  
Sensitivity Specificity ◽  
Transabdominal Sonography

Transvagival sonography is superior to transabdominal sonography in most cases of pelvic pathology. Objective of this study is to evaluate the clinical usefulness of transvaginal ultrasonography (TVS) in pre, peri and post menopausal women suspected to have endometrial carcinoma. This cross sectional study was done with 40 patients who are clinically suspected having thickened endometrium. The study was carried out January 2007 to November 2008 for a period of two years. The patients having endometrial carcinoma diagnosed by TVS was correlated with histopathological diagnosis following collection of the report from the respective cases. Of total 40 cases, 2(5.0%) cases were endometrial carcinoma and 38(95.0%) were negative for endometrial carcinoma respectively in TVS findings. On the other hand 3(7.5%) cases were endometrial carcinoma and 37 (92.5%) cases were negative for endometrial carcinoma in histopathological findings. The validity of TVS in diagnosis of endometrial carcinoma were studied by calculating sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value, which were 67 percent, 100 percent, 98 percent, 100 percent and 97 percent respectively. As the TVS findings of the present study correlated well with the histopathology findings and the validity test values were higher than observed by others, it can be concluded that TVS is sensitive and accurate modality in the evaluation of endometrial carcinoma. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bmrcb.v39i2.19647 Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2013; 39: 80-85

scholarly journals Comparison of Venous and Capillary Sampling in Oral Glucose Testing for the Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Diagnostic Accuracy Cross-Sectional Study Using Accu-Chek Inform II

Diagnostics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1011
Author(s):  
Sofia Nevander ◽  
Eva Landberg ◽  
Marie Blomberg ◽  
Bertil Ekman ◽  
Caroline Lilliecreutz
Keyword(s):  
Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Gestational Diabetes ◽  
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Diagnostic Accuracy ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Oral Glucose ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Capillary Sampling

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common complication with negative impacts on mother and child. The primary aim of this study was to examine whether plasma glucose cutoffs for GDM diagnosis based on venous sampling can be replaced by cutoffs based on capillary sampling. A prospective cross-sectional study was performed at an antenatal care clinic including 175 pregnant women undergoing an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Duplicate samples were collected by capillary and venous puncture while fasting and 1 h and 2 h after an OGTT. Both samples were analyzed on Accu-Chek Inform II. The cutoffs for a GDM diagnosis using capillary samples were corrected from 5.1 to 5.3 mmol/L for the fasting sample, from 10.0 to 11.1 mmol/L for the 1 h sample, and from 8.5 to 9.4 mmol/L for the 2-h sample using half of the dataset. Applying these cutoffs to the remaining dataset resulted in a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 85.0%, 95.0%, and 90.3%, respectively, with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 83%, an negative predictive value (NPV) of 96%, and a positive negative likelihood ratio (LHR) of 16.4 using capillary sampling for the GDM diagnosis at fasting and 2-h after. Corrected cutoffs and capillary samples can be used for the diagnosis of GDM with maintained diagnostic accuracy using Accu-Chek Inform II.

scholarly journals Role of CT (Computed Tomography) in the Evaluation of Fungal Diseases in Paranasal Sinus

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 189-193
Author(s):  
T Islam ◽  
SA Azad ◽  
ME Karim ◽  
L Khondker ◽  
K Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Infection ◽  
Ct Scan ◽  
Paranasal Sinus ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Fungal Diseases ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Computed Tomographic ◽  
Histopathological Result

A cross sectional study carried out with patients having suspected paranasal sinus (PNS) mass during January 2009 to October 2010 to evaluate the fungal diseases in PNS by computed tomographic(CT) image and comparison of the findings of this modality with histopathological result. Among the total 76 patients, the mean age of the patients was 35.95 ± 18.24 and common complaints of the patients were nasal obstruction (73.7%) and maximum 53.9% patients had PNS mass in maxillary sinuses. Out of all cases 10 were diagnosed as having fungal infection/mass by CT scan and confirmed by histopathological evaluation. Two cases were diagnosed as having fungal infection/mass by CT scan but not confirmed by histopathological findings. Of 64 cases of other than fungal infection/mass, which were diagnosed by CT scan, six were confirmed as having fungal infection/mass and 58 were other than having fungal infection/mass by histopathology. Sensitivity of CT scan to diagnose fungal infection/mass was 62.5%, specificity 96.7%, positive predictive value 83.3%, negative predictive value 90.6% and accuracy 89.5%. CT scan of the fungal diseases in paranasal sinus provides more information and better image quality and CT diagnosis correlate well with the findings of histopathology. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbcps.v31i4.21002 J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2013; 31: 189-193

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