scholarly journals Unfavourable outcome for children leaving the emergency department without being seen by a physician

CJEM ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (05) ◽  
pp. 289-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jocelyn Gravel ◽  
Serge Gouin ◽  
Benoit Carrière ◽  
Nathalie Gaucher ◽  
Benoit Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Invasive Procedure ◽  
Pediatric Emergency ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Unfavourable Outcome ◽  
Left Without Being Seen ◽  
Chief Complaints

ABSTRACTObjective:To assess the prevalence of an unfavourable outcome among children leaving without being seen by a physician in the emergency department (ED).Method:This was a prospective cohort study conducted over a complete year in a pediatric tertiary care ED. A random sample of all children younger than 19 years of age who left without being seen by a physician was contacted by phone 4 to 6 days following the ED visit. The primary outcome was the occurrence of an unfavourable outcome prospectively defined using a Delphi method among 15 pediatric emergency physicians. An unfavourable outcome was defined as hospitalization, the need for an invasive procedure (intravenous or intramuscular medication, fracture reduction, bone casting, or surgical intervention), suicide attempt, or death in the 72 hours following leaving without being seen by a physician. As a secondary outcome, multiple potential predictors were evaluated. The first analysis evaluated the proportion of unfavourable outcomes among children who left without being seen by a physician. Then logistic regression identified predictors of unfavourable outcomes.Results:During the study period, 61,909 children presented to the ED, 7,592 (12%) left without being seen by a physician, and 1,579 were recruited. Thirty-eight (2.4%; 95% CI 1.7–3.2) patients fulfilled the criteria for an unfavourable outcome. On multiple logistic regression, chief complaints related to trauma and absence of nurse counseling had higher risks of unfavourable outcome.Conclusions:Approximately 2% of children who left without being seen by a physician at a tertiary care pediatric ED had an unfavourable outcome.

scholarly journals Trends in use in a Canadian pediatric emergency department

CJEM ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (05) ◽  
pp. 405-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quynh Doan ◽  
Emerson D. Genuis ◽  
Alvis Yu
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Patient Outcomes ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Pediatric Emergency ◽  
Pediatric Emergency Department ◽  
Ed Overcrowding ◽  
Secondary Outcomes ◽  
Ed Crowding

ABSTRACTIntroduction:Emergency department (ED) crowding is a significant problem in Canada and has been associated with decreased quality of care in general and pediatric emergency departments (PEDs). Although boarding of admitted patients in the ED is the main contributor to adult ED overcrowding, factors involved in PED crowding may be different. The objective of this study was to report the trend in PED services use and to document the degree of overcrowding experienced in a Canadian PED.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted using administrative data from a tertiary care PED from 2002 to 2011. The primary outcome was PED use (total volume of visits and case severity per triage levels using the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale [CTAS] score and admissions). Secondary outcomes included measures of PED overcrowding, such as rates of patients leaving without being seen (LWBS) and length of stay (LOS).Results:Total volumes increased by 30% over the 10-year study period, whereas hospitalizations remained stable at approximately 10%. Trends in CTAS levels did not indicate meaningful changes in the severity of cases treated at our PED. LWBS proportions among CTAS 3, CTAS 4, and CTAS 5 groups and LOS for all CTAS groups progressively and statistically increased from year to year.Conclusions:Over the course of the study period, there was a substantial increase in PED visits,which likely contributed to the worsening markers of PED flow outcomes. Further study into the effects of PED crowding on patient outcomes is warranted.

scholarly journals LO039: The effect of desaturations on subsequent medical visits in infants discharged from the emergency department with bronchiolitis

CJEM ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (S1) ◽  
pp. S43-S43
Author(s):  
T. Principi ◽  
A. Coates ◽  
P. Parkin ◽  
D. Stephens ◽  
Z. DaSilva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Pediatric Emergency ◽  
Acute Bronchiolitis ◽  
Prolonged Hospital Stay ◽  
Rates Of Return ◽  
Medical Visits ◽  
Emergency Department Discharge ◽  
Prolonged Hospital

Introduction: Bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract infection among infants, characterized by wheeze and respiratory distress. Reliance on pulse oximetry has been associated with increased hospitalizations, prolonged hospital stay and escalation of care. The objectives were to determine if there is a difference in the proportion of unscheduled medical visits within 72 hours of emergency department discharge in infants with bronchiolitis who desaturate to <90% for at least one minute during home oximetry monitoring versus those without desaturations. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study from 2008 to 2013 enrolling 118 otherwise healthy infant aged 6 weeks to 12 months discharged home from a tertiary care pediatric emergency department with a diagnosis of acute bronchiolitis. The primary outcome was unscheduled medical visits for bronchiolitis, a visit to any health care provider due to concerns about respiratory symptoms, within 72 hours of discharge in infants with and without desaturations. Secondary outcomes included examination of the severity and duration of the desaturations, delayed hospitalizations within 72 hours of discharge and the effect of activity on desaturations. Results: During a mean monitoring period of 19 hours, 75/118 (64%) infants had at least one desaturation event (median continuous duration 3.4 minutes). 59/118 infants (50%) had at least 3 desaturations, 12 (10%) desaturated for >10% monitored time and 51(43%) had desaturations lasting ≥ 3 minutes continuously. 59/118 (50%) infants desaturated to ≤ 80% and 29 (24%) to ≤ 70% for ≥ 1 minute. A total 18/75 infants with desaturations (24.0%) had an unscheduled visit for bronchiolitis versus 11/43 of their non-desaturating counterparts (25.6%) [Difference - 1.6%; 95%CI -0.15 to ∞, p=0.66]. One of 75 desaturating infants (1.3%) and 2/43 (4.6%) of those without desaturations were hospitalized within 72 hours [Difference of -3.3%; 95% CI -0.04 to 0.10, p = 0.27]. Seventy seven percent of infants with desaturations experienced them during sleep or while feeding. Conclusion: The majority of infants with mild bronchiolitis experienced recurrent or sustained desaturations after discharge home. Children with and without desaturations had comparable rates of return for care, with no difference in unscheduled return medical visits and delayed hospitalizations.

scholarly journals Inappropriateness of Repeated Laboratory and Radiological Tests for Transferred Emergency Department Patients

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérôme Bertrand ◽  
Christophe Fehlmann ◽  
Olivier Grosgurin ◽  
François Sarasin ◽  
Omar Kherad
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Laboratory Tests ◽  
Chart Review ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Retrospective Chart Review ◽  
Emergency Department Patients ◽  
Radiological Procedures

Background: Laboratory and radiographic tests are often repeated during inter-hospital transfers from secondary to tertiary emergency departments (ED), despite available data from the sending structure. The aim of this study was to identify the proportion of repeated tests in patients transferred to a tertiary care ED, and to estimate their inappropriateness and their costs. Methods: A retrospective chart review of all adult patients transferred from one secondary care ED to a tertiary care ED during the year 2016 was carried out. The primary outcome was the redundancy (proportion of procedure repeated in the 8 h following the transfer, despite the availability of the previous results). Factors predicting the repetition of procedures were identified through a logistic regression analysis. Two authors independently assessed inappropriateness. Results: In 2016, 432 patients were transferred from the secondary to the tertiary ED, and 251 procedures were repeated: 179 patients (77.2%) had a repeated laboratory test, 34 (14.7%) a repeated radiological procedure and 19 (8.2%) both. Repeated procedures were judged as inappropriate for 197 (99.5%) laboratory tests and for 39 (73.6%) radiological procedures. Conclusion: Over half of the patients transferred from another emergency department had a repeated procedure. In most cases, these repeated procedures were considered inappropriate.

scholarly journals Ondansetron for pediatric concussion; a pilot study for a randomized controlled trial

CJEM ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 338-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jocelyn Gravel ◽  
Benoit Carrière ◽  
Antonio D’Angelo ◽  
Louis Crevier ◽  
Miriam H. Beauchamp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Pediatric Emergency ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Care Givers ◽  
Group Assignment ◽  
Noncompliance Rate

AbstractObjectivesAssess the feasibility of a study evaluating one dose of oral ondansetron to decrease post-concussion symptoms at one week and one month following concussion in children aged 8 to 17 years old.MethodThis was a pilot study for a randomized, triple-blind controlled trial of one dose of either ondansetron or placebo performed in a tertiary care pediatric emergency department. Participants were children aged 8 to 17 years who sustained a concussion in the previous 24 hours and visited a single emergency department. The outcome of interest was an increase from pre-concussion baseline of at least 3 symptoms from the Post-Concussion Symptom Inventory, measured at one week and at one month following concussion. The primary outcome was to determine the proportion of children who completed the assessment at one week following the intervention. Secondary outcome was the proportion of children who completed the assessment at one month following the intervention. All children, care givers, and those assessing the outcomes were blinded to the group assignment.ResultsOf the 218 children presenting with a concussion during the study period, we screened 108 and found 36/108 (33%) eligible to participate and 16/108 (14.8%) agreed to participate. All enrolled patients were compliant with the intervention and follow-up.ConclusionIn our study population, approximately one-third of the screened concussion patients were eligible to participate and approximately one half of those eligible agreed to participate. Our study found that most enrolled patients preferred electronic follow-up; the noncompliance rate was minimal.

Fractures in the Pediatric Emergency Department: Are We Considering Abuse?

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (10) ◽  
pp. 1161-1167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay R. Lavin ◽  
Cody H. Penrod ◽  
Cristina M. Estrada ◽  
Donald H. Arnold ◽  
Benjamin R. Saville ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Pediatric Emergency ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Predictor Variables ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
Pediatric Emergency Department ◽  
Emergency Physicians ◽  
Primary Outcome Variable

Approximately one fourths of infant fractures are due to abuse. Recognition of abuse is important to avoid further morbidity/mortality. There is limited knowledge regarding how frequently pediatric emergency department clinicians consider abuse in infants with fractures. Our primary objective was to estimate the percentage of infants with fractures for whom abuse was considered, and to examine characteristics associated with abuse consideration. We performed a retrospective review of infants <1 year of age presenting to a pediatric emergency department. Our primary outcome variable was consideration of abuse. Our secondary outcome measures were identification of predictor variables associated with consideration of abuse. We identified 509 infants meeting study criteria. Pediatric emergency physicians considered abuse in approximately two thirds of infants with fractures. Consideration was more likely to occur in younger infants, in the presence of no history or unwitnessed injury mechanism, when evaluated by male physicians, and emergency department encounters from 12 am to 6 am.

Foreign Body Ingestions in Children: Risk of Complication Varies With Site of Initial Health Care Contact

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald I. Paul ◽  
Katherine Kaufer Christoffel ◽  
Helen J. Binns ◽  
David M. Jaffe ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Foreign Body ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Pediatric Emergency ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Pediatric Emergency Department ◽  
Parent Supervision ◽  
Tertiary Care Hospitals ◽  
Patient Enrollment

Current recommendations for the management of pediatric foreign body ingestions are based on studies of patients cared for at tertiary care hospitals; they call for aggressive evaluation because of a high incidence of complications. Two hundred forty-four children with suspected foreign body ingestions were prospectively followed to analyze adverse outcomes, ie, procedures, complications, and hospitalizations. Patient enrollment into the study was from three sources: (1) patients who referred themselves to a tertiary pediatric emergency department, (2) patients referred to the same tertiary pediatric emergency department after an initial evaluation by another hospital or physician, and (3) Patients who reported their foreign body ingestions to a private pediatric practitioner participating in the study. Most children were well toddlers in normal circumstances, under parent supervision at the time of ingestion. Coins were the most common item ingested (46%). Procedures were done in 53 (24%) of 221 patients and complications occurred in 48 (22%) of 221. Complications were higher in patients referred to the emergency department (63%) than in emergency department self-referred patients (13%) or private practice patients (7%) (x2, P &lt; .01). These findings demonstrate the risk of drawing conclusions regarding a universal standard of care from studies involving only hospital-based patients.

Trends in the diagnosis and management of anaphylaxis in a tertiary care pediatric emergency department

2018 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 348-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neta Cohen ◽  
Tali Capua ◽  
Dikla Pivko ◽  
Moshe Ben-Shoshan ◽  
Shira Benor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Pediatric Emergency ◽  
Pediatric Emergency Department ◽  
Diagnosis And Management

scholarly journals LO66: Solid organ donation from the emergency department: A death review

CJEM ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (S1) ◽  
pp. S31-S32
Author(s):  
J. McCallum ◽  
R. Yip ◽  
S. Dhanani ◽  
I. Stiell
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Organ Donation ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Organ Procurement ◽  
Care Center ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Solid Organ ◽  
Organ Donors ◽  
Organ Procurement Organization

Introduction: A significant gap exists between the number of people waiting for an organ and donors. There are currently 1,628 people awaiting organ donation in Ontario alone. In 2018 to date, 310 donors have donated 858 organs. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were missed donors in the Emergency Department (ED) and by what percent those missed donors would increase organ donation overall. Methods: This was a health records and organ donation database review of all patients who died in the ED at a large academic tertiary care center with 2 campuses and 160,000 visits per year. Patients were included from November 1, 2014 – October 31, 2017. We collected data on demographics, cause of death, and suitability for organ donation. Data was cross-referenced between hospital records and the provincial organ procurement organization called Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) to determine whether patients were appropriately referred for consideration of donation in a timely manner. Potential missed donors were manually screened for suitability according to TGLN criteria. We calculated simple descriptive statistics for demographic data and the primary outcome. The primary outcome was percentage of potential organ donors missed in the Emergency Department (ED). Results: There were 606 deaths in the ED from November 1, 2014 – October 31, 2017. Patients were an average of 71 years old, 353 (58%) were male, and 75 (12%) died of a traumatic cause. TGLN was not contacted in 12 (2%) of cases. During this period there were two donors from the ED and 92 from the ICU. There were ten missed potential donors. They were an average of 67 years, 7 (70%) were male, and 2 (20%) died of a traumatic cause. In all ten cases, patients had withdrawal of life sustaining measures for medical futility prior to TGLN being contacted for consideration of donation. There could have been an addition seven liver, six pancreatic islet, four small bowel, and seven kidney donors. The ten missed ED donors could have increased total donors by 11%. Conclusion: The ED is a significant source of missed organ donors. In all cases of missed organ donation, patients had withdrawal of life sustaining measures prior to TGLN being called. In the future, it is essential that all patients have an organ procurement organization such as TGLN called prior to withdrawal of life sustaining measures to ensure that no opportunity for consideration of organ donation is missed.

scholarly journals Status of Geriatric Patients with Abdominal Pain Presented To Emergency Department

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-96
Author(s):  
Daya Ram Lamsal ◽  
Jeetendra Bhandari
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Abdominal Pain ◽  
Care Center ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Medical Officer ◽  
Common System ◽  
Life Expectancy At Birth ◽  
Chief Complaints ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
The Common

Background: As the development of better health facilities with advanced tools for diagnosis and management our country is not away from global trend. Nepal’s life expectancy at birth is increasing at its pace, it has in­creased in about 30 years in last 4 decades. Among the various problem presenting to ED abdominal pain is one of the common complain elderly patients are greater risk of missing life-threatening causes during evalua­tion and investigation. The aim of the study wasEdit to identify the frequency, cause and outcome of patient presenting in Emergency department with abdominal pain. Methods: It is a retrospective study conducted in tertiary care center at Chitwan, Nepal during the period from 01/09/2017 to 30/08/2018. Elec­tronic data entered by medical officer were retrieved and analyzed. Statis­tical analysis of the record was done using SPSS 16 software. Results: Elderly population who presented with chief complaints of ab­dominal pain was 1160 (21.79%). Among the patient presented with ab­dominal pain 605(52.2%) were male and 555(47.8%) were female. Mean age of patients was 71.72±8.50 years. Most common system involved was gastrointestinal and biliary problem 730(62.93%). Most common diagno­sis was Urinary tract infection 269 (23.2%) among them, 487(41.98%) re­quired hospital admission. Conclusions: Abdominal pain is one of the common presentations of el­derly to emergency department. Disorders of Gastrointestinal and biliary system were among leading causes of emergency visit. Emergency phy­sician should be tactful to identify life threatening conditions and emer­gency management.

scholarly journals P016: Low risk ankle rule, high reward-a quality improvement initiative to reduce ankle x-rays in the pediatric emergency department

CJEM ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (S1) ◽  
pp. S83 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Al-Sani ◽  
M. Ben-Yakov ◽  
G. Harvey ◽  
J. Gantz ◽  
D. Jacobson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Pediatric Emergency ◽  
Ankle Injuries ◽  
Pediatric Emergency Department ◽  
X Rays ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Return Visits ◽  
Unnecessary Testing

Introduction: Our tertiary care institution embarked on the Choosing Wisely campaign to reduce unnecessary testing, and selected the reduction of ankle x-rays as part of its top five priority initiatives. The Low Risk Ankle Rule (LRAR), an evidence-based decision rule, has been derived and validated to clinically evaluate ankle injuries which do not require radiography. The LRAR, is cost-effective, has 100% sensitivity for clinically important ankle injuries and reduces ankle imaging rates by 30-60% in both academic and community setting. Our objective was to significantly reduce the proportion of ankle x-rays ordered for acute ankle injuries presenting to our pediatric Emergency Department (ED). Methods: Medical records were reviewed for all patients presenting to our tertiary care pediatric ED (ages 3- 18 years) with an isolated acute ankle injury from Jan 1, 2016-Sept 30, 2016. Children with outside imaging, an injury that occurred &gt;72 hours prior, or those who had a repeat ED visit for same injury were excluded. Quality improvement (QI) initiatives included multidisciplinary staff education about the LRAR, posters placed within the ED highlighting the LRAR, development of a new diagnostic imaging requisition for ankle x-rays requiring use of the LRAR and collaboration with the Division of Radiology to ensure compliance with new requisition. The proportion of patients presenting to the ED with acute ankle injuries who received x-rays was measured. ED length of stay (LOS), return visits to the ED and orthopedic referrals were collected as balancing measures. Results: At baseline 88% of patients with acute ankle injuries received x-rays. Following our multiple interventions, the proportion of x-rays decreased significantly to 54%, (p&lt;0.001). This decrease in x-ray rate was not associated with an increase in ED LOS, ED return visits or orthopedic referrals. There was an increase uptake of the dedicated x-ray requisition over time to 71%. Conclusion: This QI initiative to increase uptake of the LRAR, resulted in a significant reduction of ankle x-rays rates for children presenting with acute ankle injuries in our pediatric ED without increasing LOS, return visits or need for orthopedic referrals for missed injuries. Just as in the derivation and validation studies, the reductions have been sustained and reduced unnecessary testing and ionizing radiation.

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