EXPOSURE OF PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY PATIENTS TO IMAGING EXAMS, NOWADAYS AND IN TIMES OF COVID-19: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze literature data about unnecessary exposure of pediatric emergency patients to ionizing agents from imaging examinations, nowadays and during times of COVID-19. Data sources: Between April and July 2020, articles were selected using the databases: Virtual Health Library, PubMed and Scientific Electronic Library Online. The following descriptors were used: [(pediatrics) AND (emergencies) AND (diagnostic imaging) AND (medical overuse)] and [(Coronavirus infections) OR (COVID-19) AND (pediatrics) AND (emergencies) AND (diagnostic imaging)]. Inclusion criteria were articles available in full, in Portuguese or English, published from 2016 to 2020 or from 2019 to 2020, and articles that covered the theme. Articles without adherence to the theme and duplicate texts in the databases were excluded. Data synthesis: 61 publications were identified, of which 17 were comprised in this review. Some imaging tests used in pediatric emergency departments increase the possibility of developing future malignancies in patients, since they emit ionizing radiation. There are clinical decision instruments that allow reducing unnecessary exam requests, avoiding over-medicalization, and hospital expenses. Moreover, with the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a growing concern about the overuse of imaging exams in the pediatric population, which highlights the problems pointed out by this review. Conclusions: It is necessary to improve hospital staff training, use clinical decision instruments and develop guidelines to reduce the number of exams required, allowing hospital cost savings; and reducing children’s exposure to ionizing agents.

Reducing Thoracic and Lumbar Radiographs in an Urban Emergency Department Through a Clinical Champion Led Quality Improvement Intervention

Background: Low back pain is a common emergency department (ED) complaint that does not always necessitate imaging. Unnecessary imaging drives medical overuse with potential to harm patients. Quality improvement (QI) interventions have shown to be an effective solution. The purpose of this QI intervention was to increase the percentage of appropriately ordered radiographs for low back pain while reducing the absolute number. Methods: A multi-component intervention led by a clinician champion including staff education, patient education, electronic medical record modification, audit and peer-feedback, and clinical decision support tools was implemented at an urban public hospital Emergency Department. In addition to the total number ordered, Choosing Wisely and American College of Radiology recommendations were used to assess appropriateness of all ED thoracic and lumbar conventional radiographs by chart review over eight months. Results: The percent of appropriately ordered radiographs increased from 5.8% to 53.9% and the monthly number of radiographs ordered decreased from 86 to 47 over the eight-month initiative. There were no compensatory increases in thoracic or lumbar computed tomography (CT) scans during this time frameConclusion: A multi-component QI intervention led by a clinician champion is an effective way to reduce the overutilization of thoracic and lumbar radiographs in an urban public hospital emergency department.

Lab Wisely in Canada: Enhancing and highlighting the role of all clinical laboratory professionals in reducing harm and waste

Introduction/Objective Stewardship initiatives are a key strategy for addressing inappropriate utilization of clinical laboratory resources. These approaches require engagement of multiple types of stakeholders. Some professional groups are historically underrepresented, such as those who perform specimen collection, testing, and quality processes. A specific campaign is needed to engage these groups and highlight their expertise. Methods/Case Report We surveyed Medical Laboratory Technologists and Medical Laboratory Assistants to understand the barriers they face to participating in laboratory stewardship initiatives. These survey findings helped shape tools and resources that we created for new campaign called Lab Wisely. We also identified that one-third of existing Choosing Wisely Canada recommendations relate to laboratory testing. We categorized and tagged each recommendation to create a publicly-available searchable database which was placed on the campaign website (LabWisely.ca). Results (if a Case Study enter NA) NA Conclusion Laboratory testing is featured in a significant proportion of all Choosing Wisely Canada recommendations, supporting the idea that the clinical laboratory should be heavily involved in reducing medical overuse in healthcare. In our survey, we found that laboratory professionals face time and workload constraints, but feel a professional responsibility for ensuring appropriate resource use by all users. There was also a lack of ‘know- how’ around tangible ways to become involved. The Lab Wisely website has become a one-stop-shop for highlighting the role of technical and scientific professionals in laboratory stewardship and providing concrete tools that can be used to develop capacity in these groups. Every level of staff can and should be involved in improving the utilization of clinical laboratory services.

Interventions to reduce low-value imaging – a systematic review of interventions and outcomes

Background It is estimated that 20–50% of all radiological examinations are of low value. Many attempts have been made to reduce the use of low-value imaging. However, the comparative effectiveness of interventions to reduce low-value imaging is unclear. Thus, the objective of this systematic review was to provide an overview and evaluate the outcomes of interventions aimed at reducing low-value imaging. Methods An electronic database search was completed in Medline – Ovid, Embase-Ovid, Scopus, and Cochrane Library for citations between 2010 and 2020. The search was built from medical subject headings for Diagnostic imaging/Radiology, Health service misuse or medical overuse, and Health planning. Keywords were used for the concept of reduction and avoidance. Reference lists of included articles were also hand-searched for relevant citations. Only articles written in English, German, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, and Swedish were included. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to appraise the quality of the included articles. A narrative synthesis of the final included articles was completed. Results The search identified 15,659 records. After abstract and full-text screening, 95 studies of varying quality were included in the final analysis, containing 45 studies found through hand-searching techniques. Both controlled and uncontrolled before-and-after studies, time series, chart reviews, and cohort studies were included. Most interventions were aimed at referring physicians. Clinical practice guidelines (n = 28) and education (n = 28) were most commonly evaluated interventions, either alone or in combination with other components. Multi-component interventions were often more effective than single-component interventions showing a reduction in the use of low-value imaging in 94 and 74% of the studies, respectively. The most addressed types of imaging were musculoskeletal (n = 26), neurological (n = 23) and vascular (n = 16) imaging. Seventy-seven studies reported reduced low-value imaging, while 3 studies reported an increase. Conclusions Multi-component interventions that include education were often more effective than single-component interventions. The contextual and cultural factors in the health care systems seem to be vital for successful reduction of low-value imaging. Further research should focus on assessing the impact of the context in interventions reducing low-value imaging and how interventions can be adapted to different contexts.

Implementation of a top five list to identify medical overuse in general practice according to patients’ viewpoint in 2019 in France

Background There is a current trend to reassess the adequacy of care. Establishing top five lists by involving patients is one way to address medical overuse. The objective of this study was to establish a patients’ top five list in general practice in France. The secondary objective was to identify selection criteria. Method Patients from the web-based cohort GrippeNet.fr were invited to establish their top five list from 15 care procedures previously selected by general practitioners on the basis of medical overuse. The care procedures were presented on a web-interface with guides written with the help of a patient association. A questionnaire was used to explore factors that may have influenced the choices of the participants. Results In total, 691 patients established the following top five list: 1/ Prescription of antibiotics for acute bronchitis, nasopharyngitis, otitis media with effusion, or uncomplicated influenza; 2/ Prescription of benzodiazepine and benzodiazepine-like agents for insomnia, generalised anxiety and all indications for older patients; 3/ Prescription of a homeopathic treatment (Influenzinum) for flu prevention; 4/ Prescription of antitussive or expectorant agents for acute cough or acute bronchitis care; 5/ Prescription of statins for the primary prevention of cardio-vascular risk in older patients. More than 70% of participants gave importance to the recommendations, effectiveness, and tolerance of the care procedures, whereas only half considered the cost. Conclusion This study is the first to establish a patient’s top-five list in general practice. This list provides direction for deciding the main targets in limiting medical overuse.

Digital Consumer Health: Negotiating Multiple Voices in the Clinical Consultation

In this paper, we explore what may happen when people who are ostensibly “well” bring data from digital self-tracking technologies to medical consultations. On the basis of a fictional case narrative, we explore how multiple “voices”, in a Bakhtinian sense of the term, inscribed in the self-tracking devices are activated, negotiated, evaluated and re-imagined in the context of care. The digital metrics “speak” precision, objectivity and urgency in ways that challenge conventional, normative understandings of doctors’ professional role and the patient-doctor relationship.Our theorizing is firmly grounded in our professional experience and informed by recent research on self-tracking, Mol’s research on the ways in which technology has become integral to medical care, Bakhtinian theory and medical professionalism, and it contributes to current professional debates regarding medical overuse and its potential to harm patients. Further research is needed to illuminate the consequences of digital self-tracking technologies for patient-professional consultations in practice.

A Choosing Wisely top-5 list to support general practitioners in Austria

SummaryFrom a pool of 147 reliable recommendations, ten experts from the Austrian Society of General Practice and Family Medicine selected 21 relevant recommendations as the basis for the Delphi process. In two Delphi rounds, eleven experts established a top‑5 list of recommendations designed for Austrian family practice to reduce medical overuse. Three of the chosen recommendations address the issue of antibiotic usage in patients with viral upper respiratory tract infections, in children with mild otitis media, and in patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria. The other two “do not do” recommendations concern imaging studies for nonspecific low back pain and routine screening to detect prostate cancer. A subsequent survey identified the reasons for selecting these top‑5 recommendations: the frequency of the issue, potential harms, costs, and patients’ expectations. Experts hope the campaign will save time in educating patients and provide legal protection for omitting measures.

Study Protocol for Draup: De-implementation Ofroutine Chest Radiographs After Adoption of Ultrasound Guided Insertion and Confirmation of Central Venous Catheter Protocol, A Hybrid Implementation/effectiveness Study

BACKGROUNDAvoiding low value medical practices is an important focus in current healthcare utilization. Despite advantages of point of care ultrasound (POCUS) over chest x-ray (CXR), including improved workflow and timeliness of results, POCUS-guided central venous catheter (CVC) position confirmation and exclusion of pneumothorax (PCEP) has had slow rate of adoption. This demonstrates a gap that is ripe for the development and application of de-implementation strategies that support substitution of POCUS for CXR after CVC insertion.METHODSDe-implementation of routine chest radiographs after adoption of ultrasound guided insertion and confirmation of central venous catheter protocol (DRAUP) will be created to de-implement an unnecessary imaging modality in the critical care environment. Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research constructs, we will explore barriers and facilitators of POCUS for CVC PCEP in a single center, large tertiary, academic hospital via focus groups. The focus groups will inform the development and testing of strategies that address identified determinants of implementation and de-implementation.Operational use of the de-implementation strategies will be conceptualized using Morgan’s framework for understanding and reducing medical overuse. We will locally implement these strategies and assess them using Proctor’s outcomes (adoption, de-adoption, fidelity and penetration) in an observational study to demonstrate proof of concept, gaining valuable insights on our selected implementation and de-implementation strategies. Secondary outcomes will include POCUS-guided CVC PCEP efficacy measured by time and effectiveness measured by sensitivity and specificity of POCUS detection.DISCUSSIONWith limited data available to inform interventions that use concurrent implementation and de-implementation strategies to substitute CXR for POCUS using DRAUP, we propose that this primary implementation and secondary effectiveness pilot study will provide novel data that would expand the knowledge of replacing low value or unnecessary care in critically ill patients. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier, NCT04324762, Registered on 27 March 2020