Browsing by Subject "Triage"

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    ItemOpen Access
    Differences between chest pain observation service patients and admitted "rule-out myocardial infarction" patients.
    (Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, 1997-07) Dallara, J; Severance, HW; Davis, B; Schulz, G

    Objective

    To compare and contrast the patient characteristics of ED patients at low risk for acute cardiac ischemia who were assigned to a chest pain observation service vs those admitted to a monitored inpatient bed for "rule-out acute myocardial infarction" (R/O MI).

    Methods

    This was a retrospective, cross-sectional comparison of adult patients considered at relatively low risk for cardiac ischemia and who were evaluated in 1 of 2 settings: a short-term observation service and an inpatient monitored bed. All patients had an ED final diagnosis of "chest pain," "R/O MI," or "unstable angina" during the 7-month study period. Demographic features and presenting clinical features were examined as a function of site of patient evaluation.

    Results

    Of 531 study patients, 265 (50%) were assigned to the observation service. Younger age (OR = 1.75, 95% CI 1.26, 2.44, for each decrement of 20 years), the complaint of "chest pain" (OR = 2.35, 95% CI 1.34, 4.12), and the absence of prior known coronary artery disease (OR = 1.64, 95% CI 1.13, 2.38) were the principal independent factors associated with assignment to a chest pain observation service bed.

    Conclusions

    Patients evaluated in a chest pain observation service appear to have different clinical characteristics than other individuals admitted to a monitored inpatient bed for "R/O MI." Investigators should address differences in clinical characteristics when making outcome comparisons between these 2 patient groups.
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    Effectiveness of Acute Care Remote Triage Systems: a Systematic Review.
    (Journal of general internal medicine, 2020-07) Boggan, Joel C; Shoup, John Paul; Whited, John D; Van Voorhees, Elizabeth; Gordon, Adelaide M; Rushton, Sharron; Lewinski, Allison A; Tabriz, Amir A; Adam, Soheir; Fulton, Jessica; Kosinski, Andrzej S; Van Noord, Megan G; Williams, John W; Goldstein, Karen M; Gierisch, Jennifer M

    Background

    Technology-based systems can facilitate remote decision-making to triage patients to the appropriate level of care. Despite technologic advances, the effects of implementation of these systems on patient and utilization outcomes are unclear. We evaluated the effects of remote triage systems on healthcare utilization, case resolution, and patient safety outcomes.

    Methods

    English-language searches of MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, and CINAHL were performed from inception until July 2018. Randomized and nonrandomized comparative studies of remote triage services that reported healthcare utilization, case resolution, and patient safety outcomes were included. Two reviewers assessed study and intervention characteristics independently for study quality, strength of evidence, and risk of bias.

    Results

    The literature search identified 5026 articles, of which eight met eligibility criteria. Five randomized, two controlled before-and-after, and one interrupted time series study assessed 3 categories of remote triage services: mode of delivery, triage professional type, and system organizational level. No study evaluated any other delivery mode other than telephone and in-person. Meta-analyses were unable to be performed because of study design and outcome heterogeneity; therefore, we narratively synthesized data. Overall, most studies did not demonstrate a decrease in primary care (PC) or emergency department (ED) utilization, with some studies showing a significant increase. Evidence suggested local, practice-based triage systems have greater case resolution and refer fewer patients to PC or ED services than regional/national systems. No study identified statistically significant differences in safety outcomes.

    Conclusion

    Our review found limited evidence that remote triage reduces the burden of PC or ED utilization. However, remote triage by telephone can produce a high rate of call resolution and appears to be safe. Further study of other remote triage modalities is needed to realize the promise of remote triage services in optimizing healthcare outcomes.

    Protocol registration

    This study was registered and followed a published protocol (PROSPERO: CRD42019112262).
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    Ethical considerations for allocation of scarce resources and alterations in surgical care during a pandemic.
    (Surgical endoscopy, 2021-05) Rawlings, Arthur; Brandt, Lea; Ferreres, Alberto; Asbun, Horacio; Shadduck, Phillip
    The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 is unprecedented in modern history. Its effects on social behavior and health care delivery have been dramatic. The resultant burden of disease and critical illness has outpaced the diagnostic, therapeutic, and health care professional resources of many clinics and hospitals. It continues to do so globally. The allocation of hospital beds and ventilators, personal protective equipment, investigational therapeutics, and other scarce resources has required difficult decisions. Clinical and surgical practices which are standard in normal times may not be standard or safe during the COVID-19 crisis. How can we best adapt as physicians and surgeons? What foundational ethical principles and systems of principle application can help guide our decision-making? Fortunately, a large body of work in medical ethics addresses these questions. Unfortunately, many surgeons and other health care professionals are probably not as familiar with these concepts. This brief communication is intended to provide a concise explanation of ethical considerations which readers may find helpful when addressing allocation of scarce resources and alterations in surgical care brought on by the current pandemic.
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    National Trends in Emergency Department Care Processes for Acute Myocardial Infarction in the United States, 2005 to 2015.
    (Journal of the American Heart Association, 2020-10) Pendyal, Akshay; Rothenberg, Craig; Scofi, Jean E; Krumholz, Harlan M; Safdar, Basmah; Dreyer, Rachel P; Venkatesh, Arjun K
    Background Despite investments to improve quality of emergency care for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), few studies have described national, real-world trends in AMI care in the emergency department (ED). We aimed to describe trends in the epidemiology and quality of AMI care in US EDs over a recent 11-year period, from 2005 to 2015. Methods and Results We conducted an observational study of ED visits for AMI using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, a nationally representative probability sample of US EDs. AMI visits were classified as ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-STEMI. Outcomes included annual incidence of AMI, median ED length of stay, ED disposition type, and ED administration of evidence-based medications. Annual ED visits for AMI decreased from 1 493 145 in 2005 to 581 924 in 2015. Estimated yearly incidence of ED visits for STEMI decreased from 1 402 768 to 315 813. The proportion of STEMI sent for immediate, same-hospital catheterization increased from 12% to 37%. Among patients with STEMI sent directly for catheterization, median ED length of stay decreased from 62 to 37 minutes. ED administration of antithrombotic and nonaspirin antiplatelet agents rose for STEMI (23%-31% and 10%-27%, respectively). Conclusions National, real-world trends in the epidemiology of AMI in the ED parallel those of clinical registries, with decreases in AMI incidence and STEMI proportion. ED care processes for STEMI mirror evolving guidelines that favor high-intensity antiplatelet therapy, early invasive strategies, and regionalization of care.
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    Novel model for predicting inpatient mortality after emergency admission to hospital in Singapore: retrospective observational study.
    (BMJ open, 2019-09-26) Xie, Feng; Liu, Nan; Wu, Stella Xinzi; Ang, Yukai; Low, Lian Leng; Ho, Andrew Fu Wah; Lam, Sean Shao Wei; Matchar, David Bruce; Ong, Marcus Eng Hock; Chakraborty, Bibhas
    OBJECTIVES:To identify risk factors for inpatient mortality after patients' emergency admission and to create a novel model predicting inpatient mortality risk. DESIGN:This was a retrospective observational study using data extracted from electronic health records (EHRs). The data were randomly split into a derivation set and a validation set. The stepwise model selection was employed. We compared our model with one of the current clinical scores, Cardiac Arrest Risk Triage (CART) score. SETTING:A single tertiary hospital in Singapore. PARTICIPANTS:All adult hospitalised patients, admitted via emergency department (ED) from 1 January 2008 to 31 October 2017 (n=433 187 by admission episodes). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE:The primary outcome of interest was inpatient mortality following this admission episode. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve of the predictive model with sensitivity and specificity for optimised cut-offs. RESULTS:15 758 (3.64%) of the episodes were observed inpatient mortality. 19 variables were observed as significant predictors and were included in our final regression model. Our predictive model outperformed the CART score in terms of predictive power. The AUC of CART score and our final model was 0.705 (95% CI 0.697 to 0.714) and 0.817 (95% CI 0.810 to 0.824), respectively. CONCLUSION:We developed and validated a model for inpatient mortality using EHR data collected in the ED. The performance of our model was more accurate than the CART score. Implementation of our model in the hospital can potentially predict imminent adverse events and institute appropriate clinical management.
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    Rapid Triage of Mental Health Risk in Emergency Medical Workers: Findings From Typhoon Haiyan.
    (Disaster medicine and public health preparedness, 2018-02) Sylwanowicz, Lauren; Schreiber, Merritt; Anderson, Craig; Gundran, Carlos Primero D; Santamaria, Emelie; Lopez, Jaifred Christian F; Lam, H; Tuazon, AC

    Objective

    To determine the ability of a novel responder mental health self-triage system to predict post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in emergency medical responders after a disaster.

    Methods

    Participants in this study responded to Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines in November 2013. They completed the Psychological Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment (PsySTART) responder triage tool, the PTSD Checklist (PCL-5) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) shortly after responding to this disaster. The relationships between these 3 tools were compared to determine the association between different risk exposures while providing disaster medical care and subsequent levels of PTSD or depression.

    Results

    The total number of PsySTART responder risk factors was closely related to PCL-5 scores ≥38, the threshold for clinical PTSD. Several of the PsySTART risk factors were predictive of clinical levels of PTSD as measured by the PCL-5 in this sample of deployed emergency medical responders.

    Conclusions

    The presence of a critical number and type of PsySTART responder self-triage risk factors predicted clinical levels of PTSD and subclinical depression in this sample of emergency medical workers. The ability to identify these disorders early can help categorize an at-risk subset for further timely "stepped care" interventions with the goals of both mitigating the long-term consequences and maximizing the return to resilience. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:19-22).
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    Shifting Gears: Triage and Traffic in Urban India.
    (Medical anthropology quarterly, 2017-09) Solomon, H
    While studies of triage in clinical medical literature tend to focus on the knowledge required to carry out sorting, this article details the spatial features of triage. It is based on participation observation of traffic-related injuries in a Mumbai hospital casualty ward. It pays close attention to movement, specifically to adjustments, which include moving bodies, changes in treatment priority, and interruptions in care. The article draws on several ethnographic cases of injury and its aftermath that gather and separate patients, kin, and bystanders, all while a triage medical authority is charged with sorting them out. I argue that attention must be paid to differences in movement, which can be overlooked if medical decision-making is taken to be a static verdict. The explanatory significance of this distinction between adjustment and adjudication is a more nuanced understanding of triage as an iterative, spatial process.
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    The left bundle-branch block puzzle in the 2013 ST-elevation myocardial infarction guideline: from falsely declaring emergency to denying reperfusion in a high-risk population. Are the Sgarbossa Criteria ready for prime time?
    (American heart journal, 2013-09) Cai, Qiangjun; Mehta, Nilay; Sgarbossa, Elena B; Pinski, Sergio L; Wagner, Galen S; Califf, Robert M; Barbagelata, Alejandro
    Prompt and accurate identification of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in the presence of left bundle-branch block (LBBB) remains difficult. The 2004 STEMI guideline recommended emergent reperfusion therapy to patients with suspected ischemia and new or presumably new LBBB. These recommendations have led to frequent false catheterization laboratory activation and inappropriate fibrinolytic therapy because most patients with suspected ischemia and new or presumably new LBBB do not have acute coronary artery occlusion on angiography. The new 2013 STEMI guideline makes a drastic change by removing previous recommendations. Therefore, patients with suspected ischemia and new or presumably new LBBB would no longer be treated as STEMI equivalent. The new guideline fails to recognize that some patients with suspected ischemia and LBBB do have STEMI, and denying reperfusion therapy could be fatal. The Sgarbossa electrocardiography criteria are the most validated tool to aid in the diagnosis of STEMI in the presence of LBBB. A Sgarbossa score of ≥3 has a superb specificity (98%) and positive predictive value for acute myocardial infarction and angiography-confirmed acute coronary occlusion. Thus, we propose a diagnosis and triage algorithm incorporating the Sgarbossa criteria to quickly and accurately identify, among patients presenting with chest pain and new or presumably new LBBB, those with acute coronary artery occlusion. This is a high-risk population in which reperfusion therapy would be denied by the 2013 STEMI guideline. Our algorithm will also significantly reduce false catheterization laboratory activation and inappropriate fibrinolytic therapy, the inevitable consequence of the 2004 STEMI guideline.
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    Triaging Primary Care Patients Referred for Chest Pain to Specialist Cardiology Centres: Efficacy of an Optimised Protocol.
    (Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, 2018-02) Tan, Francine Cl; Yap, Jonathan; Allen, John C; Tan, Olivia; Tan, Swee Yaw; Matchar, David B; Chua, Terrance Sj
    INTRODUCTION:Patients referred for chest pain from primary care have increased, along with demand for outpatient cardiology consultations. We evaluated 'Triage Protocol' that implements standardised diagnostic testing prior to patients' first cardiology consultation. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Under the 'Triage Protocol', patients referred for chest pain were pretriaged using a standardised algorithm and subsequently referred for relevant functional diagnostic cardiology tests before their initial cardiology consultation. At the initial cardiology consultation scheduled by the primary care provider, test results were reviewed. A total of 522 triage patients (mean age 55 ± 13, male 53%) were frequency-matched by age, gender and risk cohort to 289 control patients (mean age: 56 ± 11, male: 52%). Pretest risk of coronary artery disease was defined according to a Modified Duke Clinical Score (MDCS) as low (<10), intermediate (10-20) and high (>20). The primary outcome was time from referral to diagnosis (days). Secondary outcomes were total visits, discharge rate at first consultation, patient cost and adverse cardiac outcomes. RESULTS:The 'Triage Protocol' resulted in shorter times from referral to diagnosis (46 vs 131 days; P <0.0001) and fewer total visits (2.4 vs 3.0; P <0.0001). However, triage patients in low-risk groups experienced higher costs due to increased testing (S$421 vs S$357, P = 0.003). Adverse cardiac event rates under the 'Triage Protocol' indicated no compromise to patient safety (triage vs control: 0.57% vs 0.35%; P = 1.000). CONCLUSION:By implementing diagnostic cardiac testing prior to patients' first specialist consultation, the 'Triage Protocol' expedited diagnosis and reduced subsequent visits across all risk groups in ambulatory chest pain patients.
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    Which factors should be included in triage? An online survey of the attitudes of the UK general public to pandemic triage dilemmas.
    (BMJ open, 2020-12-08) Wilkinson, Dominic; Zohny, Hazem; Kappes, Andreas; Sinnott-Armstrong, Walter; Savulescu, Julian

    Objective

    As cases of COVID-19 infections surge, concerns have renewed about intensive care units (ICUs) being overwhelmed and the need for specific triage protocols over winter. This study aimed to help inform triage guidance by exploring the views of lay people about factors to include in triage decisions.

    Design, setting and participants

    Online survey between 29th of May and 22nd of June 2020 based on hypothetical triage dilemmas. Participants recruited from existing market research panels, representative of the UK general population. Scenarios were presented in which a single ventilator is available, and two patients require ICU admission and ventilation. Patients differed in one of: chance of survival, life expectancy, age, expected length of treatment, disability and degree of frailty. Respondents were given the option of choosing one patient to treat or tossing a coin to decide.

    Results

    Seven hundred and sixty-three participated. A majority of respondents prioritised patients who would have a higher chance of survival (72%-93%), longer life expectancy (78%-83%), required shorter duration of treatment (88%-94%), were younger (71%-79%) or had a lesser degree of frailty (60%-69%, all p<0.001). Where there was a small difference between two patients, a larger proportion elected to toss a coin to decide which patient to treat. A majority (58%-86%) were prepared to withdraw treatment from a patient in intensive care who had a lower chance of survival than another patient currently presenting with COVID-19. Respondents also indicated a willingness to give higher priority to healthcare workers and to patients with young children.

    Conclusion

    Members of the UK general public potentially support a broadly utilitarian approach to ICU triage in the face of overwhelming need. Survey respondents endorsed the relevance of patient factors currently included in triage guidance, but also factors not currently included. They supported the permissibility of reallocating treatment in a pandemic.