Western Journal of Emergency Medicine最新文献

Introduction: The American College of Emergency Physicians supports community- and hospital-based programs that intervene to prevent firearm-related injury. To this end, the distribution of firearm locks or storage devices in the emergency department (ED) may help achieve this target. To inform secure firearm storage programs for households with children and firearms, we examined firearm storage practices, device preferences, and cost tolerance among parents/caregivers of children.

Methods: Between April 2018-November 2019, we conducted and analyzed an in-person survey of 294 caregivers, aged ≥18, with both children and firearms in the home. Surveys assessed reasons for firearm ownership, storage practices and device preferences among five storage-device options, and prices participants were willing to pay for devices. Practices and preferences were examined by participant characteristics. We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for associations of interest.

Results: Most participants (73%) reported personal protection as a reason for owning firearms, and nearly 80% owned at least one firearm storage device. Over half (55%) owned cable locks, but only 36% of owners reported regularly using them. Rapid-access devices (electronic and biometric lockboxes) were less commonly owned (26%) but more likely to be regularly used (73%). The most highly rated storage device features were the following: the ability to store the firearm unloaded (87.3%); the ability to store the firearm loaded (79.1%); and device affordability (65%). Most participants (78%) preferred rapid-access devices over other options. Participants were willing to pay more for products that afforded rapid access to the firearm. Participants reported they would pay a median of $100 for a pushbutton rapid-access product ($80 retail), and $150 for a biometric lockbox ($210 retail).

Conclusion: Understanding the storage practices and preferences among firearm-owning households with children can help inform ED injury-prevention screening and firearm safety practice implementation. Our results suggest that rapid-access devices may be the most preferable firearm storage devices for distribution by secure storage programs, and costs are likely minimal given parental/caregiver willingness to pay.

Introduction: The utility of the three-part bedside oculomotor exam HINTS (head impulse test, nystagmus, test of skew) in the hands of emergency physicians remains under debate despite being supported by the most recent literature. Educators historically lack consensus on how specifically to teach this skill to emergency medicine (EM) residents, and it is unknown whether and how EM residency programs have begun to implement HINTS training into their curricula. We aimed to characterize the state of HINTS education in EM residency and develop a needs assessment.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we administered a survey to EM residency directors, the themes of which centered around HINTS education perceptions, practices, resources, and needs. We analyzed Likert scales with means and 95% confidence intervals for normally distributed data, and with medians and interquartile ranges for non-normally distributed data. Frequency distributions, means, and standard deviations were used in all other analyses.

Results: Of 250 eligible participants, 201 (80.4%) responded and consented. Of the 192 respondents providing usable data, 149/191 (78.0%) believed the HINTS exam is valuable to teach; 124/192 (64.6%) reported HINTS educational offerings in conference; and 148/192 (77.1%) reported clinical bedside teaching by faculty. The most-effective educational modalities were clinical bedside teaching, online videos, and simulation. Subtopic teaching struggles with regard to HINTS were head impulse test and test-of-skew conduction and interpretation, selection of the correct patients, and overall HINTS interpretation. Teaching barriers centered around lack of faculty expertise, concern for poor HINTS reproducibility, and lack of resources. Leadership would dedicate a mean of 2.0 hours/year (SD 1.3 hours/year) to implementing a formal, standardized HINTS curriculum.

Conclusion: Despite controversy surrounding the utility of the HINTS exam in EM, most residency directors believe it is important to teach. This needs assessment can guide development of formal educational and simulation curricula focusing on residency directors' cited HINTS exam educational struggles, barriers, and reported most-effective teaching modalities.

Introduction: Spectral Doppler echocardiography is used to evaluate diastolic dysfunction of the heart. However, it is difficult to assess diastolic function with this modality in emergency department (ED) settings. Based on the hypothesis that E-point septal separation (EPSS) measured by M-mode in the parasternal long-axis (PSLA) view may facilitate the assessment of diastolic function in emergency patient care, we aimed to investigate whether EPSS measured by M-mode in the PSLA view correlates with spectral Doppler assessment in patients with grade 1 diastolic dysfunction.

Methods: We performed this prospective, observational, single-center study was performed in the ED of a tertiary training and research hospital. All patients who presented to the emergency critical care unit with symptoms of heart failure were evaluated by the cardiology department, had grade 1 diastolic dysfunction confirmed by the cardiology department, and did not meet any of the study's exclusion criteria. The study population of 40 (included rate 14%) was formed after the exclusion criteria were applied to 285 patients who met these conditions. Patients included in the study underwent spectral Doppler measurements in the apical four-chamber (A4C) view followed by M-mode measurements in the PSLA view. We then compared the measurements.

Results: The correlation between the early diastolic velocity of the mitral inflow to the late diastolic velocity (E/A) ratio in spectral Doppler measurements and the EPSS/ A-point septal separation (APSS) ratio in M-mode was strong (correlation coefficient 0.677, P = 0.001). Similarly, the correlation between E in spectral Doppler measurements and the EPSS/APSS ratio in M-mode measurements was also moderately strong (correlation coefficient 0.557, P = 0.001).

Conclusion: A significant correlation exists between the M-mode EPSS/APSS ratio measurement in the PSLA view and the spectral Doppler E/A ratio measurement in the A4C window to evaluate grade 1 diastolic dysfunction. This association suggests that M-mode measurements in the PSLA may be used in diastolic dysfunction.

Introduction: The prolonged stay of critically ill patients in the emergency department (ED) may lead to worse clinical outcomes. An emergency department (ED)-based intensive care unit (ICU) is one of the proposed solutions to deliver critical care in the ED. We thus aimed to characterize existent ED-ICU models and their reported association with clinical outcomes in critically ill adult patients.

Methods: We searched the Ovid MEDLINE database from inception to October 2, 2023. We included studies that report an ED-ICU structure, defined as a space capable of providing ICU-level care within or adjacent to the ED, and its characteristics. We excluded personnel-focused intervention (without the presence of a separated space) or a space without ICU-level care capability. We collected information on process measures, patient-related outcomes, and cost-related outcomes.

Results: We screened 2,824 studies, of which 125 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and 31 studies were included in this scoping review. Studies reported on 14 ED-ICUs across seven countries, with capacities ranging from 3-17 beds. All ED-ICUs served early and ongoing critical care needs in the ED, including three distinct themes: short-stay; palliative care; and disaster-response ICUs. Implementing the ED-ICU was associated with decreased time to ICU-level care and reduced number of inpatient ICU admissions, but it was not consistently associated with improved survival.

Conclusion: Several ED-ICUs have been established around the world with different characteristics depending on local needs. Implementation of the ED-ICU may be associated with improved clinical outcomes and patient flow.

Background: In low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), 45% of deaths could be addressed by implementation of an emergency medical services (EMS) system. Prehospital care is a critical component of EMS worldwide, and basic, affordable training has been shown to improve EMS systems. However, patient outcome impact is unclear. In this study we aimed to assess the current state of prehospital care in Kigali, Rwanda, through a needs assessment, focused training intervention, and analysis of current practices and patient outcomes.

Methods: We identified 30 clinicians through the prehospital medical command office and included them in the study. A prospective, nonrandomized, interrupted time-series approach was used. Data collected through closed- and open-ended questionnaires included age, sex, training, and knowledge assessment. We used the data to create a tailored, 18-hour training after which immediate and 11-month post-tests were administered. Linked prehospital and hospital care datasets allowed for evaluation of patient outcomes and prehospital process indicators that included training skill application, airway intervention, intravenous fluid administration, and glucose administration.

Results: Of 30 clinicians, 18 (60%) were female, 19 were nurses, and 11 were nurse anaesthetists. Median age was 36, and median years providing care was 10 (IQR 7-11). Twenty-four (80%) participants completed immediate and post-test assessments. Mean knowledge across 12 core skills significantly improved from a pre-test mean of 59.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 42.2-77.20) to a post-test mean of 87.8% (95% CI 74.7-100). At 11 months post-training, the score improvement maintained, with a mean score of 77.6% (95% CI 59.2-96.8). For patient outcomes, the total sample size was 572 patients; 324 of these patients were transported to the ED during the pre-training period (56.4%), while 248 were transported post-training. Prehospital oxygen administration for patients with a saturation level of <95% significantly increased pre- to post-training (66.7% to 71.7%; Δ = 5.0%; Δ95% CI 1.9,-8.1%). No significant changes were noted in patient treatment outcomes or other process indicators due to small sample sizes.

Conclusion: This study provides insights on Rwandan EMS and demonstrates that a tailored intervention targeting education on prehospital process indicators has positive impacts on clinician knowledge and practice.

Introduction: Emergency departments (ED) play a central role in defining the effectiveness and quality of the overall hospital's mass casualty incident (MCI) response. The use of electronic health records (EHR) in hospital settings has been rapidly growing globally. There is, however, a paucity of literature on the use and performance of EHR during MCIs.

Methods: In this study we aimed to describe EHR use, as well as the challenges and lessons learnt in response to the 2020 explosion in the Port of Beirut, Lebanon, during which the hospital received over 360 casualties.

Results: Information technology support, reducing EHR system restrictions, cross-function training, focus on registration and patient identification, patient flow and tracking, mobility and bedside access, and alternate sites of care are all important areas to focus on during emergency/disaster response planning.

Conclusion: Innovative solutions that help address logistical challenges for different aspects of the disaster response are needed.

Background: The Standardized Letter of Evaluation (SLOE) is a crucial component of the emergency medicine (EM) application process. Given the critical role of the SLOE, we attempted to better understand the grading scales used, as well as the distribution of grades and rank-list positions.

Objectives: Our primary objective in this study was to determine the distribution of grading formats, grades given, and rank-list positions across EM clerkships using the SLOE.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of the grading formats, grades given, and ranking distributions as reported on the SLOE during the 2022-23 application cycle. We obtained data on SLOEs from EM residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education by reviewing all applicants who applied to either of two EM residency programs in geographically different regions. Trained abstractors recorded the following data: number of students rotating in the prior year; grading format used; and grade and rank distribution among students.

Results: We included 264 programs in our final analysis, after 13 programs met exclusion criteria. The majority of programs (72.2%) use an Honors/High Pass/Pass/Fail grading scheme. We determined the mean percent of each grade: Honors/A 27.6%; High Pass/B 31.1%; Pass/C 40.8%; Low Pass/D 0.2%; and Fail/F 0.3%. Finally, we determined the mean percent for each rank-list position: top 10% was 17.6%; top third 36.5%; mid third 34.1%; and low third 11.8%.

Conclusion: We determined the grading schemes and grade and rank-list distributions for EM programs during the 2022-2023 academic year. Most programs used a Honors/High Pass/Pass/Fail grading scheme, with the majority of students receiving Honors or High Pass, while 0.3% failed their rotation. Both grades and rank list demonstrated evidence of a skewed distribution toward higher grades and rank-list position.

Objective: Our goal was to characterize a large group of children presenting to the emergency department (ED) with acute anaphylaxis, treated with intramuscular epinephrine (IM EPI) and a corticosteroid (CS), and to determine the impact of pharmacologic intervention on the rate and timing of biphasic reactions (BPR).

Methods: We reviewed consecutive children diagnosed with acute anaphylaxis managed in three EDs during a six-year period. All received IM EPI and CS, followed by monitoring for 4-6 hours post-treatment. We analyzed the rate and timing of BPR, comparing the intervals of 0-4 vs 4-48 hours after initiating therapy.

Results: During the study period, there were 371 cases of anaphylaxis, of which 357 (94%) received both IM EPI and CS. Of these, 49 (14%) manifested BPR [84% had received prehospital IM EPI] requiring at least one additional dose of IM EPI [14% required ≥2 additional doses]. All BPR episodes occurred within the 0-4 hour interval after initiating therapy, whereas no patient manifested a BPR requiring an additional dose of IM EPI during the 4-48 hours after initiating therapy (P = <0.001, 95% CI 0-1.3%). No patient returned to the ED with recurrence of anaphylaxis symptoms within 48 hours after discharge.

Conclusion: Approximately 1 in 7 children with anaphylaxis experience a biphasic reaction after receiving intramuscular epinephrine. Children with anaphylaxis who exhibit symptomatic resolution four hours following initiation of therapy have a low risk for subsequently developing BPR. Most BPR cases required only one additional dose of IM EPI to effect resolution. The rate of BPR in those receiving IM EPI and a corticosteroid is significantly lower >4 hours vs <4 hours after initiating therapy.

Introduction: Emergency department boarding has escalated to a crisis, impacting patient care, hospital finances, and physician burnout, and contributing to error. No prior studies have examined the effects of boarding hours on resident productivity. If boarding reduces productivity, it may have negative educational impacts. We investigated the effect of boarding on resident productivity as measured by patients per hour and hypothesized that increased boarding leads to decreased productivity.

Methods: This was a retrospective study at a quaternary, urban, academic Level I trauma center from 2017-2021 with a three-year emergency medicine residency of 10-12 residents per year and annual volumes of 80,000-101,000. Boarding was defined as the time between an admission order and the patient leaving the ED. We created a multivariable mixed model with fixed covariates for year, month, day of week, resident experience, shift duration, total daily ED patients, and with residents as repeated measures. The effect of boarding was estimated after covarying out all other factors.

Results: All variables included in the model were significantly associated with changes in productivity. Resident experience has the largest effect such that for each month of residency experience, a resident adds 0.012 patients per hour (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.010-0.014). Isolating the effect of boarding demonstrated that for every additional 100 hours of boarding, a resident's productivity decreased by 0.022 patients per hour (95% CI 0.016-0.028). In the study, the median daily boarding was 261 hours; if this were eliminated (assuming a resident completes 100 10-hour shifts annually), a resident could be expected to see 56.9 more patients per year (95% CI 40.7-73.1).

Conclusion: Hospital boarding significantly reduces resident productivity as measured by patients per hour. Further studies are warranted to determine the educational impact.