Medical Clearance and Screening of Psychiatric Patients in the Emergency Department

Objectives : To study the frequency of medical complaints and need for routine ED medical, laboratory, and toxicologic clearance for patients presenting with psychiatric chief complaints.
Methods : A retrospective, observational analysis of psychiatric patients seen in an urban teaching hospital ED over a 2-month period was performed. The individual sensitivities of history, physical examination, vital signs, and complete blood counts and chemistry panels for identifying medical problems were determined. The sensitivities and predictive values of patient self-reporting of recent illicit drug and ethanol use were also determined.
Results : 352 patients were seen with psychiatric chief complaints. A complete data set was available for 345 patients (98%). Of those with complete data, 65 (19%) had medical problems of any type. History, physical examination, vital signs, and laboratory testing had sensitivities of 94%, 51%, 17%, and 20%, respectively, for identifying these medical problems. Screening without universal laboratory testing would have missed 2 asymptomatic patients with mild hypokalemia. Patient self-reporting had a 92% sensitivity, a 91% specificity, an 88% positive predictive value (PPV), and a 94% negative predictive value (NPV) for identifying those with a positive drug screen, and a 96% sensitivity, an 87% specificity, a 73% PPV, and a 98% NPV for identifying those with a positive ethanol level.
Conclusion : The vast majority of medical problems and substance abuse in ED psychiatric patients can be identified by initial vital signs and a basic history and physical examination. Universal laboratory and toxicologic screening of all patients with psychiatric complaints is of low yield.     

急诊内科危重病人气管插管时机与方法的探讨

目的:总结急诊内科病人气管插管的特点,分析其治疗效果,并探讨其插管时机、方法与转归。方法:根据病人在急诊科治疗情况,将病人分成三组。第Ⅰ组23例,系到医院前已临床死亡;第Ⅱ组30例,经抢救无效在急诊科死亡;第Ⅲ组30例,经抢救病人在急诊科存活,后转入病房或急诊留观。结果:第Ⅰ组病人经口气管插管,抢救平均30分钟,无一例心跳呼吸恢复;第Ⅱ组虽经急诊CPR,但呼吸功能不能恢复正常,或因其原发病未能控制,最终在急诊科死亡;第Ⅲ组病人经口插管13例,经鼻插管17例,6例病人在急诊留观治疗后出院,12例病人经ICU或病房住院治疗后基本痊愈出院,另12例最终死亡。结论:急诊科所遇垂危病人,多数需气管插管者是由内科医师首诊实施。正确的插管方法和较高的成功率是直接影响病人转归的重要因素。     

急诊外科医疗纠纷12例原因分析及教训

随着医学发展,人们对医疗服务质量的要求越来越高,医疗维权意识不断增强,多种因素导致急诊外科成为医疗纠纷高发的科室。本文通过对某医院急诊外科12例医疗纠纷的临床资料进行回顾性分析,提出加强轮转医师的岗前培训,严格执行急诊病历书写规范,完善术前签字,严格遵循诊疗常规,加强医患沟通等,可有效防范医疗纠纷的发生。     

Boarding Inpatients in the Emergency Department Increases Discharged Patient Length of Stay

Background

Boarding of inpatients in the Emergency Department (ED) has been widely recognized as a major contributor to ED crowding and a cause of adverse outcomes. We hypothesize that these deleterious effects extend to those patients who are discharged from the ED by increasing their length of stay (LOS).

Study Objectives

This study investigates the impact of boarding inpatients on the ED LOS of discharged patients.

Methods

This retrospective, observational, cohort study investigated the association between ED boarder burden and discharged patient LOS over a 3-year period in an urban, academic tertiary care ED. Median ED LOS of 179,840 discharged patients was calculated for each quartile of the boarder burden at time of arrival, and Spearman correlation coefficients were used to summarize the relationship. Subgroup analyses were conducted, stratified by patient acuity defined by triage designation, and hour of arrival.

Results

Overall median discharged patient ED LOS increased by boarder burden quartile (205 [95% confidence interval (CI) 203–207], 215 [95% CI 214–217], 221 [95% CI 219–223], and 221 [95% CI 219–223] min, respectively), with a Spearman correlation of 0.25 between daily total boarder burden hours and median LOS. When stratified by patient acuity and hour of arrival (11:00 a.m.–11:00 p.m.), LOS of medium-acuity patients increased significantly by boarder burden quartile (252 [95% CI 247–255], 271 [95% CI 267–275], 285 [95% CI 95% CI 278–289], and 309 [95% CI 305–315] min, respectively) with a Spearman correlation of 0.18.

Conclusion

In this retrospective study, increasing boarder burden was associated with increasing LOS of patients discharged from the ED, with the greatest effect between 11:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. on medium-acuity patients. This relationship between LOS and ED capacity limitation by inpatient boarders has important implications, as ED and hospital leadership increasingly focus on ED LOS as a measure of efficiency and throughput.     

Nurse-Leader Collaborative Improvement Project: Improving Patient Experience in the Emergency Department

Introduction

Studies show that nurse rounding is an effective means to increase patient satisfaction and quality of care and decrease patient-safety events. There is evidence to support that daily leader rounding improves patients’ hospital experience as well. Patients' experience increased confidence in their care providers, and leaders are able to address service concerns proactively. Furthermore, recent studies have addressed patient satisfaction in the ED setting as having an impact on patients’ perceptions of the health care institution as a whole. Our objective was to demonstrate the effect of hourly nursing rounds and daily leader rounds on the ED patient experience.