Hospital ward transfer to intensive care unit as a quality marker in emergency medicine

Background

Minimizing and preventing adverse events and medical errors in the emergency department (ED) is an ongoing area of quality improvement. Identifying these events remains challenging.

Racial and ethnic disparities in the management of acute pain in US emergency departments: Meta-analysis and systematic review

ObjectiveThis review aims to quantify the effect of minority status on analgesia use for acute pain management in US Emergency Department (ED) settings.MethodsWe used the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) methodology to perform a review of studies from 1990 to 2018 comparing racial and ethnic differences in the administration of analgesia for acute pain. Studies were included if they measured analgesia use in white patients compared to a racial minority in the ED and studies were excluded if they focused primarily on chronic pain, case reports and survey studies. Following data abstraction, a meta-analysis was performed using fixed and random-effect models to determine primary outcome of analgesia administration stratified by racial and ethnic classification.Results763 articles were screened for eligibility and fourteen studies met inclusion criteria for qualitative synthesis. The total study population included 7070 non-Hispanic White patients, 1538 Hispanic, 3125 Black, and 50.3% female. Black patients were less likely than white to receive analgesia for acute pain: OR 0.60 [95%-CI, 0.43–0.83, random effects model]. Hispanics were also less likely to receive analgesia: OR 0.75 [95%-CI, 0.52–1.09].ConclusionThis study demonstrates the presence of racial disparities in analgesia use for the management of acute pain in US EDs. Further research is needed to examine patient reported outcomes in addition to the presence of disparities in other groups besides Black and Hispanic. Trial registration: Registration number CRD42018104697 in PROSPERO.     

Endotoxin activity levels as a prediction tool for risk of deterioration in patients with sepsis not admitted to the intensive care unit: A pilot observational study

Purpose

The aim of this prospective observational study was to evaluate in patients with sepsis not requiring intensive care unit admission the relationship between the levels of endotoxin activity assay (EAA) early after sepsis recognition and the risk of development of organ dysfunction (OD).

Methods

Endotoxin activity assay levels were drawn immediately after sepsis identification (baseline) and at 6, 24, and 48 hours postbaseline in 50 patients with signs of sepsis of a duration of less than 24 hours. An EAA 0.60 units or greater was considered as highly elevated.

Results

Logistic regression showed independent association between EAA levels at baseline and the appearance of new OD (adjusted odd ratio, 2.41; 95% confidence interval, 1.18-4.90; P < .05). Fifteen patients (30%) who developed new OD after baseline had at least 1 EAA level 0.60 or greater. The adjusted linear regression analysis showed that across the 4 time points, EAA levels were significantly higher in patients who developed new OD (0.11; 95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.20; P < .05).

Conclusions

Endotoxin activity assay levels 0.60 or greater early after sepsis diagnosis in patients not requiring intensive care unit admission predict risk of development of new organ dysfunction. High EAA levels in the first 48 hours of recognition of sepsis are also predictive of risk of deterioration.     

Memory making in end-of-life care in the adult intensive care unit: A scoping review of the research literature

ObjectiveThe objective of this review is to describe the practice of memory making as part of end-of-life care within an adult intensive care setting and determine reported outcomes.MethodsA scoping review of the literature was performed. Data were collected from sources such as ProQuest, CINAHL, Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and PubMed using combinations of the keywords: including adult, critical care, intensive care, ICU, death, dying, grief, bereavement, end?of?life, memento*, memor*, keepsak*, and transitional object. Peer-reviewed studies reporting on the use of memory making within an adult intensive care setting and its outcomes for family members were included.ResultsFour activities facilitating memory making as part of end-of-life care for adults are reported in the literature, all in the intensive care setting. Use of a computer-generated word cloud image received by families in the intensive care was reported as a meaningful keepsake and sometimes displayed in places such as the patient's funeral memorial. Offering a printed copy of the patient's electrocardiogram as a memento was considered by some to be extremely or very helpful during their bereavement experience and was reported by nursing staff to be well received by family members. The use of patient diaries during bereavement has been reported with the potential to promote better understanding of the events leading to the death, and photography was also included in some patient diaries as a visual memento.ConclusionAlthough limited evidence is available concerning memory making in the adult intensive care environment, from studies to date, surviving family members of deceased patients in the intensive care unit mostly report valuing memory-making opportunities when offered. However, further research is required to evaluate both healthcare staff's competence and confidence in offering memory making and determine if such offerings promote the family's adjustment to the loss of their loved one after a death in the intensive care area.     

Comparison of critically ill patients from three freestanding ED's compared to a tertiary care hospital based ED

BackgroundFreestanding emergency departments (FEDs) care for all patients, including critically ill, 24/7/365. We characterized patients from three FEDs transferred to intensive care units (ICU) at a tertiary care hospital, and compared hospital length of stay(LOS) between patients admitted to ICUs from FEDs versus a hospital-based ED (HBED).MethodsWe performed a retrospective, observational cohort study from January 2014 to December 2016. Demographic and clinical information was compared between FED and HBED patients with chi-square and fisher's exact tests for categorical variables and Student's t-test for continuous variables. The main outcome of interest was hospital LOS. Multi-variable linear regression was performed to estimate association between LOS and emergency facility type, while adjusting for potential confounders.ResultsWe included 500 critically ill patients (FED = 250 and HBED = 250). Patients did not differ by age, gender, or BMI. FED patients were more likely to be white (89.6% vs. 70.8%, p < 0.001) and have higher Charlson Co-morbidity Index scores (3.5 vs. 2.4, p < 0.001). Average LOS for FED patients was 5 days, compared to 7 days for HBED patients (p < 0.001). After adjusting for demographic and clinical confounders, there was significant correlation between ED facility type and LOS in hospital (p < 0.001).ConclusionPatients transferred from FEDs to an ICU were similar in age and gender, but more likely to be white with a higher Charlson Comorbidity Index score. FED patients experienced shorter hospital length of stay compared to patients admitted from a HBED.     

Prehospital ketamine administration to pediatric trauma patients with head injuries in combat theaters

BackgroundHead injuries frequently occur in combat. Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) guidelines recommend pre-hospital use of ketamine for analgesia. Yet the use of this medication in patients with head injuries remains controversial, particularly among pediatric patients. We compare survival to hospital discharge rates among pediatric head injury subjects who received prehospital ketamine versus those who did not.MethodsWe queried the Department of Defense Trauma Registry (DODTR) for all pediatric (<18 years of age) subjects from January 2007 to January 2016. We performed a sub-analysis of subjects with an abbreviated injury severity score for the head of 3 (serious) or higher and at least one documented Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) ≤13.ResultsOf the 3439 pediatric patients within our dataset, 555 subjects met inclusion criteria for head injury – 36 (6.5%) received prehospital ketamine versus 519 (93.5%) who did not. There was no significant difference noted between groups regarding median age (10 versus 8, p = 0.259), percent male gender (72.2% versus 76.3%, p = 0.579), mechanism of injury (p = 0.143), median composite injury scores (22 versus 20, p = 0.082), median ventilator-free days (28 versus 27, p = 0.068), median ICU-free days (27.5 versus 27, p = 0.767), median hospital days (3.5 versus 4, p = 0.876) or survival to discharge (66.7% versus 70.7%, p = 0.607).ConclusionsWithin this data set, we were unable to detect any differences in mortality among pediatric head trauma subjects administered ketamine compared to subjects not receiving this medication in the prehospital setting.     

The care of VIPs in the emergency department: Triage,treatment and ethics

People identified as Very Important Persons (VIPs) often present or are referred to the Emergency Department (ED). Celebrities are a small subset of this group, but many others are included. Triage of these patients, including occasional prioritization, creates practical and ethical challenges. Treatment also provides challenges with the risks of over testing, overtreatment, over consultation, and over or under admission to the hospital. This article presents a practical and ethical framework for addressing the care of VIPs in the ED.     

Outcomes of extremely low birth weight infants in the NICU after initiation of a two-team care model

Neonatal nurse practitioners (NNP) have an increasing and continuous presence in most neonatal intensive care units (NICUs); a presence which has at times been perceived as at odds with the training and development of pediatric residents and neonatal fellows. This is a single-center cohort study of infants born at ≤1000 g and ≤28 weeks of gestation cared for by either a team consisting of residents and a fellow (R/F) or consisting of NNPs (NP). Groups were compared by Student's t-test or chi-square, and associations estimated by logistic regression. There were no differences in primary outcomes between the teams except for a lower incidence of severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in babies on the R/F team compared to the NNP team. In this first post-duty hours cohort, clinical outcomes between the teams were similar. These data suggest that either model can be safely utilized within a level 3 NICU.     

The use of point of care ultrasound in the evaluation of pediatric soft tissue neck masses

ObjectiveMost soft tissue neck masses represent benign inflammatory or infectious processes; however, in some cases the diagnosis is not clear and a broader differential must be considered. The aim of this study was to compare point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to radiology department imaging (RDI) in the diagnosis of soft tissue neck masses.MethodsThis prospective pilot study involved a convenience sample of patients ranging in age from 1 month to 18 years of age presenting to the Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) with a soft tissue neck mass. All children who presented to the PED with soft tissue neck mass at times when an investigator was in the department, and who were candidates for enrollment, underwent a POCUS. The managing pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) provider determined whether RDI was indicated. The results of the POCUS sonologist and radiologist were compared. The kappa statistic was used to analyze agreement with p < 0.05 denoting statistical significance.ResultsTwenty-seven patients were enrolled into the study. Twenty-two received radiology ultrasound (RUS), 3 patients received CT, and 2 patients received both RUS and CT. There was agreement between POCUS and RDI diagnoses in 21/27 cases (78%). Accordingly, overall concordance between POCUS and RDI diagnoses was good: the kappa statistic comparing diagnoses obtained by POCUS versus RDI was 0.69 (p < 0.001).ConclusionThis prospective pilot study describes the reliability of POCUS as an imaging modality in the management of patients with undifferentiated soft tissue neck masses. POCUS demonstrated good agreement with RDI as a bedside imaging tool in the evaluation of pediatric soft tissue neck masses.     

Opinions and practices of blood glucose control in critically ill patients with pre-existing type 2 diabetes in Australian and New Zealand intensive care units

BackgroundApproximately 9000 patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) in Australia and New Zealand annually. For these patients, recent exploratory data suggest that targeting a more liberal blood glucose range during ICU admission may be safe and potentially beneficial. However, the current approach to blood glucose management of patients with T2DM in Australia and New Zealand ICUs is not well described, and there is uncertainty about clinician equipoise for trials of liberal glycaemic control in these patients.AimThe aim is to describe self-reported blood glucose management in patients with T2DM by intensivists working in Australian and New Zealand ICUs and to establish whether equipoise exists for a trial of liberal versus standard glycaemic control in such patients.MethodAn online questionnaire of Australia and New Zealand intensivists conducted in July–September 2016.ResultsSeventy-one intensivists responded. Forty-five (63%) used a basic nomogram to titrate insulin. Sixty-six (93%) reported that insulin was commenced at blood glucose concentrations >10 mmol/L and titrated to achieve a blood glucose concentration between 6.0 and 10.0 mmol/L. A majority of respondents (75%) indicated that there was insufficient evidence to define optimal blood glucose targets in patients with T2DM, and 59 (83%) were prepared to enrol such patients in a clinical trial to evaluate a more liberal approach.ConclusionA majority of respondents were uncertain about the optimal blood glucose target range for patients with T2DM and would enrol such patients in a comparative trial of conventional versus liberal blood glucose control.