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Taiwan Society of Emergency Medicine
Taiwan Society of Emergency Medicine
刊登日期：2018/10/02 發布單位：秘書處
We assess accuracy and variability of triage score assignment by emergency department (ED) nurses using the Emergency Severity Index (ESI) in 3 countries. In accordance with previous reports and clinical observation, we hypothesize low accuracy and high variability across all sites.
This cross-sectional multicenter study enrolled 87 ESI-trained nurses from EDs in Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. Standardized triage scenarios published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) were used. Accuracy was defined by concordance with the AHRQ key and calculated as percentages. Accuracy comparisons were made with one-way ANOVA and paired ttest. Interrater reliability was measured with Krippendorff’s α. Subanalyses based on nursing experience and triage scenario type were also performed.
Mean accuracy pooled across all sites and scenarios was 59.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 56.4% to 62.0%) and interrater reliability was modest (α=.730; 95% CI .692 to .767). There was no difference in overall accuracy between sites or according to nurse experience. Medium-acuity scenarios were scored with greater accuracy (76.4%; 95% CI 72.6% to 80.3%) than high- or low-acuity cases (44.1%, 95% CI 39.3% to 49.0% and 54%, 95% CI 49.9% to 58.2%), and adult scenarios were scored with greater accuracy than pediatric ones (66.2%, 95% CI 62.9% to 69.7% versus 46.9%, 95% CI 43.4% to 50.3%).
In this multinational study, concordance of nurse-assigned ESI score with reference standard was universally poor and variability was high. Although the ESI is the most popular ED triage tool in the United States and is increasingly used worldwide, our findings point to a need for more reliable ED triage tools.
Newer combination HIV antigen-antibody tests allow detection of HIV sooner after infection than previous antibody-only immunoassays because, in addition to HIV-1 and -2 antibodies, they detect the HIV-1 p24 antigen, which appears before antibodies develop. We determine the yield of screening with HIV antigen-antibody tests and clinical presentations for new diagnoses of acute and established HIV infection across US emergency departments (EDs).
This was a retrospective study of 9 EDs in 6 cities with HIV screening programs that integrated laboratory-based antigen-antibody tests between November 1, 2012, and December 31, 2015. Unique patients with newly diagnosed HIV infection were identified and classified as having either acute HIV infection or established HIV infection. Acute HIV infection was defined as a repeatedly reactive antigen-antibody test result, a negative HIV-1/HIV-2 antibody differentiation assay, or Western blot result, but detectable HIV ribonucleic acid (RNA); established HIV infection was defined as a repeatedly reactive antigen-antibody test result and a positive HIV-1/HIV-2 antibody differentiation assay or Western blot result. The primary outcomes were the number of new HIV diagnoses and proportion of patients with laboratory-defined acute HIV infection. Secondary outcomes compared reason for visit and the clinical presentation of acute HIV infection.
In total, 214,524 patients were screened for HIV and 839 (0.4%) received a new diagnosis, of which 122 (14.5%) were acute HIV infection and 717 (85.5%) were established HIV infection. Compared with patients with established HIV infection, those with acute HIV infection were younger, had higher RNA and CD4 counts, and were more likely to have viral syndrome (41.8% versus 6.5%) or fever (14.3% versus 3.4%) as their reason for visit. Most patients with acute HIV infection displayed symptoms attributable to acute infection (median symptom count 5 [interquartile range 3 to 6]), with fever often accompanied by greater than or equal to 3 other symptoms (60.7%).
ED screening using antigen-antibody tests identifies previously undiagnosed HIV infection at proportions that exceed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s screening threshold, with the added yield of identifying acute HIV infection in approximately 15% of patients with a new diagnosis. Patients with acute HIV infection often seek ED care for symptoms related to seroconversion.
We determine whether pain treatment with acetaminophen was not inferior to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or the combination of both in minor musculoskeletal trauma.
The Paracetamol or NSAIDs in Acute Musculoskeletal Trauma Study was a double-blind, randomized, clinical trial conducted in 2 general practices and 2 emergency departments in the Netherlands. A total of 547 adults, aged 18 years and older, with acute blunt minor musculoskeletal extremity trauma were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to acetaminophen 4,000 mg/day, diclofenac 150 mg/day, or acetaminophen 4,000 mg/day+diclofenac 150 mg/day during 3 consecutive days. Patients, health care staff, and outcome assessors were blinded for treatment allocation. Follow-up for each patient was 30 days. Primary outcome measures were between-group differences in mean numeric rating scale (NRS) pain scores in rest and with movement at 90 minutes after initial drug administration compared with baseline pain scores with a predefined noninferiority margin of 0.75 NRS points. Secondary outcomes included NRS pain scores during 3 consecutive days and need for additional analgesia.
One hundred eighty-two patients were treated with acetaminophen, 183 with diclofenac, and 182 with combination treatment. Intention-to-treat analysis revealed mean NRS reduction in rest –1.23 (95% confidence interval [CI] –1.50 to –0.95) and –1.72 (95% CI –2.01 to –1.44) with movement, both for acetaminophen at 90 minutes compared with baseline. Pairwise comparison in rest with diclofenac showed a difference of –0.027 (97.5% CI –0.45 to 0.39) and –0.052 (97.5% CI –0.46 to 0.36) for combination treatment. With movement, these numbers were –0.20 (97.5% CI –0.64 to 0.23) and –0.39 (97.5% CI –0.80 to 0.018), respectively. All differences were well below the predefined noninferiority margin.
Pain treatment with acetaminophen was not inferior to that with diclofenac or the combination of acetaminophen and diclofenac in acute minor musculoskeletal extremity trauma, both in rest and with movement.
TTarget temperature management (TTM) is used in comatose post-cardiac arrest patients, but the recommended temperature range is wide. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of TTM at 32–34 °C while considering the degree of cerebral injury and cerebral circulation, as assessed by regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO 2 ).
This is a secondary analysis of prospectively collected registry data from comatose patients who were transferred to 15 hospitals in Japan after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) from 2011 to 2013. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality at 90 days after OHCA, and the secondary outcome was favorable neurological outcomes as evaluated according to the Cerebral Performance Category. We monitored rSO 2 noninvasively with near-infrared spectroscopy, which could assess cerebral perfusion and the balance of oxygen delivery and uptake.
We stratified 431 study patients into three groups according to rSO 2 on hospital arrival: rSO 2 ≤40% (n = 296), rSO 2 41–60% (n = 67), and rSO 2 ≥61% (n = 68). Propensity score analysis revealed that TTM at 32–34 °C decreased all-cause mortality in patients with rSO 2 41–60% (average treatment effect on treated [ATT] by propensity score matching [PSM] −0.51, 95%CI −0.70 to −0.33; ATT by inverse probability of treatment weighting [IPW] −0.52, 95%CI −0.71 to −0.34), and increased favorable neurological outcomes in patients with rSO 2 41–60% (ATT by PSM 0.50, 95%CI 0.32–0.68; ATT by IPW 0.52, 95%CI 0.35–0.69).
TTM at 32–34 °C effectively decreased all-cause mortality in comatose OHCA patients with rSO 2 41–60% on hospital arrival in Japan.
Several studies have reported increased levels of phosphate after cardiac arrest. Given the relationship between phosphate level and the severity of ischaemic injury reported in previous studies, higher phosphate levels may be associated with worse outcomes. We investigated the prognostic value of phosphate level after the restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in adult cardiac arrest patients.
This study was a retrospective observational study including adult cardiac arrest survivors treated at the Chonnam National University Hospital between January 2014 and June 2017. From medical records, data regarding clinical characteristics, outcome at hospital discharge, and laboratory parameters including phosphate levels after ROSC were collected. The primary outcome was poor outcome at hospital discharge, defined as Cerebral Performance Categories 3–5.
Of the 674 included patients, 465 had poor outcome at hospital discharge. Serum phosphate level was significantly higher in patients with poor outcome than in those with good outcome ( p < 0.001). Phosphate level was correlated with time to ROSC ( r = 0.350, p < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed an area under the curve of 0.805 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.777–0.838) for phosphate level. In multivariate analysis, a higher phosphate level was independently associated with poor outcome at hospital discharge (odds ratio, 1.432; 95% CI, 1.245–1.626; p < 0.001).
A higher phosphate level after ROSC was independently associated with poor outcome at hospital discharge in adult cardiac arrest patients. However, given its modest prognostic performance, phosphate level should be used in combination with other prognostic indicators.
Acute respiratory compromise (ARC) is a common and highly morbid event in hospitalized patients. To date, however, few investigators have explored predictors of outcome in initial survivors of ARC events. In the present study, we leveraged the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines ® -Resuscitation (GWTG-R) ARC data registry to develop a prognostic score for initial survivors of ARC events.
Using GWTG-R ARC data, we identified 13,193 index ARC events. These events were divided into a derivation cohort (9807 patients) and a validation cohort (3386 patients). A score for predicting in-hospital mortality was developed using multivariable modeling with generalized estimating equations.
The two cohorts were well balanced in terms of baseline demographics, illness-types, pre-event conditions, event characteristics, and overall mortality. After model optimization, nine variables associated with the outcome of interest were included. Age, hypotension preceding the event, and intubation during the event were the greatest predictors of in-hospital mortality. The final score demonstrated good discrimination in both the derivation and validation cohorts. The score was also very well calibrated in both cohorts. Observed average mortality was <10% in the lowest score category of both cohorts and >70% in the highest category, illustrating a wide range of mortality separated effectively by the scoring system.
In the present study, we developed and internally validated a prognostic score for initial survivors of in-hospital ARC events. This tool will be useful for clinical prognostication, selecting cohorts for interventional studies, and for quality improvement initiatives seeking to risk-adjust for hospital-to-hospital comparisons.
The United States Food and Drug Administration recently approved a high sensitivity troponin (hsTn) assay for use. Recent literature has investigated the diagnostic accuracy of hsTn for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the emergency department (ED) and its use in accelerated diagnostic protocols.
This article evaluates the existing literature and discusses incorporation of hsTn testing into ED clinical practice based on best available evidence.
Interpretation of this literature for clinical application is challenging due to heterogeneity across studies with regards to the hsTn assays examined, time intervals for delta troponin tests, and study populations. The high sensitivity of these assays is predicated upon the ability of the physician to clinically determine a patient to have a low pre-test probability of disease. Physicians may further ensure maximal sensitivity by defining the cut-off for a positive value as the limit of detection and utilizing delta troponin testing. These assays do not obviate the need to consider follow-up for risk stratification for discharged patients. Higher sensitivity compared to standard troponin tests comes at the expense of lower specificity. Indiscriminate testing may translate to greater numbers of abnormal troponin results in patients with non-ACS syndromes, potentially leading to increased healthcare costs, hospital admissions, increased ED lengths of stay, and unnecessary interventions.
As hsTn becomes more widespread, it is imperative emergency physicians understand its potential and limitations. Knowledge of test characteristics is vital to ensure appropriate use. Further study of hsTn is required to optimize use.
We aimed to derive and validate a parsimonious and pragmatic clinical prediction rule using the concepts of Predisposition, Infection, Response, and Organ Dysfunction to predict in-hospital mortality; and to compare it with other prediction rules, as well as with conventional biomarkers for evaluating the mortality risk of patients with suspected sepsis in the emergency department (ED).
We conducted a pragmatic cohort study with consecutive ED patients aged 18 or older with documented diagnostic codes of infection and two sets of blood culture ordered by physicians between 2010 and 2012 in a tertiary teaching hospital.
7011 and 12,110 patients were included in the derivation cohort and the validation cohort for the final analysis. There were 479 deaths (7%) in the derivation cohort and 1145 deaths (9%) in the validation cohort. Independent predictors of death were absence of Chills (odds ratio: 2.28, 95% confidence interval: 1.75–2.97), Hypothermia (2.12, 1.57–2.85), Anemia (2.45, 1.97–3.04), wide Red cell Distribution Width (RDW) (3.27, 2.63–4.05) and history of Malignancy (2.00, 1.63–2.46). This novel clinical prediction rule (CHARM) performed well for stratifying patients into mortality risk groups (sensitivity: 99.4%, negative predictive value 99.7%, receiver operating characteristic area 0.77). The CHARM score also outperformed the other scores or biomarkers such as PIRO, SIRS, MEDS, CURB-65, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin and lactate (all p < .05).
In patients with suspected sepsis, this parsimonious and pragmatic model could be utilized to stratify the mortality risk of patients in the early stage of sepsis.
Difficult-airway prediction tools help identify optimal airway techniques, but were derived in elective surgery patients and may not be applicable to emergency rapid sequence intubation (RSI). The HEAVEN criteria (Hypoxemia, Extremes of size, Anatomic abnormalities, Vomit/blood/fluid, Exsanguination, Neck mobility issues) may be more relevant to emergency RSI patients.
To validate the HEAVEN criteria for difficult-airway prediction in emergency RSI using a large air medical cohort.
This was a retrospective analysis using a large air medical airway registry using data from 160 bases over a 1-year period. Standard test characteristics (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value [NPV]) for the HEAVEN criteria were calculated for overall intubation success, first-attempt success, and first-attempt success without desaturation. In addition, multivariable logistic regression was used to quantify the independent association between each of the HEAVEN criteria, as well as the total number of criteria present and intubation success after adjusting for age, gender, and clinical category (burn, medical, trauma, nontraumatic shock).
A total of 2419 patients undergoing air medical RSI were included. Excellent NPV was observed (97% for each of the HEAVEN criteria except “Exsanguination,” which had an NPV of 87% but specificity of 99%). First-attempt success was lower for each of the HEAVEN criteria, with an inverse relationship observed between total HEAVEN criteria and intubation success (first-attempt success with no criteria = 94% and with 5 + criteria = 43%). Multivariable logistic regression revealed independent associations between each of the HEAVEN criteria, as well as total number of criteria and intubation success.
The HEAVEN criteria seem to be a useful tool to predict difficult airways in emergency RSI.
Pneumonia is a common infection, accounting for approximately one million hospitalizations in the United States annually. This potentially life-threatening disease is commonly diagnosed based on history, physical examination, and chest radiograph.
To investigate emergency medicine evaluation of community-acquired pneumonia including history, physical examination, imaging, and the use of risk scores in patient assessment.
Pneumonia is the number one cause of death from infectious disease. The condition is broken into several categories, the most common being community-acquired pneumonia. Diagnosis centers on history, physical examination, and chest radiograph. However, all are unreliable when used alone, and misdiagnosis occurs in up to one-third of patients. Chest radiograph has a sensitivity of 46–77%, and biomarkers including white blood cell count, procalcitonin, and C-reactive protein provide little benefit in diagnosis. Biomarkers may assist admitting teams, but require further study for use in the emergency department. Ultrasound has shown utility in correctly identifying pneumonia. Clinical gestalt demonstrates greater ability to diagnose pneumonia. Clinical scores including Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI); Confusion, blood Urea nitrogen, Respiratory rate, Blood pressure, age 65 score (CURB-65); and several others may be helpful for disposition, but should supplement, not replace, clinical judgment. Patient socioeconomic status must be considered in disposition decisions.
The diagnosis of pneumonia requires clinical gestalt using a combination of history and physical examination. Chest radiograph may be negative, particularly in patients presenting early in disease course and elderly patients. Clinical scores can supplement clinical gestalt and assist in disposition when used appropriately.
