Studies suggest that addressing the needs of the older population in rural areas may substantially reduce their low-urgency use of emergency medical services (LUEMS). It may ultimately also help improve the efficiency in our health system. There is, however, a dearth of evidence substantiating geographic patterns in LUEMS by different age cohorts. This exploratory study was aimed to clarify the understanding of emergency medical services (EMS) use in Nova Scotia through a geographic analysis.

Records with Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale of 4 and 5 were considered as LUEMS. We assessed the distribution of LUEMS incidence rates (proportion of LUEMS out of all EMS uses) by age and rurality, using descriptive statistics and Geographic Information Systems mapping.

Nearly half of all EMS transports were individuals of 65+ years of age; 35% of those were LUEMS. The rates increased along with the level of rurality, and the older cohort had the highest incidence rates in non-metro communities. High rates were seen primarily in some rural communities farthest away from the capital/tertiary care centre.

High LUEMS incidence rates are rural phenomena but not specific to the older population. However, the absolute number of LUEMS by the older cohort is significant, and elder-specific interventions in rural regions could still lead to effective cost savings. Further investigation of other factors, such as distance to the emergency department, availability of public transportation, and socioeconomic conditions of EMS users, is needed.

Current practice for the treatment of traumatic hemorrhage includes fluid resuscitation and the administration of blood products. The administration of tranexamic acid (TXA) within 8 hours of injury has been shown to significantly reduce mortality in a large, prospective, randomized controlled trial. As a result, TXA is widely used in trauma centres to manage trauma patients with major bleeding. The primary aim of this study was to assess the compliance of TXA administration at a level-one trauma centre in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

We conducted a retrospective medical record review of consecutive adult trauma patients received at the Hamilton General Hospital between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2014. Compliance with TXA administration was based on the inclusion criteria of the CRASH–2 trial.

Five hundred and thirty-four of 2,475 trauma patients met the inclusion criteria for TXA administration. Twenty-one patients who received TXA at peripheral hospital prior to their arrival at the level-one trauma centre were excluded from the analysis, and 18 patients were excluded due to missing data. One hundred and thirty-four patients received TXA, representing a compliance rate of 27%. Mean time from arrival to TXA administration was 47 minutes. Compliance increased for those who required massive transfusion and as the number of criteria for TXA administration increased.

Compliance with TXA administration to trauma patients with suspected major bleeding was low. Quality improvement strategies aimed at increasing appropriate use of TXA are warranted.

The majority of children requiring emergency care are treated in general emergency departments (EDs) with variable levels of pediatric care expertise. The goal of the Translating Emergency Knowledge for Kids (TREKK) initiative is to implement the latest research in pediatric emergency medicine in general EDs to reduce clinical variation.

To determine national pediatric information needs, seeking behaviours, and preferences of health care professionals working in general EDs.

An electronic cross-sectional survey was conducted with health care professionals in 32 Canadian general EDs. Data were collected in the EDs using the iPad and in-person data collectors.

Total of 1,471 surveys were completed (57.1% response rate). Health care professionals sought information on children’s health care by talking to colleagues (n=1,208, 82.1%), visiting specific medical/health websites (n=994, 67.7%), and professional development opportunities (n=941, 64.4%). Preferred child health resources included protocols and accepted treatments for common conditions (n=969, 68%), clinical pathways and practice guidelines (n=951, 66%), and evidence-based information on new diagnoses and treatments (n=866, 61%). Additional pediatric clinical information is needed about multisystem trauma (n=693, 49%), severe head injury (n=615, 43%), and meningitis (n=559, 39%). Health care professionals preferred to receive child health information through professional development opportunities (n=1,131, 80%) and printed summaries (n=885, 63%).

By understanding health care professionals’ information seeking behaviour, information needs, and information preferences, knowledge synthesis and knowledge translation initiatives can be targeted to improve pediatric emergency care. The findings from this study will inform the following two phases of the TREKK initiative to bridge the research-practice gap in Canadian general EDs.

Health care costs are on the rise in Canada and the sustainability of our health care system is at risk. As gatekeepers to patient care, emergency department (ED) physicians have a direct impact on health care costs. We aimed to identify current levels of cost awareness among ED physicians. By understanding the current level of physician cost awareness, we hope to identify areas where cost education would provide the greatest benefit in reducing ordering costs.

We conducted a survey evaluating current awareness of common ordering costs among ED physicians from two tertiary teaching hospitals. Our study population was comprised of 124, certified emergency medicine staff physicians and emergency medicine resident physicians. Our survey asked ED physicians to estimate the costs of 41 items across four categories of day-to-day ordering: imaging investigations, materials, laboratory tests, and pharmaceuticals. Items were selected based on frequency of use, availability of cost-effective alternatives, and tests considered to be “low yield”. The primary outcome was percentages of underestimates, correct estimates, and overestimates for ED costs among ED physicians.

The average percentage of correct cost estimates among ED physicians was 14% across the four ordering categories. Where cost-effective alternatives exist, ED physicians overestimated the cost of the more cost-effective item. They also underestimated the cost of low-yield tests.

ED physicians demonstrated limited cost awareness of common health care costs. Further studies that characterize utilization of hospital resources based on ED physician awareness of cost-effective alternatives and cost of “low yield” tests are needed.

D-dimer testing is an important component of the workup for pulmonary embolism (PE). However, age-related increases in D-dimer concentrations result in false positives in older adults, leading to potentially unnecessary imaging utilization. The objective of this study was to quantify the test characteristics of an age-adjusted D-dimer cut-off for ruling out PE in older patients investigated in actual clinical practice.

This observational study used administrative data from four emergency departments from July 2013 to January 2015. Eligible patients were ages 50 and older with symptoms of PE who underwent D-dimer testing. The primary outcome was 30-day diagnosis of PE, confirmed by imaging reports. Test characteristics of the D-dimer assay were calculated using the standard reference value (500 ng/ml), the local reference value (470 ng/ml), and an age-adjusted threshold (10 ng/ml × patient’s age).

This cohort includes 6,655 patients ages 50 and older undergoing D-dimer testing for a possible PE. Of these, 246 (3.7%) were diagnosed with PE. Age-adjusted D-dimer cut-offs were more specific than standard cut-offs (75.4% v. 63.8%) but less sensitive (90.3% v. 97.2%). The false-negative risk in this population was 0.49% using age-adjusted D-dimer cut-offs compared with 0.15% with traditional cut-offs.

Age-adjusted D-dimer cut-offs are substantially more specific than traditional cut-offs and may reduce CT utilization among older patients with suspected PE. We observed a loss of sensitivity, with an increased risk of false-negatives, using age-adjusted cut-offs. We encourage further evaluation of the safety and accuracy of age-adjusted D-dimer cut-offs in actual clinical practice.

Following release by emergency department (ED) for acute heart failure (AHF), returns to ED represent important adverse health outcomes. The objective of this study was to document relapse events and factors associated with return to ED in the 14-day period following release by ED for patients with AHF.

The primary outcome was the number of return to ED for patients who were release by ED after the initial visit, for any related medical problem within 14 days of this initial ED visit.

Return visits to the EDs occurred in 166 (20%) patients. Of all patients who returned to ED within the 14-day period, 77 (47%) were secondarily admitted to the hospital. The following factors were associated with return visits to ED: past medical history of percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass graft (aOR=1.51; 95% CIs [1.01-2.24]), current use of antiarrhythmics medications (1.96 [1.05-3.55]), heart rate above 80 /min (1.89 [1.28-2.80]), systolic blood pressure below 140 mm Hg (1.67[1.14-2.47]), oxygen saturation (SaO2) above 96% (1.58 [1.08-2.31]), troponin above the upper reference limit of normal (1.68 [1.15-2.45]), and chest X-ray with pleural effusion (1.52 [1.04-2.23]).

Many heart failure patients (i.e. 1 in 5 patients) are released from the ED and then suffer return to ED. Patients with multiple medical comorbidities, and those with abnormal initial vital signs are at increased risk for return to ED and should be identified.

Over 80% of children experience compromise in functioning following a fracture. Digital media may improve caregiver knowledge of managing fracture pain at home.

To determine whether an educational video was superior to an interactive web-based module (WBM) and verbal instructions, the standard of care (SOC).

This randomized trial included caregivers of children 0-17 years presenting to the emergency department (ED) with non-operative fractures. Primary outcome was the gain score (pre-post intervention) on a 21-item questionnaire testing knowledge surrounding pain recognition and management for children with fractures. Secondary outcomes included survey of caregiver confidence in managing pain (five-item Likert scale), number of days with difficulty sleeping, before return to a normal diet, and work/school missed.

We analyzed 311 participants (WBM 99; video 108; SOC 104) with a mean (SD) child age of 9.6 (4.2) years, of which 125/311 (40.2%) were female. The video (delta=2.3, 95% CI: 1.3, 3.3; p<0.001) and WBM (delta=1.6; 95% CI: 0.5, 2.6; p=0.002) groups had significantly greater gain scores than the SOC group. The mean video gain score was not significantly greater than WBM (delta=0.7; 95% CI: -0.3, 1.8; p=0.25). There were no significant differences in caregiver confidence (p=0.4), number of absent school days (p=0.43), nights with difficulty sleeping (p=0.94), days before return to a normal diet (p=0.07), or workdays missed (p=0.95).

A web-based module and online video are superior to verbal instructions for improving caregiver knowledge on management of children’s fracture pain without improvement in functional outcomes

What is the risk of creating opioid dependence from an ED opioid prescription?

Barnett ML, Olenski AR, Jena AB. Opioid-prescribing patterns of emergency physicians and risk of long-term use. N Engl J Med 2017;376:663-73, doi:10.1056/NEJMsa1610524.

This study examined the risk of creating long-term opioid dependence from a prescription written in an opioid-naive patient in the ED.

Patients with cardiovascular diseases are common in the emergency department (ED), and continuity of care following that visit is needed to ensure that they receive evidence-based diagnostic tests and therapy. We examined the frequency of follow-up care after discharge from an ED with a new diagnosis of one of three cardiovascular diseases.

We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with a new diagnosis of heart failure, atrial fibrillation, or hypertension, who were discharged from 157 non-pediatric EDs in Ontario, Canada, between April 2007 and March 2014. We determined the frequency of follow-up care with a family physician, cardiologist, or internist within seven and 30 days, and assessed the association of patient, emergency physician, and family physician characteristics with obtaining follow-up care using cause-specific hazard modeling.

There were 41,485 qualifying ED visits. Just under half (47.0%) had follow-up care within seven days, with 78.7% seen by 30 days. Patients with serious comorbidities (renal failure, dementia, COPD, stroke, coronary artery disease, and cancer) had a lower adjusted hazard of obtaining 7-day follow-up care (HRs 0.77-0.95) and 30-day follow-up care (HR 0.76-0.95). The only emergency physician characteristic associated with follow-up care was 5-year emergency medicine specialty training (HR 1.11). Compared to those whose family physician was remunerated via a primarily fee-for-service model, patients were less likely to obtain 7-day follow-up care if their family physician was remunerated via three types of capitation models (HR 0.72, 0.81, 0.85) or via traditional fee-for-service (HR 0.91). Findings were similar for 30-day follow-up care.

Only half of patients discharged from an ED with a new diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and hypertension were seen within a week of being discharged. Patients with significant comorbidities were less likely to obtain follow-up care, as were those with a family physician who was remunerated via primarily capitation methods.

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is a paradoxical side effect of cannabis use. Patients with CHS often present multiple times to the emergency department (ED) with cyclical nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, and are discharged with various misdiagnoses. CHS studies to date are limited to case series. The objective was to examine the epidemiology of CHS cases presenting to two major urban tertiary care centre EDs and one urgent care centre over a 2-year period.

Using explicit variables, trained abstractors, and standardized abstraction forms, we abstracted data for all adults (ages 18 to 55 years) with a presenting complaint of vomiting and/or a discharge diagnosis of vomiting and/or cyclical vomiting, during a 2-year period. The inter-rater agreement was measured using a kappa statistic.

We identified 494 cases: mean age 31 (+/-11) years; 36% male; and 19.4% of charts specifically reported cannabis use. Among the regular cannabis users (>three times per week), 43% had repeat ED visits for similar complaints. Moreover, of these patients, 92% had bloodwork done in the ED, 92% received intravenous fluids, 89% received antiemetics, 27% received opiates, 19% underwent imaging, 8% were admitted to hospital, and 8% were referred to the gastroenterology service. The inter-rater reliability for data abstraction was kappa=1.

This study suggests that CHS may be an overlooked diagnosis for nausea and vomiting, a factor that can possibly contribute to unnecessary investigations and treatment in the ED. Additionally, this indicates a lack of screening for CHS on ED history, especially in quantifying cannabis use and eliciting associated symptoms of CHS.

Patients with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus may have a sentinel emergency department (ED) visit for a precipitating condition prior to presenting for a hyperglycemic emergency, such as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) or hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS). This study’s objective was to describe the epidemiology and outcomes of patients with a sentinel ED visit prior to their hyperglycemic emergency visit.

This was a 1-year health records review of patients≥18 years old presenting to one of four tertiary care EDs with a discharge diagnosis of hyperglycemia, DKA, or HHS. Trained research personnel collected data on patient characteristics, management, disposition, and determined whether patients came to the ED within the 14 days prior to their hyperglycemia visit. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data.

Of 833 visits for hyperglycemia, 142 (17.0%; 95% CI: 14.5% to 19.6%) had a sentinel ED presentation within the preceding 14 days. Mean (SD) age was 50.5 (19.0) years and 54.4% were male; 104 (73.2%) were discharged from this initial visit, and 98/104 (94.2%) were discharged either without their glucose checked or with an elevated blood glucose (>11.0 mmol/L). Of the sentinel visits, 93 (65.5%) were for hyperglycemia and 22 (15.5%) for infection. Upon returning to the ED, 61/142 (43.0%) were admitted for severe hyperglycemia, DKA, or HHS.

In this unique ED-based study, diabetic patients with a sentinel ED visit often returned and required subsequent admission for hyperglycemia. Clinicians should be vigilant in checking blood glucose and provide clear discharge instructions for follow-up and glucose management to prevent further hyperglycemic emergencies from occurring.

An evidence-based emergency department (ED) atrial fibrillation and flutter (AFF) pathway was developed to improve care. The primary objective was to measure rates of new anticoagulation (AC) on ED discharge for AFF patients who were not AC correctly upon presentation.

This is a pre-post evaluation from April to December 2013 measuring the impact of our pathway on rates of new AC and other performance measures in patients with uncomplicated AFF solely managed by emergency physicians. A standardized chart review identified demographics, comorbidities, and ED treatments. The primary outcome was the rate of new AC. Secondary outcomes were ED length of stay (LOS), referrals to AFF clinic, ED revisit rates, and 30-day rates of return visits for congestive heart failure (CHF), stroke, major bleeding, and death.

ED AFF patients totalling 301 (129 pre-pathway [PRE]; 172 post-pathway [POST]) were included; baseline demographics were similar between groups. The rates of AC at ED presentation were 18.6% (PRE) and 19.7% (POST). The rates of new AC on ED discharge were 48.6 % PRE (95% confidence interval [CI] 42.1%-55.1%) and 70.2% POST (62.1%-78.3%) (20.6% [p<0.01; 15.1-26.3]). Median ED LOS decreased from 262 to 218 minutes (44 minutes [p<0.03; 36.2-51.8]). Thirty-day rates of ED revisits for CHF decreased from 13.2% to 2.3% (10.9%; p<0.01; 8.1%-13.7%), and rates of other measures were similar.

The evidence-based pathway led to an improvement in the rate of patients with new AC upon discharge, a reduction in ED LOS, and decreased revisit rates for CHF.

Appendicitis is a common surgical condition that frequently requires diagnostic imaging. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) is the gold standard for diagnosing appendicitis. Ultrasound offers a radiation-free modality; however, its availability outside business hours is limited in many emergency departments (EDs). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the test characteristics of emergency physician-performed point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to diagnose appendicitis in a Canadian ED.

A health records review was performed on all ED patients who underwent POCUS to diagnose appendicitis from December 1, 2010 to December 4, 2015. The sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios were calculated. The gold standard used for diagnosis was pathology, laparoscopy, CT scans, and a radiologist-performed ultrasound.

Ninety patients were included in the study, and 24 were diagnosed with appendicitis on POCUS. Ultimately, 18 were confirmed to have appendicitis through radiologist-performed imaging, laparoscopy, and pathology. The sensitivity and specificity of POCUS to diagnose appendicitis were 69.2% (95% CI, 48.1%-84.9%) and 90.6% (95% CI, 80.0%-96.1%), respectively.

POCUS has a high specificity for diagnosing acute appendicitis and has very similar characteristics to those of a radiologist-performed ultrasound. These findings are consistent with the current literature and have the potential to decrease patient morbidity, diagnostic delays, ED length of stay, and need for additional imaging.

The suboptimal provision of analgesia to children in the emergency department (ED) is well-described. A yet unexplored barrier is caregiver or child refusal of analgesia. We sought to evaluate the frequency of caregiver/child acceptance of analgesia offered in the ED.

We conducted a two-centre cross-sectional study of 743 caregivers of children 4–17 years presenting to the pediatric ED with an acutely painful condition using a survey and medical record review. The primary outcome was the proportion of children/caregiver pairs who accepted analgesia in the ED.

The median (IQR) age of children was 11 (7) years, and 339/743 (45.6%) were female. The overall survey response rate was 73% (743/1018). In the 24 hours preceding ED arrival, the median (IQR) maximal pain score rated by children and caregivers was 8/10 (4) and 5/10 (2), respectively, and 30.4% (226/743) of caregivers offered analgesia. In the ED, children reported a median (IQR) pain score of 8/10 (2) and 54.9% (408/743) were offered analgesia. When offered in the ED, analgesia was accepted by 91% (373/408). Overall, 55.7% (414/743) of children received some form of analgesia.

Most caregivers/children accept analgesia when offered by ED personnel, suggesting refusal is not a major barrier to optimal management of children’s pain and highlighting the importance of ED personnel in encouraging adequate analgesia. A large proportion of children in pain are not offered analgesia by caregivers or ED personnel. Educational strategies for recognizing and treating pain should be directed at children, caregivers, and ED personnel.