Introduction: Concussions are one of the most common sports-related injuries presenting to emergency departments (EDs), and are particularly frequent among players of contact sports such as ice hockey (hockey). Studies of youth hockey players report increased concussion incidence when participating in levels of hockey that allow body-checking. In 2016, an Edmonton minor hockey organization implemented a policy to remove body checking from play for non-elite levels of Bantam (13-14 years) and Midget (15-17 years). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of this policy on occurrence of concussions in male minor hockey players. Methods: Alberta Health Services Sport and Recreation codes (SR = 54) were used to identify Bantam and Midget hockey players presenting to Edmonton Zone emergency departments (ED) during the 2013/2014 to 2016/2017 hockey seasons from the National Ambulatory Care Record System. Injured hockey players with a concussion were identified using International Classification of Diseases 10-CA diagnosis code S06.0. Odds ratios (OR) of concussions among total hockey injuries before (2013-2016) and after (2016-2017) the policy are reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Differences were assessed using Pearson's χ2 test. Results: During the study period, 1978 minor hockey players presented to an Edmonton Zone ED with a hockey-related injury, including 272 players with a concussion (14%). Most of the injuries occurred to Midget players (n = 1274). The proportions of concussion were similar before and after the policy change for players of all ages (OR = 0.78; 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.92) and for injured Bantam players (OR = 0.97; 95% CI: 0.59 to 1.55); however, there was a significant reduction in concussions as a proportion of all injuries for Midget players before and after the policy change (OR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.36 to 1.00). Conclusion: In the initial year of implementation, the policy to limit body-checking to elite levels of play had mixed results. While the policy change did not result in a significant reduction in concussions overall, or for Bantam players, Midget players did experience a significant reduction in concussions after the policy change. The reasons behind these age-related differences require further investigation. Moreover, further evaluation of the policy using additional years of post-policy data, as well as hockey registration numbers, is needed to evaluate the sustainability of its effect.

Introduction: Patients with concussion often present to the emergency department (ED). Although sports and recreation (SR) activities account for less than half of all adult concussions, guidelines developed for management of SR-related concussions (SRC) are widely used for all concussion patients. This study aimed to identify whether there are clinically relevant differences in patient and injury characteristics between SRC and those occurring outside of SR activities. Methods: Adults ( >17 years) presenting from April 2013 to April 2015 with a concussion to one of three EDs with Glasgow coma scale score ≥13 were recruited by on-site research assistants. Data on patient characteristics (i.e., age, sex, employment, lifestyle, relevant medical history), ED presentation (i.e., EMS arrival, hours since injury, CTAS, Glasgow Coma Scale score) and injury characteristics (i.e., activity leading to injury, loss of consciousness [LOC], signs and symptoms [scored using the Rivermead Post-Concussion Questionnaire], and health-related quality of life [from the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey [SF-12]) were collected from structured interviews and the ED chart. Dichotomous and categorical variables were compared using Fisher's exact test; continuous variables were compared using t-tests or Mann-Whitney tests, as appropriate. Results: In total, 248 patients were enrolled (47% male, median [IQR] age: 35 [23, 49]). Patients with SRC were younger (median: 23.5 years vs 35 years; p < 0.001), more likely to be a student (31% vs 8%; p > 0.001), and more likely to exercise regularly (89% vs 66%; p = 0.001). Patients with SRC were less likely to present during the daytime (66% vs. 77%; p = 0.022), less likely to have a history of mental health issues (18% vs 33%; p = 0.011) and had significantly higher median SF-12 physical components scores (55.5 [IQR: 51.4 to 57.8] vs. 53.5 [IQR: 45.5 to 56.7]; p = 0.025). All other characteristics were similar between the two groups. Conclusion: Although differences in demographics and lifestyle have been identified between patients sustaining a SRC and those concussed during other activities, injury characteristics, such as presentation acuity, proxies for severity, and signs and symptoms, were similar in both groups. Further analysis to assess whether the demographic and lifestyle differences affect clinical outcomes, such as time to symptom resolution, between these two groups is required to assess if sport-based treatment guidelines are appropriate for all patients.

Introduction: Acute vestibular syndrome (AVS - vertigo, nystagmus, head motion intolerance, ataxia, and nausea/vomiting) is a subset of patients presenting with vertigo. They are most often due to benign vestibular neuritis but can be a sign of a vertebrobasilar stroke. The HINTS (head impulse test, nystagmus, positive test of skew) exam has been proposed as an extremely accurate bedside test to rule out stroke in those presenting with AVS. Is the HINTS exam compared to MRI sufficiently sensitive to rule out vertebrobasliar stroke in an adult population presenting to the emergency department with AVS. Methods: We searched in Pubmed, Medline, Embase, the Cochrane database, and relevant conference abstracts from 1968 to December 2018 and performed hand searches. No restrictions for language or study type were imposed. Relevant studies were reviewed and data was extracted by two independent reviewers. Gold standard in ruling out stroke was; Negative late acute (72 hrs–10d) cranial MRI with DWI OR Negative early acute (0–72hrs) cranial MRI plus negative follow-up cranial MRI or clinical follow-up for TIA/stroke of ≥3 months. Included studies were prospective or retrospective with patients presenting with acute vestibular syndrome. Studies combined if low clinical and statstitical heterogeonity. Study quality was assessed using the QUADAS tool. Random effects meta analysis using Revman 5 and SAS9.3 was performed. Results: 6 studies with 715 participants were included( QUADAS 12/14 SD 1.2). Average study length 5.3 years ( STD 3.3 years) . Prevalence of vertebrobasilar stroke ranged 9.3-76% (Mean 39.1% SD 17.1). The most common diagnosis were vertebrobasilar stroke (Mean 34.8% SD 17.1%), peripheral cause (Mean 30.9% SD 16%). Intra cerebral haemorrhage (Mean 2.2%, SD 0.5%). Neurologist/neuro ophthalmologist performed the exam in 5/6 studies. 1 study reported a kappa between emergency medicine physician and neurologist of 0.24-0.41. The HINTS exam had a sensitivity of 96% (CI 95% 0.92-0.98, I2-0%), Specificity 91.4% (CI 95% 64.5-98.4% I2 94%). Positive likelihood ratio 11.9 ( CI 95% 2.9-48.8) and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.04 ( CI 95% 0.01– 0.14). Conclusion: The HINTS exam has excellent diagnostic accuracy for ruling out stroke when performed by a neurologist. The lack of ER proven diagnostic accuracy and high prevalence of serious diagnosis in those presenting with acute vestibular syndrome suggests care should be taken in ruling out central cause of dizziness in this population.

Introduction: The vast majority of patients presenting with dizziness to the emergency department (ED) are due to a benign self-limiting process. However, up to 5% have a serious central neurological cause. Our goal was to assess the sensitivity of clinical exam for a central cause in adult patients presenting to the emergency department with dizziness. Methods: At a tertiary care ED we performed a medical records review (Sep 2014- Mar 2018) including adult patients with dizziness (vertigo, unsteady, lightheaded), excluding those with symptoms >14days, recent trauma, GCS < 15, hypotensive, or syncope/loss of consciousness. 5 trained reviewers used a standardized data collection sheet to extract data. Individual patient data were linked with the Institute of Clinical Evaluation Science (ICES) database. Our outcome was a central cause defined as: ischemic stroke (IS), transient ischemic attack (TIA), brain tumour, intra cerebral haemorrhage (ICH), or multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosed on either neurology assessment, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or diagnostic codes related to central causes found within ICES. A sample size of 1,906 was calculated based on an expected prevalence of 3% with an 80% power and 95% confidence interval to detect an odds ratio greater than 2. Univariate analysis and logistic regression were performed. Results: 3,109 were identified and 2,307 patients included (mean 57 years SD ± 20, Female 59.1%, Kappa 0.91). 62 central causes (IS 56.5%, TIA 14.5%, Tumour 11.3%, MS 9.7%, ICH 6.5%) of dizziness were identified. Imaging was performed in 945(42%) and neurology assessment in 42 (1.8%). ICES yielded no new diagnoses of a central cause for dizziness. Multivariate logistic regression found 11 high-risk findings associated with a central cause; history of IS/TIA (OR 3.8 95%CI 1.7-8.2), cancer (OR 3.2 95%CI 1.4-7.2), dyslipidemia (OR 2.3 95%CI 1.2-4.4), symptoms of visual changes (OR 2.1 95%CI 1.5-6.3), dysarthria (OR 9.1 95%CI 3-27.4), vomiting (OR 2 95%CI 1-3.7), motor deficit (OR 7.7 95%CI 2.9-20.2), sensory deficit (OR 28.9 95%CI 7.4-112.9), nystagmus (OR 3.3 95%CI 1.6-6.7), ataxia (OR 2.5 95%CI 1.3-4.9) and unable to walk 3 steps unaided (OR 3.4 95%CI 1.4-8.5). Absence of these findings had a sensitivity of 100% (95%CI 92.5-100%) for ICH, IS, Tumour and 95.2% (86.5-98.9) if including TIA and MS. Specificity was 51.5% (95%CI 49.4-53.6%). Conclusion: Clinical exam is highly sensitive for identifying patients without a central etiology for their dizziness.

Introduction: Dizziness is among the most common presenting complaints in the emergency department (ED). Although the vast majority of these cases are the result of a benign, self-limiting process, many patients undergo computed tomography (CT) of the head. The objective of this study was to define the yield of and diagnostic accuracy of CT in dizziness in addition to defining high-risk clinical features predictive of an abnormal CT. Methods: At a tertiary care ED we performed a medical records review from Jan 2015-2018 including adult patients with a triage complaint of dizziness (vertigo, unsteady, lightheaded), excluding those with symptoms >14days, recent trauma, GCS < 15, hypotensive, or syncope/loss of consciousness. Five trained reviewers used a standardized data collection sheet to extract data. Our outcome was a central cause defined as: cerebrovascular accident (CVA), brain tumor (BT) or intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) diagnosed on CT or magnetic resonance imaging. Univariate analysis/logistic regression were performed and odds ratios reported. A sample size of 796 was calculated based on an expected prevalence of 5% with an 80% power and 95% confidence interval to detect an odds ratio greater than 2. Results: 2310 patients were recruited, 800 (35%) underwent CT head, 471(59%) female and a mean age of 62.8 years (+/−17.5 years). The top three diagnoses for patients undergoing CT were peripheral vertigo/benign positional vertigo (153 – 19%), vertigo not-otherwise-specified (137 – 17%) and dizziness not-otherwise-specified (137 – 17%). The number of CT scans considered abnormal was 30 (3.7%). The top three diagnoses for patients with an abnormal CT were CVA (22 – 75%), BT (9 – 26%) and ICH (6-17%). High risk clinical findings associated (p < 0.001) with an abnormal head CT were dysmetria, objective motor neurological signs, positive Rhomberg, ataxia and inability to walk 3 steps. Objective motor neurological signs (OR 8.4 [95% CI 3.27-21.72]) and ataxia (OR 3.4 [95% CI 1.62-7.41]) were both independently associated with an abnormal CT. Patients without any high risk findings on exam had a 0.7%(3/381 – 2 CVA,1 Tumour) probability of an abnormal CT. Sensitivity of CT for a central cause of dizziness was 71.43%(95%CI 55.4-84.3%), specificity 100%(95%CI 99.5-100%). Conclusion: Current rate of imaging in dizziness is high and inefficient. CT should be the first imaging test in those with high-risk clinical features, but a normal result does not rule out a central cause.

Introduction: Despite their widespread use, measures of classification accuracy (i.e. sensitivity and specificity) have several limitations that conceals relevant information and may bias decision-making. Assessing the predictive ability of clinical tools instead may provide more useful prognostic information to support decision-making, particularly in an Emergency setting. We sought to contrast classification accuracy versus predictive ability of the Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) and quick Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) Sepsis scores for determining mortality risk among patients with infection transported by paramedics. Methods: A one-year cohort of patients with infections transported to the Emergency Department by paramedics was linked to in-hospital administrative databases. Hospital mortality was determined for each patient at the time of discharge. We calculated sensitivity and specificity of SIRS and qSOFA for classifying hospital mortality across different score thresholds, and estimated discrimination (assessed using the C statistic) and calibration (assessed visually) of prediction. Prediction models for hospital mortality were constructed using the aggregated SIRS or qSOFA scores for each patient as a predictor, while accounting for clustering by institution and adjusting for differences in patient age and sex. Predicted and observed risk were plotted to assess calibration and change in risk across levels of each score. Results: A total of 10,409 patients with infection who were transported by paramedics were successfully linked, with an overall mortality rate of 9.2%. The median SIRS score among non-survivors was 2, while the median qSOFA score was 1. SIRS score had higher sensitivity estimates than qSOFA for classifying hospital mortality at all thresholds (0.11 – 0.83 vs. 0.08 – 0.80), but the qSOFA score had better discrimination (C statistic 0.76 vs. 0.71) and calibration. The risk of hospital mortality predicted by the SIRS score ranged from 6.6-24% across score values, whereas the risk predicted by the qSOFA score ranged from 8.6-53%. Conclusion: Assessing the SIRS and qSOFA scores predictive ability reveals that the qSOFA score provides more information to clinicians about a patient's mortality risk despite having worse sensitivity. This study highlights important limitations of classification accuracy for diagnostic test studies and supports a shift toward assessing predictive ability instead. Character count 2490

Introduction: Competency-based medical education (CBME) relies on pragmatic assessment to inform trainee progression decisions. It is unclear whether face-to-face workplace-based assessment (WBA) scoring by faculty reflects their true perception of trainee competence, as many factors influence individual assessments. To better defend competence committee decisions, it is critical to understand how accurately WBAs reflect the faculty's honest perception of resident competence and entrustment. Methods: To best capture faculty perception of trainee competence, we created a periodic performance assessment (PPA) tool for anonymous faculty assessment of residents after repeated clinical interactions. PPA surveys were distributed to full-time EM faculty at a single Canadian FRCPC-EM training site. Faculty were asked to score residents on entrustable professional activities (EPAs) based on encounters over the previous 6-months, and were advised that all data would be anonymized. All WBA scores for FRCPC-EM residents (N = 21) were collected from the 6-months preceding PPA completion. Analysis compared paired WBA and PPA entrustment scores for an individual resident, faculty, and EPA using Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests and Spearman correlations. Data were analyzed across faculty, EPAs, and both faculty and EPA. Results: About half (17/33) of all invited full-time EM faculty participated. Overall, anonymous PPAs had a significantly lower mean score compared to face-to-face WBAs (3.61-3.69 vs. 3.92-4.06, p < 0.001 for all) across all groupings. Individual WBAs had a low-moderate correlation with individual PPAs (rho = 0.44). When scores were averaged across 1) faculty or 2) EPA, there was an increase in correlation, but it remained moderate (rho = 0.53 and 0.54, respectively). When scores were averaged for an individual resident across 3) faculty and EPA, there was a strong correlation between WBA and PPA (rho = 0.86). Conclusion: There is only moderate correlation between an individual faculty's WBAs and their anonymous longitudinal entrustment for a given resident on a specific EPA. These results may signal caution when interpreting WBA scores in the context of high stakes decisions. Aggregated scores from multiple faculty and/or multiple EPAs substantially increased the correlation between WBA and PPA. These findings highlight the importance of using aggregated WBA scores across multiple assessors and EPA for high-stakes resident progression decisions, to minimize the noise and bias in individual assessment.

Introduction: CanadiEM.org is a multi-author open access medical education website which aims to improve emergency care in Canada by building an online community of practice for healthcare practitioners and providing them with high quality, freely available educational resources. It is used by physicians, allied health professionals, and trainees globally. Junior (medical student and/or resident) Editors are key members of the community who are mentored to advance their academic skills and knowledge for their careers and the healthcare field. The program also aims to increase the sustainability of the CanadiEM project by supporting the creation and publishing of online content. We aimed to assess the impact and efficacy of this program while discovering ways to improve it. Methods: The experience of all current and previous Junior Editors were assessed through a survey developed by the authorship team for this purpose. The survey consisted of 48 questions, including 15 multiple choice questions rated using a Likert Scale, 10 open-ended questions, and 23 demographic or binary yes/no questions. The participants' perceptions of their experience, desire for future involvement, and opinions regarding implementation of the program at other medical education websites were assessed using open-ended qualitative questions. These responses were thematically analyzed. Results: A total of 28 Junior Editors responded (71.7% of those surveyed). They listed their responsibilities as uploading/copyediting posts, authorship of posts, infographic creation, social media promotion, authorship of podcast summaries, editing of podcasts, and logo design. Results revealed a positive experience across all domains, with participants citing a better experience when compared to previous similar roles. 85.7% (24/28) stated they achieved their expectations from the program, and 82.1% (23/28) would incorporate this program into another medical education website if given the opportunity. Conclusion: Junior Editors reported positive experiences across all responsibilities, with particular value placed on digital and authorship skills development, inspiration for future FOAMed, research engagement, and mentorship/networking. Through collaboration with current team members, we will implement improvement initiatives. Based upon these results, we believe that the Junior Editor model may also be viable within other medical education communities.

Introduction: Competence committees (CCs) struggle with incorporating professionalism issues into resident progression decisions. This study examined how professionalism concerns influence individual faculty decisions about resident progression using simulated CC reviews. Methods: In 2017, the investigators conducted a survey of 25 program directors of Royal College emergency medicine residency training programs in Canada and those faculty members who are members of the CCs (or equivalent) at their home institution. The survey contained twelve resident portfolios, each containing formative and summative information available to a CC for making progression decisions. Six portfolios outlined residents progressing as expected and six were not progressing as expected. Further, a professionalism variable (PV) was added to six portfolios, evenly split between those residents progressing as expected and not. Participants were asked to make progression decisions based on each portfolio. Results: Raters were able to consistently identify a resident needing an educational intervention versus those who did not. When a PV was added, the consistency among raters decreased by 34.2% in those residents progressing as expected, versus increasing by 3.8% in those not progressing as expected (p = 0.01). Conclusion: When using an unstructured review of a simulated resident portfolio, individual reviewers can better discriminate between trainees progressing as expected when professionalism concerns are added. Considering this, educators using a competence committee in a CBME program must have a system to acquire and document professionalism issues to make appropriate progress decisions.

Introduction: By virtue of the nature of their work, emergency medicine physicians and residents experience high cognitive load and stress, which are known to affect physician performance and patient outcomes. However, the contribution of cognitive load has not previously been measured during the clinical work of emergency physicians. The objectives of this study were to measure cognitive load and stress in emergency physicians and residents during clinical work, evaluate the relative contribution of multiple factors on cognitive load, and to determine the effect of experience on these results. Methods: This observational study was conducted at an academic Canadian Urgent Care Centre from July to August 2018. Emergency medicine residents and staff physicians completed a survey while on shift to evaluate measures of cognitive load and acute stress. Patient acuity and the number of active patients for each physician, hours worked and patients in the waiting room were recorded. Correlational analyses and multivariable linear regression were performed to evaluate the effect of each predictor on measures of overall cognitive load. Results: A total of 131 questionnaires were completed by 42 physicians (87 questionnaires from 26 staff physicians and 44 questionnaires from 16 residents). Results showed that staff physicians carried a significantly higher patient load compared to residents (p < 0.001). There were no differences in mean overall cognitive load (p = 0.25), acute stress (p = 0.17) or measured subcomponents of cognitive load between the two groups. Perceived case difficulty and acute stress were strong predictors of overall cognitive load, while level of distraction did not correlate with the other outcomes. The number of patients in the waiting room predicted acute stress in staff physicians, while the number of higher acuity patients was a significant predictor in residents. Conclusion: Measures of overall cognitive load and acute stress were strongly correlated in the clinical setting. Different factors affect cognitive load and acute stress in staff physicians compared to residents. Appreciating these differences may help medical educators understand the cognitive challenges faced by learners in a clinical context, and aid in the design of cognitive and educational strategies to help mitigate these challenges and reduce stress.

Introduction: Different tools have been developed to complement medical training, and improve student learning. Although social media has been described as an innovative educational strategy, evidence for its use is scarce in emergency medicine (EM). The primary outcome of this study was to evaluate whether brief teaching points (tweets) sent to medical students (MS) via a Twitter feed, would yield better exam score at the end of an emergency medicine (EM) rotation. Methods: Participants included in this prospective cohort study were MS completing an EM rotation at our tertiary care academic center. The control group was recruited from December 2016 to November 2017 and the experimental group from November 2017 to November 2018. The MS in the experimental group were invited to follow a Twitter feed. A total of 32 EM-related tweets based on learning objectives were sent out throughout the 4 week rotation. At the end of the rotation, MS of both cohorts took an exam and completed a survey of assiduity and appreciation. Exam scores were compared using t-tests. Results: A total of 80 MS were recruited for the study, 38 in the experimental cohort. Average exam scores were similar in both cohorts (control = 63 ± 9% vs experimental = 64 ± 8% for a mean difference of -2% [95%CI -6 to 2], p = 0.37). Of the experimental group, only 7 (18%) of the participants reported viewing more than 50% of the tweets. There was no difference between mean exam scores of this sub-group and that of the control cohort (66 ± 10% for a mean difference of 4% [95%CI -4 to 11], p = 0.33). The majority (n = 20, 53%) of the MS in the experimental cohort did not read any tweets. When compared to the rest of the experimental cohort MS who reported viewing ≥50% of the tweets found the Twitter feed to be a useful educational tool. Indeed, on a 3 item Likert scale used to evaluate different aspects of appreciation, they found the Twitter feed to be beneficial to their rotation (86% vs 13%, p < 0.001) as well as helpful in patient management (71% vs 16%, p = 0.001). These same MS would have liked more tweets (100% vs 19%, p < 0.001) and would like to use Twitter in other rotations (100% vs 32%, p = 0.005). Conclusion: In this study, there was no difference in the exam scores between MS having access to regular EM-focused educational tweets in comparison to those who did not. Results also found a lower than expected assiduity of MS to the educational Twitter feed, although those who used it significantly found it useful.

Introduction: Over 150 Off Service Residents from 18 different programs rotate through our ED every academic year. We aim to determine the educational needs of these residents to we better design a curriculum for their ED rotation. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional convenience sample survey of 133 Off-Service PGY-2 residents who had rotated through the ED of The Ottawa Hospital in their PGY-1 year. (from July 2016 to June 2017). The survey was emailed to residents from March to May 2018 and consisted of 19 questions. Questions were qualitative, selection from list and rank order. They focused on 3 main areas: EM rotation impact and areas for improvement, desired content, desired method of learning. Data was collected using Survey Monkey. Results: We received 70 responses (53%) from 13 different residency programs. 36 (51.4%) of respondents were from the Family Medicine program. Qualitative themes included that the ED provides great opportunity to develop the ability to workup undifferentiated patients and allows for teaching around cases. Allowing more involvement in acute care cases and having more SIM sessions could improve the rotation. The most useful topic was chest pain/cardiovascular conditions (73.3% of residents) with 16 additional ED topics listed as important for their practice. The most useful skill was suturing (51.6% of residents) with 16 other ED procedures listed as important for their practice. The preferred teaching method was SIM (48.3%) followed by small group teaching (33.3%). Conclusion: The emergency department provides an excellent learning environment for a large range of Off-Service residents early in their training. In addition to clinical shifts, a curriculum incorporating simulation and small group teaching and that covers a large scope of topics is necessary to meet the needs of these residents.

Introduction: Short-term gains in knowledge and skills of critical emergency procedures are demonstrated after simulation, but there is uncertainty regarding long term retention. Our objective was to determine whether simulation of critical emergency procedures promotes long term retention of procedural skills in non-surgical physicians likely to perform them. Methods: MEDLINE and Embase (from start of database to June 2018) and the CENTRAL Trials Registry of the Cochrane Collaboration (May 2018 Issue) were searched using a peer-reviewed strategy. Studies were eligible if they (1) were observational cohorts, quasi-experimental or randomized controlled trials, (2) assessed intubation, cricothyrotomy, periocardiocentesis, tube thoracostomy or central line placement performance by non-surgical physicians, (4) utilized any form of simulation (all levels of realism and technology), and (4) assessed skill performance immediately after and at ≥3 months post-simulation. There was no language restriction. Two reviewers independently assessed article eligibility. One reviewer extracted data and assessed study quality. Primary outcome was skill performance 3 months post-simulation. Secondary outcomes included skill performance at 6 and ≥12 months post-simulation, and skill competency at 3 months post-simulation. Results: 1370 citations were identified. 12 studies were eligible. Methodological quality was uniformly poor with high risk of bias, lack of defined primary outcomes, inadequate sample sizes, and non-standardized, unvalidated tools of unclear clinical significance. Given significant heterogeneity in design, populations, procedures, and outcome timing, a narrative synthesis of results was undertaken. In 10 studies participants’ performance at 3, 6 and 12 months retention testing remained above baseline assessment. However, 3 studies showed a significant decrease in performance at 3 months post-simulation compared to immediately post-simulation. Performance was also lower in 2 studies at 6 months post-simulation, and 2 studies at ≥12 months post-simulation. Four studies assessed competency and 3 demonstrated maintenance of competency. Conclusion: There was significant heterogeneity and poor methodological quality among the eligible studies. Results were conflicting for retention of procedural skills and competency. Future directions should include development of robust assessment tools, and improved research methodology of simulation education targeted at critical procedural skills.

Introduction: With a shift towards competency-based medical education, it is crucial to not only emphasize learner abilities such as clinical skills but also leadership in the conduct of research. Though the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada's (RCPSC) training objectives for Emergency Medicine (EM) residents state that the specialist physician be able to describe the principles of research, the research methodology curriculum across EM training programs in Canada is likely variable. The primary goal of this study was to describe the variability of research methodology teaching among RCPSC-EM residency programs. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to English-speaking RCPSC-EM program directors (PDs) and EM residents. The survey investigated residents' and PDs’ thoughts on the adequacy of their local curriculum and asked them to quantify their research methodology teaching. The primary outcome was the frequency and content of current research methodology and research ethics teaching as well as a description of scholarly project requirements of EM residency programs across Canada. The data was presented with simple descriptive statistics. Results: 79 EM residents and 7 PDs responded (response rate 22.3% and 58.3%, respectively). All 7 PDs indicate having a research methodology curriculum while 71.6% of residents are aware of this curriculum. Only 57.1% of PDs report having formal assessments. Most programs (71.4%) teach via small groups while 28.6% of programs use large group sessions. Residents identify teaching as led by research staff (68.9%), staff physicians (60%), and EM researchers (57.8%), while only 17.8% use outside educators. Students noted various modalities of curriculum feedback such as online surveys, weekly forms, and verbal feedback. Regarding the strength of the curricula, 85.7% of PDs believed their curriculum prepares residents for board exams, while only 62.2% of residents felt similarly. When asked about using a standard web-based curriculum module if available, 60.5% of residents responded in favour. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that EM residency programs across Canada vary with respect to research methodology curriculum and discrepancies exist between residents’ and program directors’ perceptions of the curriculum. Given the lack of a standardized research methodology curriculum for these residency programs, there is an opportunity for curriculum development to improve training in research methodology.

Introduction: Quality improvement and patient safety (QIPS) are increasingly recognized as integral to the provision and advancement of emergency medicine (EM) care. In 2015, QIPS were added to the Canadian Medical Education Directives for Specialists (CanMEDS) framework. However, the level of QIPS education and support that Canadian EM residents receive is unknown. In order to better plan national QIPS efforts aimed at enabling EM residents to improve their local care settings, we sought to assess the current state of QIPS education and support in Canadian EM residency programs. Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional electronic survey that was disseminated to all current Canadian EM residents from both Royal College (RC) and Family Medicine - EM training streams. Residents were recruited either directly or through their program's administrative assistant. The survey consisted of multiple-choice, Likert and free-text entry questions. Themes included a) familiarity with QIPS; b) local opportunities for QIPS projects and mentorship; and c) desire for further QIPS education and involvement. The survey was open for a five-week period, with formal reminders after the first and third weeks. Descriptive statistics are reported. Results: 189 (35%) of 535 current EM residents completed the survey, representing all 17 medical schools. 77% of respondents were from the RC stream. 54.7% of respondents reported being “somewhat” or “very” familiar with QIPS. 47.2% of respondents reported “not knowing” or “not having readily available” QIPS projects to participate in their local environment, and 51.5% had equivalent responses with respect to QIPS mentorship opportunities. Only 17.5% of respondents reported that QIPS methodologies were already formally taught in their residency program, and 66.9% indicated a desire for increased QIPS teaching. The majority of respondents were “slightly” (35.9%), “moderately” (23.2%) or “very” (11.3%) interested in becoming involved with QIPS training and initiatives. Conclusion: Responding Canadian EM residents are interested in obtaining greater QIPS education as well as project and mentorship opportunities, but many perceive that they do not have adequate access to these at the current time. As the importance of QIPS increases in the EM community, supporting residents with more robust educational infrastructures may be necessary. Future efforts may include the standardizing of QIPS postgraduate curricula and improving access to QIPS opportunities across the country.

Introduction: Intranasal dexmedetomidine (IND) is an emerging agent for procedural distress in children. However, studies to date have been limited by small samples and imprecise estimates of effect size. We sought to summarize the evidence on the effectiveness of IND for procedures associated with distress in children. Methods: We performed electronic searches of MEDLINE (1946-2018), EMBASE (1980-2018), Google Scholar (2018), CINAHL (1981-2018), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (2018), 6 clinical trials registries and conference proceedings (2010-2018). Title searches, data abstraction, and risk of bias assessments were performed in duplicate. We included all published and unpublished, randomized and quasi-randomized trials of IND for procedures in children younger than 19 years of age without language restriction. The methodological quality of studies was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration's Risk of Bias tool. The primary outcome was the proportion of participants that were deemed to be adequately sedated for the procedure. Results: Of 661 studies, 18 met inclusion criteria. Trials involved 2128 participants, age 1 month - 14 years (836, 39.3% females), who received IND 1 - 4 mcg/kg either by drops (n = 12), atomizer (n = 4), or both (n = 2). 12 trials were eligible for meta-analysis. 13 trials used validated instruments to assess sedation. All studies except one were associated with low or moderate risk of bias. For painful procedures (IV insertion; laceration repair; dental extraction), the pooled OR (95% CI) for adequate sedation and need for additional analgesia was non-significant [1.19 (0.53, 2.65)] and [2.16 (0.62, 7.49)], respectively (n = 5). For non-painful procedures (diagnostic imaging), the corresponding pooled OR (95% CI) favored IND [3.04 (1.58, 5.82)] and [4.44 (2.11, 9.35)], respectively (n = 7). Time to onset and duration of sedation ranged from 13-31 minutes and 41-91.5 minutes, respectively. For adverse effects, the pooled OR (95% CI) was not significantly different between IND and comparators [0.58 (0.22, 1.55] and there were no serious adverse events. Conclusion: IND at doses 1 to 4 mcg/kg are safe and adequately sedate children undergoing non-painful procedures, although the ease of administration must be weighed against the risk of prolonged sedation. Additional trials with larger sample sizes and greater methodologic rigor are needed for painful emergency department procedures such as laceration repair and IV insertion.

Introduction: Intravenous insertion (IVI) is identified by children as extremely painful and the resultant distress can have lasting negative consequences. There is an urgent need to effectively manage such procedures. Our primary objective was to compare the pain and distress of IVI with the addition of humanoid robot-based distraction to standard care, versus standard care alone. Methods: This two-armed randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted from April 2017 to May 2018 at the Stollery Children's Hospital emergency department (ED). Children aged 6 to 11 years who required IVI were included. Exclusion criteria included hearing or visual impairments, neurocognitive delays, sensory impairment to pain, previous enrolment, and discretion of the ED clinical staff. Primary outcomes were measured using the Observational Scale of Behavioural Distress-Revised (OSBD-R) (distress) and the Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R) (pain). A total of 426 pediatric patients were screened and 340 were excluded. Results: We recruited 86 children, of which 55% (47/86) were male; 9% (7/82) were premature at birth; 82% (67/82) had a previous ED visit; 30% (25/82) required previous hospitalization; 78% (64/82) had previous IV placement and 96% (78/81) received topical anesthesia. The mean total OSBD-R score was 1.49 ± 2.36 (standard care) compared to 0.78 ± 1.32 (robot group) (p = 0.047). The median FPS-R during the IV procedure was 4 (IQR 2,6) in the standard care group alone, compared to 2 (IQR 0,4) with the addition of humanoid robot-based distraction (p = 0.10). Change in parental state anxiety pre-procedure versus post-procedure was not significantly different between groups (p = 0.49). Parental satisfaction with the IV start was 93% (39/42) in the robot arm compared to 74% (29/39) in the standard care arm (p = 0.03). Parents were also more satisfied with management of their child's pain in the robot group (95% very satisfied) compared with standard care (72% very satisfied) (p = 0.002). Conclusion: A statistically significant reduction in distress was observed with the addition of robot-based distraction to standard care. Humanoid robot-based distraction therapy reduces distress and to a lesser extent, pain, in children undergoing IVI in the ED. Further trials are required to confirm utility in other age groups and settings.

Introduction: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a common, sometimes difficult to diagnose spectrum of diseases. Given the diagnostic challenge, it is sensible for emergency physicians to have an approach to prognosticate patients with possible ACS. The objective of this review was to investigate the ability of the HEART score to predict major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in patients presenting to the ED with possible ACS. Methods: Eleven databases and other sources identified 468 potentially relevant studies. Sixty-seven studies underwent full text review with 25 studies meeting eligibility criteria. Main outcome measures were pooled prevalence, risk ratio (RR), and absolute risk reduction (ARR) for MACE within six weeks of ED evaluation, comparing HEART score 0–3 versus 4–10. Model discrimination (sensitivity, specificity, concordance statistic) and calibration (observed to expected events ratio) were also evaluated. Results: Data from 25 studies including 41,397 patients were combined in the meta-analysis. In total, 4815 patients (11.6%) developed MACE. Among 18,866 patients with HEART score 0–3, 396 (2.1%) developed MACE (RR 0.08; ARR 0.20). Outcome measures were consistent across planned subgroup and sensitivity analyses. Among studies with secondary outcome data for patients with HEART score 0–3, 5 of 6461 (0.1%) died and 75 of 7556 (1.0%) had a myocardial infarction. Conclusion: The HEART score provides a reliable quantitative risk assessment of MACE in ED patients with possible ACS. Emergency clinicians should consider using the HEART score to facilitate risk communication and shared decision making with patients and other care providers.

Introduction: Risk-stratification of patients requiring endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation in the Emergency Department (ED) is necessary for informed discussions with patients regarding goals-of-care. Frailty is a clinical state characterized by reduced physiologic reserve, and resulting from accumulation of physiological stresses and comorbid disease. Frailty is increasingly being identified as an important independent predictor of outcome among critically ill patients. Our objective was to identify the impact of clinical frailty (defined by the Clinical Frailty Scale [CFS]) on in-hospital mortality and resource utilization of ED patients requiring endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. Methods: We analyzed a prospectively collected registry (2011-2016) of patients requiring endotracheal intubation in the ED at two academic hospitals and six community hospitals. We included all patients ≥18 years of age, who survived to the point of ICU admission. All patient information, outcomes, and resource utilization were stored in the registry. CFS scores were obtained through chart abstraction by two blinded reviewers. The primary outcome, in-hospital mortality, was analyzed using a multivariable logistic regression model, controlling for confounding variables (including patient sex, comorbidities, and illness severity). We defined “frailty” as a CFS ≥ 5. Results: 4,622 patients were included. Mean age was 61.2 years (SD: 17.5), and 2,614 (56.6%) were male. Frailty was associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality, as compared to those who were not frail (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 2.21 [1.98-2.51]). Frailty was also associated with higher likelihood of discharge to long-term care (adjusted OR 1.78 [1.56-2.01]) among patients initially from a home setting. Frail patients were more likely to fail extubation during their hospitalization (adjusted OR 1.81 [1.67-1.95]) and were more likely to require tracheostomy (adjusted OR 1.41 [1.34-1.49]). Conclusion: Presence of frailty among ED patients requiring endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation was associated with increased in-hospital mortality, discharge to long-term care, extubation failure, and tracheostomy. ED physicians should consider the impact of frailty on patient outcomes, and discuss associated prognosis with patients prior to intubation.

Introduction: A significant gap exists between the number of people waiting for an organ and donors. There are currently 1,628 people awaiting organ donation in Ontario alone. In 2018 to date, 310 donors have donated 858 organs. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were missed donors in the Emergency Department (ED) and by what percent those missed donors would increase organ donation overall. Methods: This was a health records and organ donation database review of all patients who died in the ED at a large academic tertiary care center with 2 campuses and 160,000 visits per year. Patients were included from November 1, 2014 – October 31, 2017. We collected data on demographics, cause of death, and suitability for organ donation. Data was cross-referenced between hospital records and the provincial organ procurement organization called Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN) to determine whether patients were appropriately referred for consideration of donation in a timely manner. Potential missed donors were manually screened for suitability according to TGLN criteria. We calculated simple descriptive statistics for demographic data and the primary outcome. The primary outcome was percentage of potential organ donors missed in the Emergency Department (ED). Results: There were 606 deaths in the ED from November 1, 2014 – October 31, 2017. Patients were an average of 71 years old, 353 (58%) were male, and 75 (12%) died of a traumatic cause. TGLN was not contacted in 12 (2%) of cases. During this period there were two donors from the ED and 92 from the ICU. There were ten missed potential donors. They were an average of 67 years, 7 (70%) were male, and 2 (20%) died of a traumatic cause. In all ten cases, patients had withdrawal of life sustaining measures for medical futility prior to TGLN being contacted for consideration of donation. There could have been an addition seven liver, six pancreatic islet, four small bowel, and seven kidney donors. The ten missed ED donors could have increased total donors by 11%. Conclusion: The ED is a significant source of missed organ donors. In all cases of missed organ donation, patients had withdrawal of life sustaining measures prior to TGLN being called. In the future, it is essential that all patients have an organ procurement organization such as TGLN called prior to withdrawal of life sustaining measures to ensure that no opportunity for consideration of organ donation is missed.