Rita K. Cydulka

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Emergency Department Analgesic Prescription

OBJECTIVES We examined racial and ethnic disparities in analgesic prescription among a national sample of emergency department patients. METHODS We analyzed Black, Latino, and White patients in the 1997-1999 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys to compare prescription of any analgesics and opioid analgesics by race/ethnicity. RESULTS For any analgesic, no association was found between race and prescription; opioids, however, were less likely to be prescribed to Blacks than to Whites with migraines and back pain, though race was not significant for patients with long bone fracture. Differences in opioid use between Latinos and Whites with the same conditions were less and nonsignificant. CONCLUSIONS Physicians were less likely to prescribe opioids to Blacks; this disparity appears greatest for conditions with fewer objective findings (e.g., migraine).

EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT OF ACUTE EXACERBATIONS OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE IN THE ELDERLY: THE MULTICENTER AIRWAY RESEARCH COLLABORATION

OBJECTIVES: To determine adherence of emergency department (ED) management of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to current treatment guidelines.

Acute paraplegia: A presenting manifestation of aortic dissection

Two patients who presented with acute paralysis of the lower extremities as an initial manifestation of aortic dissection are described. The first patient had transient chest pain followed by flaccid paralysis of her lower extremities and severe back pain. In the second patient, sudden paralysis of both legs developed without pain of any sort. The paraplegia completely resolved in a few minutes; however, chest and back pain later ensued. Both patients had a proximal (type I or A) aortic dissection. The first patients entrance tear in the aortic intima was just above the aortic valve with antegrade propagation, whereas in the second patient, the entrance tear was at the aortic isthmus, with both antegrade and retrograde dissection. Acute cardiac tamponade resulted in sudden deterioration and death in both patients, before any therapeutic intervention could be entertained.

Factors Associated With Relapse After Emergency Department Treatment for Acute Asthma

STUDY OBJECTIVE The rate of relapse after emergency department treatment for acute asthma is high. Most studies on this subject were performed before the recent recommendations for routine use of corticosteroids and followed the patients for 10 or fewer days. We sought to evaluate relapse following ED treatment for acute asthma over a longer period, focusing particularly on the relationship between steroid use and outpatient follow-up visits. DESIGN A prospective study in which we followed patients for 21 days after discharge to determine their relapse rate (unscheduled return for asthma treatment) and compliance with scheduled outpatient appointments. SETTING University-affiliated county hospital ED. PARTICIPANTS One hundred four adult asthmatic patients discharged from our ED after treatment under a standardized protocol. RESULTS Follow-up was performed for 91 patients (88%). There was no difference in the posttreatment forced expiratory volume at 1 second between those who relapsed (55.2%) and those who did not (57.8%; NS). Twenty-three patients (25.3%) relapsed within 3 weeks of discharge. Ninety-one percent of relapses occurred before the patients saw their primary care physician. Those who relapsed had a history of previous ED visits and hospitalizations. There was no difference in theophylline levels or history of cigarette use. Patients who relapsed within 3 days had higher eosinophil counts. CONCLUSION Even with routine use of oral corticosteroids, a high percentage of patients relapse after ED treatment for acute asthma. Patients who relapse have a greater number of recent ED visits and so should be targeted for more aggressive management of their asthma.

Performance of a system to determine EMS dispatch priorities

Inappropriate use of emergency medical services (EMS) for nonemergencies strains EMS resources and limits efficiency. Protocol-driven dispatch systems attempt to correct the imbalance that exists between demand and available resources by prioritizing 911 calls. This study compared dispatch priority decisions with apparent patient need, based on emergency department (ED) presentation, by matching 320 ED charts with corresponding EMS dispatch and run information. The priorities assigned by the system based on dispatch information were compared with those assigned by a three-member panel of physicians based on ED presentation. The physicians and dispatchers agreed on the need for advanced life support (ALS) versus basic life support (BLS) transport 74% of the time. There was only 43% agreement on the more detailed 4-level classification system. The system assigned the highest level of dispatch utilizing combined ALS and first responders to a significantly greater degree than did the physicians. It was concluded that protocol systems for setting dispatch priorities utilize EMS resources to a higher degree than actually required based on ED presentation.

The use of epinephrine in the treatment of older adult asthmatics.

Three subcutaneous doses of 0.3 mL 1:1,000 epinephrine were given 20 minutes apart to 95 adult asthmatics 15 to 96 years old during 108 asthma exacerbations. Patients with a history of recent myocardial infarction or of angina were excluded from our study. Heart rhythm and rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and clinical response were prospectively evaluated before, during, and after the administration of epinephrine. There was no significant difference in the occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias between patients less than 40 and more than 40 years old. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures, mean heart rate, and mean respiratory rate decreased with treatment in the older population. Our results suggest that epinephrine is safe to use in acute asthmatics of any age.

Prospective Multicenter Study of Acute Asthma in Younger Versus Older Adults Presenting to the Emergency Department

OBJECTIVES: To describe acute asthma in younger versus older adults presenting to the emergency department (ED).

A follow-up report of occupational stress in urban EMT-paramedics

A survey completed by 280 nonvolunteer, urban emergency medicine technician (EMT)-paramedics revealed high levels of occupational stress. We used a four-component model of occupational stress in medical environments to show indications that much variation in the manifestation of stress was accounted for by the rank and job description of the EMT-paramedic, the district served by the EMT-paramedic, and the patient population served by the EMT-paramedic. Stress exhibited by field EMT-paramedics tended to manifest in more negative attitudes toward patients, whereas administrative-level paramedics exhibited more organizational stress. We noted that the age of the EMT-paramedic and the length of time employed as an EMT-paramedic correlated with the level of occupational stress (P less than .05). The recent occurrence of significant life events also was significantly related to the level of stress (P less than .05). An EMT-paramedics gender, marital status, and number of calls per shift had no significant correlation to the level of occupational stress. Based on these results, we recommend tailoring occupational stress programs to meet the needs of individual EMT-paramedics. Special attempts should be made to identify and counsel EMT-paramedics who are undergoing stressful life events. Finally, we suggest that rotating EMT-paramedics through various districts on a regular basis may help alleviate the negative impact on patient care in areas that have been identified as particularly stressful. Further studies are needed to verify our hypothesis.

Evaluation of high-yield criteria for chest radiography in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

STUDY OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were to assess the incidence of abnormal chest radiographs and to test the validity of previously developed high-yield criteria. There is disagreement about the need for chest radiography in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, although high-yield criteria have been developed. DESIGN Retrospective chart review study. SETTING County-owned, university-affiliated, urban emergency department. PARTICIPANTS ED patients seen between January 1988 and July 1991 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. RESULTS Eight hundred forty-seven ED visits were identified; medical records were available for 742. Radiographs were not taken in 8%, leaving 685 ED visits in the study. One hundred nine patients (16%) had significant abnormalities, including 88 new infiltrates, two new lung masses, one pneumothorax, and 20 episodes of pulmonary edema. A history of congestive heart failure and fever was associated with abnormalities, as were findings of rales, pedal edema, and jugular venous distension. There was no association with WBC count, temperature, coronary artery disease, chest pain, or sputum production. Previously published high-yield criteria had a sensitivity of .76; specificity, .41; positive predictive value, 20; negative predictive value, .90; and accuracy, .47. CONCLUSION Radiographic abnormalities are common findings in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We found that almost one fourth of radiographic abnormalities are not predictable on the basis of previously developed high-yield criteria. Routine chest radiography should be considered in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to diagnose treatable, radiographically apparent abnormalities.

Predicting observation unit treatment failures in patients with skin and soft tissue infections

BackgroundSkin and soft tissue infections are a common admission diagnosis to emergency department (ED) observation units (OU). Little is known about which patients fail OU treatment.AimsThis study evaluates clinical factors of skin or soft tissue infections associated with further inpatient treatment after OU treatment failure.MethodsA structured retrospective cohort study of consecutive adults treated for abscess or cellulitis in our OU from April 2005 to February 2006 was performed. Records were identified using ICD-9 codes and were abstracted by two trained abstractors using a structured data collection form. Significant variables on univariate analysis P < 0.1 were entered into a multivariate logistic regression.ResultsA total of 183 patient charts were reviewed. Four patients with a non-infectious diagnosis were excluded, leaving 179 patients. The median age was 41 (interquartile range: 20–74). Following observation treatment, 38% of patients required admission. The following variables were evaluated for association with failure to discharge home: intravenous drug use, gender, a positive community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus culture, age, presence of medical insurance, drainage of an abscess in the ED, diabetes and a white blood cell count (WBC) greater than 15,000. Following multivariate analysis only female gender odds ratio (OR) 2.33 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06–5.15] and WBC greater than 15,000 OR 4.06 (95% CI: 1.53–10.74) were significantly associated with failure to discharge.ConclusionsAmong OU patients treated for skin and soft tissue infections, women were twice as likely to require hospitalization and patients with a WBC > 15,000 on presentation to the ED, regardless of gender, were 4 times more likely to require hospitalization.