Sharon M. Valentine

Wound Registry: Development and Validation

STUDY OBJECTIVE More than 11 million patients with traumatic wounds are seen annually in emergency departments. We developed and validated a data registry for traumatic wounds treated in the ED. DESIGN Prospective, consecutive patient enrollment with a validation cohort of a convenience sample of 100 patients. SETTING University-affiliated hospital ED. PARTICIPANTS For all patients with traumatic wounds requiring sutures, wound registry data sheets were completed at the time of initial visit using a closed-question format. Data recorded included demographic characteristics, time from injury to evaluation, pertinent medical history, wound characteristics, type of anesthesia, details of wound-cleansing methods, details of wound closure, and postoperative care. We devised a follow-up tool to evaluate for the presence of infection and short-term cosmetic appearance. Interphysician reliability was assessed for wound description, presence of infection, and cosmetic appearance by use of the kappa statistic. RESULTS A wound registry data collection instrument that takes less than 1 minute to complete and enables the collection of most wound management techniques used by emergency physicians was found to have substantial interobserver concordance for wound description (kappa range, .55 to .97), wound infection (kappa = 1.0) and overall cosmetic appearance (kappa = .61). CONCLUSION The wound registry is a reliable data collection instrument that is easy to use. It may be useful as a continuous quality-improvement tool or for standardization of wound surveillance and treatment data to facilitate future prospective studies in wound management.

Development and validation of a novel scar evaluation scale.

Background: The authors previously developed a six-item ordinal wound evaluation scale to measure the short-term cosmetic outcome of wounds 1 week after injury. Although it was never intended to measure long-term outcomes, it has been used to assess scars 3 to 12 months after injury. The authors developed and validated a scar evaluation scale specifically aimed at measuring the long-term appearance of scars. Methods: Two plastic surgeons and one emergency physician, blinded to each others assessments, viewed photographs of 50 scars resulting from lacerations or surgical incisions. Scars were assigned 0 or 1 point each for the presence or absence of the following: width greater than 2 mm, elevation or depression, discoloration, suture or staple marks, and overall poor appearance. A total cosmetic score was then calculated by adding the individual scores on each of the five categories ranging from 0 (worst) to 5 (best). Scars were also scored on a validated 100-mm visual analogue scale marked “worst scar” and “best scar” at the low and high ends, respectively. Pairwise interobserver agreement was calculated. Results: Interobserver agreement for the total scores on the scar evaluation scale was 0.73, 0.75, and 0.85 (p < 0.001 for all). Interobserver correlations on the visual analogue scale were 0.83, 0.86, and 0.87 (p < 0.001 for all). Correlations between the total scar evaluation scale and visual analogue scale scores were 0.75, 0.86, and 0.92. Visual analogue scale scores were significantly higher as scar evaluation scale scores increased (analysis of variance, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The authors describe a new long-term scar evaluation scale that is highly reliable and correlated with the cosmetic visual analogue scale, suggesting construct validity.

Are Monitored Telemetry Beds Necessary for Patients With Nontraumatic Chest Pain and Normal or Nonspecific Electrocardiograms

We evaluated the frequency of cardiovascular complications in chest pain patients with normal or non-specific electrocardiograms admitted to noncardiac care unit monitored beds and found that none of 261 patients had life-threatening dysrrhythmias requiring treatment.

Effect of Duration From Symptom Onset on the Negative Predictive Value of a Normal ECG for Exclusion of Acute Myocardial Infarction

STUDY OBJECTIVE We hypothesized that the negative predictive value of the ECG would improve with time and assessed the effect of time elapsed from symptom onset to ED presentation on the negative predictive value, sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of the initial ECG in patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study in a university teaching hospital. Our structured data instrument, completed at the time of presentation included demographics, time of onset of symptoms, history, laboratory, and ECG findings. AMI was diagnosed with the use of international diagnostic criteria. Patients were stratified according to duration of time from symptom onset at 3-hour intervals. RESULTS We enrolled 526 patients in the study group. The mean age was 59 years; 40% were female. The mean time elapsed from symptom onset to presentation was 185 minutes. A diagnosis of AMI was made in 104 patients (20%). The negative predictive values of a normal ECG for exclusion of AMI, stratified by duration of time from symptom onset, were: 0 to 3 hours, 93.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 87.4% to 96.1%); 3 to 6 hours, 93.0% (95% CI, 83.0% to 98.1%); 6 to 9 hours, 92.6% (95% CI, 75.8% to 99.1%); and 9 to 12 hours, 94.1% (95% CI, 71.3% to 99.9%) (P = 1.0). The sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of the ECG were similar in all groups. CONCLUSION The negative predictive value of a normal ECG for exclusion of AMI does not improve as the duration of time from symptom onset to presentation increases. Normal ECG findings cannot be used to rule out an AMI, even those obtained up to 12 hours after symptom onset.

Comparison of wound care practices in pediatric and adult lacerations repaired in the emergency department

Objective We compared emergency physicians wound care practices in young children (≤5 years) and adults (≥18 years) and the effect of these different practices on infection rate and cosmetic appearance. Design Cross sectional study. Setting University hospital emergency department that rarely uses conscious sedation. Participants Consecutive patients who presented with lacerations over a four-year period. Methods Structured closed question data sheets that assessed 26 separate wound characteristics were prospectively completed at initial presentation and at suture removal. Infection and cosmetic appearance were assessed with previously validated scales, X2 tests were used for categorical variables, t tests for continuous variables. Results We evaluated 3624 patients: 853 children and 2771 adults. Wounds in children were more likely to be on the head (86 vs 38%, P < 0.01); linear (88 vs 77%, P < 0.01); shorter (1.9 vs 3.0 cm, P < 0.01); less often contaminated (4 vs 11%, P < 0.01); and more commonly caused by blunt injury (69 vs 37%, P < 0.01). With respect to treatment, lacerations in children were less likely to receive irrigation (53 vs 77%; P < 0.001) but slightly more likely to be scrubbed (50 vs 45%, P = 0.01). The two groups received similar numbers of sutures per centimeter (2.6 vs 2.3). Using logistic regression, the differences in irrigation were not explained by the differences in laceration characteristics. Despite less frequent irrigation, children had lower wound infection rates (2.1 vs 4.1%; P = 0.004) and better cosmetic appearances (optimal score, 75 vs 64%, P = 0.0003). Conclusions Emergency physicians at our institution are less likely to irrigate lacerations in children than adults; however, children had a lower infection rate and more favorable cosmetic outcome.

Long-term Evaluation of Cosmetic Appearance of Repaired Lacerations: Validation of Telephone Assessment

See editorial Objective: Patients with lacerations are most concerned about the ultimate cosmetic appearance of their wound. We evaluated methods to assess the long-term cosmetic appearance by telephone survey. METHODS Patients with lacerations repaired in the ED were contacted by telephone and had direct examination a mean of 112 days after injury. At the time of telephone contact to schedule the ED follow-up visit, patients completed a structured survey instrument. Patients rated their laceration appearance from 0 to 100, and completed a 6-item categorical assessment of cosmetic appearance. During ED follow-up, patients assessed satisfaction with a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS), a 0 to 100 numerical scale, and the same 6-item categorical scale. The criterion standard was the validated 6-item categorical scale used by physicians. A score of 6 is optimal; less than 6 is suboptimal. RESULTS A total of 103 patients participated (mean age 17 years; 55% male subjects). Wounds were mostly located on the head (72%) and upper extremity (24%). Mean wound length was 1.9 cm. On all numerical scales (numerical assessment by telephone, assessment in the ED by VAS, and by 0 to 100 scale in the ED) the patients considered the wound better when the physicians considered the cosmetic appearance to be optimal (87 mm versus 71 mm; 90 mm versus 73 mm; 90 mm versus 73 mm, respectively; P<.01 for all comparisons). The relationship between the 0 to 100 numerical rating scale used in the ED and that used during the telephone survey revealed a strong relationship. The scales had a mean difference of 2.1 mm (95% confidence interval -26 to 30 mm). However, patient categorical scale assessment from the phone interview was not concordant with physician assessment in the ED (κ=.12). CONCLUSION The long-term cosmetic appearance of lacerations repaired in the ED can be assessed by asking patients to grade their lacerations from 0 to 100 over the telephone. By contrast, categorical assessment over the telephone is not concordant with physician assessment in the ED. This information may allow easier assessment of injuries and their long-term consequences. [Hollander JE, Valentine SM, McCuskey CF, Turque T, Singer AJ, and the Stony Brook Wound Registry Study Group: Long-term evaluation of cosmetic appearance of repaired lacerations: Validation of telephone assessment. Ann Emerg Med January 1998;31:92-98.].

Comparison of wound infection rates using plain versus buffered lidocaine for anesthesia of traumatic wounds.

Buffered lidocaine has been shown to be less painful than plain lidocaine for anesthetizing wounds. However, the effect of a buffering agent on the local host defenses has not been evaluated. The infection rates of wounds anesthetized with plain lidocaine versus buffered lidocaine were compared in an observational cohort study. Consecutive emergency department patients with traumatic wounds that required sutures had a closed-question wound registry sheet prospectively completed. Follow-up data were obtained at the time of the return visit. Patients failing to return were contacted by telephone. Data were analyzed for wound infection rates comparing plain lidocaine with buffered lidocaine. Chi-squared or Fisher exact tests were used for statistical analysis. Of 2,711 patients analyzed, 2,279 had received plain and 432 had received buffered lidocaine. The infection rate for patients treated with plain lidocaine was 3.5%, versus that for patients treated with buffered lidocaine, 3.9% (P = .63). After adjustment for confounding variables, the infection rate did not differ between plain and buffered lidocaine. The infection rates of wounds repaired after anesthesia with either plain or buffered lidocaine are similar.