scholarly journals Acceptability of a Mobile Clinical Decision Tool Among Emergency Department Clinicians: Development and Evaluation of The Ottawa Rules App

10.2196/10263 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. e10263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Paradis ◽  
Ian Stiell ◽  
Katherine M Atkinson ◽  
Julien Guerinet ◽  
Yulric Sequeira ◽  
...  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Paradis ◽  
Ian Stiell ◽  
Katherine M Atkinson ◽  
Julien Guerinet ◽  
Yulric Sequeira ◽  
...  

CJEM ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (S1) ◽  
pp. S99-S100
Author(s):  
R. Ramaekers ◽  
C. Leafloor ◽  
J. J. Perry ◽  
V. Thiruganasambandamoorthy

Introduction: Lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) can result in serious adverse events, including recurrent bleeding, need for intervention and death. Endoscopy is important in the management of LGIB, however gastroenterologists have limited resources to safe endoscopy. Risk stratification of LGIB patients can aid physicians in disposition decisions. Objective: to develop a clinical decision tool to accurately identify LGIB patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) who are at risk for 30-day serious adverse events. Methods: We conducted a health records review and included 372 adult ED patients who presented with an acute LGIB. The outcome was a 30-day composite outcome consisting of all-cause death, recurrent LGIB, need for intervention to control the bleed and ICU admission. A second researcher confirmed data-collection of 10% of the data and we calculated a -value for inter-rater reliability. We analyzed the data using stepwise backwards selection and SELECTION=SCORE option and calculated the diagnostic accuracy of the final model. Results: Age 75 years, hemoglobin 100 g/L, INR 2.0, a bloody stool in the ED and a past medical history of colorectal polyps were significant predictors in the multivariable regression analysis. The AUC was 0.83 (95% CI 0.77-0.89), sensitivity 0.96 (0.90-1.00), specificity 0.53 (0.48-0.59), and negative likelihood ratio 0.08 (0.02-0.30) for a cut-off score of 1. Conclusion: This model showed good ability to identify LGIB patients at low risk for adverse events as evidenced by the high AUC, sensitivity and negative likelihood ratio. Future, large prospective studies should be done to confirm the data, after which it should be validated and implemented.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Paradis ◽  
Ian Stiell ◽  
Katherine M Atkinson ◽  
Julien Guerinet ◽  
Yulric Sequeira ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND The Ottawa Ankle Rules, Ottawa Knee Rule, and Canadian C-Spine Rule—together known as The Ottawa Rules—are a set of internationally validated clinical decision rules developed to decrease unnecessary diagnostic imaging in the emergency department. In this study, we sought to develop and evaluate the use of a mobile app version of The Ottawa Rules. OBJECTIVE The primary objective of this study was to determine acceptability of The Ottawa Rules app among emergency department clinicians. The secondary objective was to evaluate the effect of publicity efforts on uptake of The Ottawa Rules app. METHODS The Ottawa Rules app was developed and publicly released for free on iOS and Android operating systems in April 2016. Local and national news and academic media coverage coincided with app release. This study was conducted at a large tertiary trauma care center in Ottawa, Canada. The study was advertised through posters and electronically by email. Emergency department clinicians were approached in person to enroll via in-app consent for a 1-month study during which time they were encouraged to use the app when evaluating patients with suspected knee, foot, or neck injuries. A 23-question survey was administered at the end of the study period via email to determine self-reported frequency, perceived ease of use of the app, and participant Technology Readiness Index scores. RESULTS A total of 108 emergency department clinicians completed the study including 42 nurses, 33 residents, 20 attending physicians, and 13 medical students completing emergency department rotations. The median Technology Readiness Index for this group was 3.56, indicating a moderate degree of openness for technological adoption. The majority of survey respondents indicated favorable receptivity to the app including finding it helpful to applying the rules (73/108, 67.6%), that they would recommend the app to colleagues (81/108, 75.0%), and that they would continue using the app (73/108, 67.6%). Feedback from study participants highlighted a desire for access to more clinical decision rules and a higher degree of interactivity of the app. Between April 21, 2016, and June 1, 2017, The Ottawa Rules app was downloaded approximately 4000 times across 89 countries. CONCLUSIONS We have found The Ottawa Rules app to be an effective means to disseminate the Ottawa Ankle Rules, Ottawa Knee Rule, and Canadian C-Spine Rule among all levels of emergency department clinicians. We have been successful in monitoring uptake and access of the rules in the app as a result of our publicity efforts. Mobile technology can be leveraged to improve the accessibility of clinical decision tools to health professionals.


CJEM ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (S1) ◽  
pp. S38
Author(s):  
L. Yau ◽  
M.A. Mukarram ◽  
S. Kim ◽  
K. Arcot ◽  
K. Thavorn ◽  
...  

Introduction: The majority of syncope patients transported to the emergency department (ED) by emergency medical services (EMS) are low-risk with very few suffering serious adverse events (SAE) within 30-days and over 50% are diagnosed with vasovagal syncope. These patients can potentially be diverted by EMS to alternate pathways of care (primary care or syncope clinic) if appropriately identified. We sought to identify high-risk factors associated with SAE within 30-days of ED disposition as a step towards developing an EMS clinical decision tool. Methods: We prospectively enrolled adult syncope patients who were transported to 5 academic EDs by EMS. We collected standardized variables at EMS presentation from history, clinical examination and investigations including ECG and ED disposition. We also collected concerning symptoms identified and EMS interventions. Adjudicated SAE included death, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, structural heart disease, pulmonary embolism, hemorrhage and procedural interventions. Multivariable logistic regression was used for analysis. Results: 990 adult syncope patients (mean age 58.9 years, 54.9% females and 16.8% hospitalized) were enrolled with 137 (14.6%) patients suffering SAE within 30-days of ED disposition. Of 42 candidate predictors, we identified 5 predictors that were significantly associated with SAE on multivariable analysis: ECG abnormalities [OR=1.77; 95%CI 1.36-2.48] (non-sinus rhythm, high degree atrioventricular block, left bundle branch block, ST-T wave changes or Q waves), cardiac history [OR=2.87; 95%CI 1.86-4.41] (valvular or coronary heart disease, cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias or device insertions), EMS interventions or concerning symptoms [OR=4.88; 95%CI 3.13- 7.62], age >50 years [OR=3.18; 95%CI 1.68-6.02], any abnormal vital signs [OR=1.58; 95%CI 1.03-2.42] (any EMS systolic blood pressure >180 or <100 mmHg, heart rate <50 or >100/minute, respiratory rate >25/minute, oxygen saturation <91%). [C-statistic: 0.81; Hosmer Lemeshow p=0.30]. Conclusion: We identified high-risk factors that are associated with 30-day SAE among syncope patients transported to the ED by EMS. This will aid in the development of a clinical decision tool to identify low-risk patients for diversion to alternate pathways of care.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. e037341
Author(s):  
Timothy E Dribin ◽  
Kenneth A Michelson ◽  
David Vyles ◽  
Mark I Neuman ◽  
David C Brousseau ◽  
...  

IntroductionThere remain significant knowledge gaps about the management and outcomes of children with anaphylaxis. These gaps have led to practice variation regarding decisions to hospitalise children and length of observation periods following treatment with epinephrine. The objectives of this multicentre study are to (1) determine the prevalence of and risk factors for severe, persistent, refractory and biphasic anaphylaxis, as well as persistent and biphasic non-anaphylactic reactions; (2) derive and validate prediction models for emergency department (ED) discharge; and (3) determine data-driven lengths of ED and inpatient observation prior to discharge to home based on initial reaction severity.Methods and analysisThe study is being conducted through the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Collaborative Research Committee (PEMCRC). Children 6 months to less than 18 years of age presenting to 30 participating EDs for anaphylaxis from October 2015 to December 2019 will be eligible. The primary outcomes for each objective are (1) severe, persistent, refractory or biphasic anaphylaxis, as well as persistent or biphasic non-anaphylactic reactions; (2) safe ED discharge, defined as no receipt of acute anaphylaxis medications or hypotension beyond 4 hours from first administered dose of epinephrine; and (3) time from first to last administered dose of epinephrine and vasopressor cessation. Analyses for each objective include (1) descriptive statistics to estimate prevalence and generalised estimating equations that will be used to investigate risk factors for anaphylaxis outcomes, (2) least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression and binary recursive partitioning to derive and validate prediction models of children who may be candidates for safe ED discharge, and (3) Kaplan-Meier analyses to assess timing from first to last epinephrine doses and vasopressor cessation based on initial reaction severity.Ethics and disseminationAll sites will obtain institutional review board approval; results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated via traditional and social media, blogs and online education platforms.


Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 514
Author(s):  
Tarek Hatoum ◽  
Robert S. Sheldon

Syncope accounts for up to 2% of emergency department visits and results in the hospitalization of 12–86% of patients. There is often a low diagnostic yield, with up to 50% of hospitalized patients being discharged with no clear diagnosis. We will outline a structured approach to the syncope patient in the emergency department, highlighting the evidence supporting the role of clinical judgement and the initial electrocardiogram (ECG) in making the preliminary diagnosis and in safely identifying the patients at low risk of short- and long-term adverse events or admitting the patient if likely to benefit from urgent intervention. Clinical decision tools and additional testing may aid in further stratifying patients and may guide disposition. While hospital admission does not seem to offer additional mortality benefit, the efficient utilization of outpatient testing may provide similar diagnostic yield, preventing unnecessary hospitalizations.


JAMIA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Kerns ◽  
Russell McCulloh ◽  
Sarah Fouquet ◽  
Corrie McDaniel ◽  
Lynda Ken ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective To determine utilization and impacts of a mobile electronic clinical decision support (mECDS) on pediatric asthma care quality in emergency department and inpatient settings. Methods We conducted an observational study of a mECDS tool that was deployed as part of a multi-dimensional, national quality improvement (QI) project focused on pediatric asthma. We quantified mECDS utilization using cumulative screen views over the study period in the city in which each participating site was located. We determined associations between mECDS utilization and pediatric asthma quality metrics using mixed-effect logistic regression models (adjusted for time, site characteristics, site-level QI project engagement, and patient characteristics). Results The tool was offered to clinicians at 75 sites and used on 286 devices; cumulative screen views were 4191. Children’s hospitals and sites with greater QI project engagement had higher cumulative mECDS utilization. Cumulative mECDS utilization was associated with significantly reduced odds of hospital admission (OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92–0.98) and higher odds of caregiver referral to smoking cessation resources (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.01–1.16). Discussion We linked mECDS utilization to clinical outcomes using a national sample and controlling for important confounders (secular trends, patient case mix, and concomitant QI efforts). We found mECDS utilization was associated with improvements in multiple measures of pediatric asthma care quality. Conclusion mECDS has the potential to overcome barriers to dissemination and improve care on a broad scale. Important areas of future work include improving mECDS uptake/utilization, linking clinicians’ mECDS usage to clinical practice, and studying mECDS’s impacts on other common pediatric conditions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (12) ◽  
pp. 853-854
Author(s):  
Patrick Aldridge ◽  
Heather Castle ◽  
Emma Russell ◽  
Clare Phillips ◽  
Richard Guerrero-Luduena ◽  
...  

Aims/Objectives/BackgroundObjectivesTo assess if application of a nurse-led paediatric head injury clinical decision tool would be safe compared to current practice.Background>700,000 children attend UK hospitals’ each year with a head injury. Research indicates <1% undergo neurosurgical intervention. No published evidence for nurse-led discharge of paediatric head injuries exists.Methods/DesignMethods – All paediatric (<17 years) patients with head injuries presenting to our Emergency department (ED) 1st May to 31st October 2018 were prospectively screened by a nurse using a mandated electronic ‘Head Injury Discharge At Triage’ questionnaire (HIDATq). We determined which patients underwent computed tomography (CT) brain and whether there was a clinically important intracranial injury or re-presentation to ED. The negative predictive value of the screening tool was assessed. We determined what proportion of patients could have been sent home from triage using HIDATq.Results/ConclusionsResults - Of 1739 patients screened; 61 had CTs performed due to head injury (6 abnormal) with a CT rate of 3.5% and 2% re-presentations. Of the entire cohort, 1052 screened negative. 1 CT occurred in this group showing no abnormalities. Of those screened negative: 349/1052 (33%) had ‘no other injuries’ and 543/1052 (52%) had ‘abrasions or lacerations’. HIDATq’s negative predictive value for CT was 99.9% (95% Confidence interval (CI) 99.4–99.9%) and 100% (CI 99.0–100%) for intracranial injury. The positive predictive value of the tool was low. Five patients screened negative and re-presented within 72hrs but did not require CT imaging.Conclusion - A negative HIDATq appears safe in our ED. Potentially 20% (349/1739) of all patients with head injuries presenting to our department could be discharged by nurses at triage with adequate safety netting advice. This increases to 50% (543/1739) if patients with lacerations or abrasions were treated and discharged at triage. A large multi-centre study is required to validate the tool.


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