Diagnosis and management of acute aortic dissection in the emergency department.

Acute aortic dissection is often misdiagnosed as a result of its atypical presentations. It affects 4000 patients a year in the UK of all ages, not just older patients, with increasing numbers of cases expected in the future because of the ageing population. Dissection of the aortic wall leads to sudden, severe pain, and commonly end-organ symptoms which must be recognised. Acute aortic dissection can be challenging to diagnose in the emergency department because of the multitude of possible presentations and the need for selective testing with Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA). Clinicians often miss acute aortic dissection because it is not considered in the differential diagnosis, and the challenge lies in identifying acute aortic dissection in a sea of complaints of chest, back and abdominal pain. There are several ways to improve diagnosis, including awareness campaigns, better education about patients in which to consider acute aortic dissection, and improved detection strategies including which patients should receive CTA. Clinical decision tools and biomarkers could help, but further research is required and is a research focus in emergency medicine. Once diagnosed, blood pressure control, analgesia and urgent surgery or transfer to enable this to occur with minimal delay is required.

Management of syncope in the Emergency Department: a European prospective cohort study (SEED).

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: In 2018, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) produced syncope guidelines that for the first-time incorporated Emergency Department (ED) management. However, very little is known about the characteristics and management of this patient group across Europe. OBJECTIVES: To examine the prevalence, clinical presentation, assessment, investigation (ECG and laboratory testing), management and ESC and Canadian Syncope Risk Score (CSRS) categories of adult European ED patients presenting with transient loss of consciousness (TLOC, undifferentiated or suspected syncope). DESIGN: Prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study. SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: Adults (≥18 years) presenting to European EDs with TLOC, either undifferentiated or thought to be of syncopal origin. MAIN RESULTS: Between 00:01 Monday, September 12th to 23:59 Sunday 25 September 2022, 952 patients presenting to 41 EDs in 14 European countries were enrolled from 98 301 ED presentations (n = 40 sites). Mean age (SD) was 60.7 (21.7) years and 487 participants were male (51.2%). In total, 379 (39.8%) were admitted to hospital and 573 (60.2%) were discharged. 271 (28.5%) were admitted to an observation unit first with 143 (52.8%) of these being admitted from this. 717 (75.3%) participants were high-risk according to ESC guidelines (and not suitable for discharge from ED) and 235 (24.7%) were low risk. Admission rate increased with increasing ESC high-risk factors; 1 ESC high-risk factor; n = 259 (27.2%, admission rate=34.7%), 2; 189 (19.9%; 38.6%), 3; 106 (11.1%, 54.7%, 4; 62 (6.5%, 60.4%), 5; 48 (5.0%, 67.9%, 6+; 53 (5.6%, 67.9%). Furthermore, 660 (69.3%), 250 (26.3%), 34 (3.5%) and 8 (0.8%) participants had a low, medium, high, and very high CSRS respectively with respective admission rates of 31.4%, 56.0%, 76.5% and 75.0%. Admission rates (19.3-88.9%), use of an observation/decision unit (0-100%), and percentage high-risk (64.8-88.9%) varies widely between countries. CONCLUSION: This European prospective cohort study reported a 1% prevalence of syncope in the ED. 4 in 10 patients are admitted to hospital although there is wide variation between country in syncope management. Three-quarters of patients have ESC high-risk characteristics with admission percentage rising with increasing ESC high-risk factors.

Diagnosis of Acute Aortic Syndrome in the Emergency Department (DAShED) study: an observational cohort study of people attending the emergency department with symptoms consistent with acute aortic syndrome.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of acute aortic syndrome (AAS) is commonly delayed or missed in the ED. We describe characteristics of ED attendances with symptoms potentially associated with AAS, diagnostic performance of clinical decision tools (CDTs) and physicians and yield of CT aorta angiogram (CTA). METHODS: This was a multicentre observational cohort study of adults attending 27 UK EDs between 26 September 2022 and 30 November 2022, with potential AAS symptoms: chest, back or abdominal pain, syncope or symptoms related to malperfusion. Patients were preferably identified prospectively, but retrospective recruitment was also permitted. Anonymised, routinely collected patient data including components of CDTs, was abstracted. Clinicians treating prospectively identified patients were asked to record their perceived likelihood of AAS, prior to any confirmatory testing. Reference standard was radiological or operative confirmation of AAS. 30-day electronic patient record follow-up evaluated whether a subsequent diagnosis of AAS had been made and mortality. RESULTS: 5548 patients presented, with a median age of 55 years (IQR 37-72; n=5539). 14 (0.3%; n=5353) had confirmed AAS. 10/1046 (1.0%) patients in whom the ED clinician thought AAS was possible had AAS. 5/147 (3.4%) patients in whom AAS was considered the most likely diagnosis had AAS. 2/3319 (0.06%) patients in whom AAS was considered not possible did have AAS. 540 (10%; n=5446) patients underwent CT, of which 407 were CTA (7%). 30-day follow-up did not reveal any missed AAS diagnoses. AUROC (area under the receiver operating characteristic) curve for ED clinician AAS likelihood rating was 0.958 (95% CI 0.933 to 0.983, n=4006) and for individual CDTs were: Aortic Dissection Detection Risk Score (ADD-RS) 0.674 (95% CI 0.508 to 0.839, n=4989), AORTAs 0.689 (95% CI 0.527 to 0.852, n=5132), Canadian 0.818 (95% CI 0.686 to 0.951, n=5180) and Sheffield 0.628 (95% CI 0.467 to 0.788, n=5092). CONCLUSION: Only 0.3% of patients presenting with potential AAS symptoms had AAS but 7% underwent CTA. CDTs incorporating clinician gestalt appear to be most promising, but further prospective work is needed, including evaluation of the role of D-dimer. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05582967; NCT05582967.

A Digital Health Intervention for Concussion: Development and Clinical Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: Concussion is a common condition that can lead to a constellation of symptoms that affect quality of life, social integration, and return to work. There are several evidence-based behavioral and psychological interventions that have been found to improve postconcussion symptom burden. However, these are not routinely delivered, and individuals receive limited support during their concussion recovery. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop and test the feasibility of a digital health intervention using a systematic evidence-, theory-, and person-based approach. METHODS: This was a mixed methodology study involving a scoping review (n=21), behavioral analysis, and logic model to inform the intervention design and content. During development, the intervention was optimized with feedback from individuals who had experienced concussions (n=12) and health care professionals (n=11). The intervention was then offered to patients presenting to the emergency department with a concussion (n=50). Participants used the intervention freely and input symptom data as part of the program. A number of outcome measures were obtained, including participant engagement with the intervention, postconcussion symptom burden, and attitudes toward the intervention. A selection of participants (n=15) took part in in-depth qualitative interviews to understand their attitudes toward the intervention and how to improve it. RESULTS: Engagement with the intervention functionality was 90% (45/50) for the symptom diary, 62% (31/50) for sleep time setting, 56% (28/50) for the alcohol tracker, 48% (24/50) for exercise day setting, 34% (17/50) for the thought diary, and 32% (16/50) for the goal setter. Metrics indicated high levels of early engagement that trailed off throughout the course of the intervention, with an average daily completion rate of the symptom diary of 28.23% (494/1750). A quarter of the study participants (13/50, 26%) were classified as high engagers who interacted with all the functionalities within the intervention. Quantitative and qualitative feedback indicated a high level of usability and positive perception of the intervention. Daily symptom diaries (n=494) demonstrated a wide variation in individual participant symptom burden but a decline in average burden over time. For participants with Rivermead scores on completion of HeadOn, there was a strong positive correlation (r=0.86; P<.001) between their average daily HeadOn symptom diary score and their end-of-program Rivermead score. Insights from the interviews were then fed back into development to optimize the intervention and facilitate engagement. CONCLUSIONS: Using this systematic approach, we developed a digital health intervention for individuals who have experienced a concussion that is designed to facilitate positive behavior change. Symptom data input as part of the intervention provided insights into postconcussion symptom burden and recovery trajectories. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05069948; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05069948.

Multicentre open label randomised controlled trial of immediate enhanced ambulatory ECG monitoring versus standard monitoring in acute unexplained syncope patients: the ASPIRED study.

INTRODUCTION: Diagnosing underlying arrhythmia in emergency department (ED) syncope patients is difficult. There is a evidence that diagnostic yield for detecting underlying arrhythmia is highest when cardiac monitoring devices are applied early, ideally at the index visit. This strategy has the potential to change current syncope management from low diagnostic yield Holter to higher yield ambulatory monitoring, reduce episodes of syncope, reduce risk of recurrence and its potential serious consequences, reduce hospital admissions, reduce overall health costs and increase quality of life by allowing earlier diagnosis, treatment and exclusion of clinically important arrhythmias. METHODS AND ANALYSES: This is a UK open prospective parallel group multicentre randomised controlled trial of an immediate 14-day ambulatory patch heart monitor vs standard care in 2234 patients presenting acutely with unexplained syncope. Our patient focused primary endpoint will be number of episodes of syncope at 1 year. Health economic evaluation will estimate the incremental cost per syncope episode avoided and quality-adjusted life year gained. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Informed consent for participation will be sought. The ASPIRED trial received a favourable ethical opinion from South East Scotland Research Ethics Committee 01 (21/SS/0073). Results will be disseminated via scientific publication, lay summary and visual abstract. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN 10278811.

Pulmonary embolism management in the emergency department: part 2.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) can present with a range of severity. Prognostic risk stratification is important for efficacious and safe management. This second of two review articles discusses the management of high-, intermediate- and low-risk PE. We discuss strategies to identify patients suitable for urgent outpatient care in addition to identification of patients who would benefit from thrombolysis. We discuss specific subgroups of patients where optimal treatment differs from the usual approach and identify emerging management paradigms exploring new therapies and subgroups.

Clinical Diagnosis and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients With Transient and Minor Neurological Symptoms: A Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: The utility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain in patients with transient or minor neurological symptoms is uncertain. We sought to determine the proportion of participants with transient or minor neurological symptoms who had MRI evidence of acute ischemia at different clinical probabilities of transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke. METHODS: Cohort of participants with transient or minor neurological symptoms from emergency and outpatient settings. Clinicians at different levels of training gave each participant a diagnostic probability (probable when TIA/stroke was the most likely differential diagnosis; possible when TIA/stroke was not the most likely differential diagnosis; or uncertain when diagnostic probability could not be given) before 1.5 or 3T brain MRI ≤5 days from onset. Post hoc, each clinical syndrome was defined blind to MRI findings as National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke criteria TIA/stroke; International Headache Society criteria migraine aura; non-TIA focal symptoms; or nonfocal symptoms. MRI evidence of acute ischemia was defined by 2 reads of MRI. Stroke was ascertained for at least 90 days and up to 18 months after recruitment. RESULTS: Two hundred seventy-two participated (47% female, mean age 60, SD 14), 58% with MRI ≤2 days of onset. Most (92%) reported focal symptoms. MR evidence of acute ischemia was found, for stroke/TIA clinical probabilities of probable 23 out of 75 (31% [95% CI, 21%-42%]); possible 26 out of 151 (17% [12%-24%]); and uncertain 9 out of 43, (20% [10%-36%]). MRI evidence of acute ischemia was found in National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke criteria TIA/stroke 40 out of 95 (42% [32%-53%]); migraine aura 4 out of 38 (11% [3%-25%]); non-TIA focal symptoms 16 out of 99 (16% [10%-25%]); and no focal features 1 out of 29 (3% [0%-18%]). After MRI, a further 14 (5% [95% CI, 3-8]) would be treated with an antiplatelet drug compared with treatment plan before MRI. By 18 months, a new ischemic stroke occurred in 9 out of 61 (18%) patients with MRI evidence of acute ischemia and 2 out of 211 (1%) without (age-adjusted hazard ratio, 13 [95% CI, 3-62]; P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: MRI evidence of acute brain ischemia was found in about 1 in 6 transient or minor neurological symptoms patients with a nonstroke/TIA initial diagnosis or uncertain diagnosis. Methods to determine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of MRI are needed in this population.

Duration of External Neck Stabilisation (DENS) following odontoid fracture in older or frail adults: protocol for a randomised controlled trial of collar versus no collar.

INTRODUCTION: Fractures of the odontoid process frequently result from low impact falls in frail or older adults. These are increasing in incidence and importance as the population ages. In the UK, odontoid fractures in older adults are usually managed in hard collars to immobilise the fracture and promote bony healing. However, bony healing does not always occur in older adults, and bony healing is not associated with quality of life, functional, or pain outcomes. Further, hard collars can cause complications such as skin pressure ulcers, swallowing difficulties and difficulties with personal care. We hypothesise that management with no immobilisation may be superior to management in a hard collar for older or frail adults with odontoid fractures. METHODS AND ANALYSES: This is the protocol for the Duration of External Neck Stabilisation (DENS) trial-a non-blinded randomised controlled trial comparing management in a hard collar with management without a collar for older (≥65 years) or frail (Rockwood Clinical Frailty Scale ≥5) adults with a new odontoid fracture. 887 neurologically intact participants with any odontoid process fracture type will be randomised to continuing with a hard collar (standard care) or removal of the collar (intervention). The primary outcome is quality of life measured using the EQ-5D-5L at 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes include pain scores, neck disability index, health and social care use and costs, and mortality. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Informed consent for participation will be sought from those able to provide it. We will also include those who lack capacity to ensure representativeness of frail and acutely unwell older adults. Results will be disseminated via scientific publication, lay summary, and visual abstract. The DENS trial received a favourable ethical opinion from the Scotland A Research Ethics Committee (21/SS/0036) and the Leeds West Research Ethics Committee (21/YH/0141). TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04895644.

The clinical effectiveness of the STUMBL score for the management of ED patients with blunt chest trauma compared to clinical evaluation alone.

The STUMBL (STUdy of the Management of BLunt chest wall trauma) score is a new prognostic score to assist ED (Emergency Department) decision making in the management of blunt chest trauma. This is a retrospective cohort chart review study conducted in a UK University Hospital ED seeing 120,000 patients a year, comparing its performance characteristics to ED clinician judgement. All blunt chest trauma patients that presented to our ED over a 6-month period were included. Patients were excluded if age < 18, if they had immediate life-threatening injury, required critical care admission for other injuries or in case of missing identification data. Primary endpoint was complication defined as any of lower respiratory tract infection, pulmonary consolidation, empyema, pneumothorax, haemothorax, splenic or hepatic injury and 30-day mortality. Clinician judgement (clinician decision to admit) and STUMBL score were compared using the receiver-operating curve (ROC) and sensitivity analysis. Three hundred and sixty-nine patients were included. ED clinicians admitted 95 of 369 patients. ED clinician decision to admit had a sensitivity of 83.9% and specificity of 86.0% for predicting complications. STUMBL score ≥ 11 had a sensitivity of 79.0% and specificity of 77.9% for the same and would have led to 117 of 369 patients being admitted. Area under the curve (AUC) of STUMBL score and ED clinician decision to admit was 0.84 (95% CI 0.78-0.90) and 0.85 (95% CI 0.79-0.91), respectively. Our findings show that a STUMBL score ≥ 11 performs no better than ED clinician judgement and leads to more patients being admitted to hospital.

Unscheduled care pathways in patients with myocardial infarction in Scotland.

OBJECTIVE: Treatment of acute myocardial infarction (MI) requires rapid transfer of people with chest pain to hospital, however, unscheduled care pathways vary in their directness (the minimal number of contacts to hospital admission). The aim was to examine unscheduled care pathways and the associations with mortality in people admitted with MI. METHODS: Retrospective population study of all people admitted to Scottish hospitals with a diagnosis of MI between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2017. Linked data for all National Health Service Scotland unscheduled care services (NHS24 telephone triage service, primary care out of hours, ambulance, emergency department (ED)) was used to define continuous unscheduled care pathways (pathways), which were categorised by initial contact, and whether they were 'direct' (had minimum number of contacts between first contact and admission). Analysis estimated ORs and 95% CIs in adjusted models in which all covariates were included. RESULTS: 26 325 people admitted with MI (63.1% men, 61.6% aged 65+ years), of whom 5.6% died from coronary heart disease within 28 days. For 47.0%, the first unscheduled care contact was ambulance, 23.3% attended ED directly and 18.7% called telephone triage. 92.1% of pathways were direct. Pathways starting with telephone triage were more likely to be indirect compared with other initial contacts (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.97, 95% CI 1.61 to 2.40). Compared to direct pathways, indirect pathways starting with telephone triage were associated with higher mortality (aOR 1.97, 95% CI 1.61 to 2.40) as were indirect pathways starting with another service (aOR 1.55, 95% CI 1.19 to 2.01), but not direct pathways starting with telephone triage (aOR 0.87, 95% CI 0.74 to 1.02). CONCLUSION: Unscheduled care pathways leading to admission with MI in Scotland are usually direct, but those starting with telephone triage were more commonly indirect. Those indirect pathways were associated with higher mortality.

Vibrational Spectroscopy for the Triage of Traumatic Brain Injury Computed Tomography Priority and Hospital Admissions.

Computed tomography (CT) brain imaging is routinely used to support clinical decision-making in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Only 7% of scans, however, demonstrate evidence of TBI. The other 93% of scans contribute a significant cost to the healthcare system and a radiation risk to patients. There may be better strategies to identify which patients, particularly those with mild TBI, are at risk of deterioration and require hospital admission. We introduce a blood serum liquid biopsy that utilizes attenuated total reflectance (ATR)-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy with machine learning algorithms as a decision-making tool to identify which patients with mild TBI will most likely present with a positive CT scan. Serum samples were obtained from patients (n = 298) patients who had acquired a TBI and were enrolled in CENTER-TBI and from asymptomatic control patients (n = 87). Injury patients (all severities) were stratified against non-injury controls. The cohort with mild TBI was further examined by stratifying those who had at least one CT abnormality against those who had no CT abnormalities. The test performed exceptionally well in classifications of patients with mild injury versus non-injury controls (sensitivity = 96.4% and specificity = 98.0%) and also provided a sensitivity of 80.2% when stratifying mild patients with at least one CT abnormality against those without. The results provided illustrate the test ability to identify four of every five CT abnormalities and show great promise to be introduced as a triage tool for CT priority in patients with mild TBI.

Syncope Time Frames for Adverse Events after Emergency Department Presentation: An Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis.

Background and Objectives: Knowledge of the incidence and time frames of the adverse events of patients presenting syncope at the ED is essential for developing effective management strategies. The aim of the present study was to perform a meta-analysis of the incidence and time frames of adverse events of syncope patients. Materials and Methods: We combined individual patients' data from prospective observational studies including adult patients who presented syncope at the ED. We assessed the pooled rate of adverse events at 24 h, 72 h, 7-10 days, 1 month and 1 year after ED evaluation. Results: We included nine studies that enrolled 12,269 patients. The mean age varied between 53 and 73 years, with 42% to 57% females. The pooled rate of adverse events was 5.1% (95% CI 3.4% to 7.7%) at 24 h, 7.0% (95% CI 4.9% to 9.9%) at 72 h, 8.4% (95% CI 6.2% to 11.3%) at 7-10 days, 10.3% (95% CI 7.8% to 13.3%) at 1 month and 21.3% (95% CI 15.8% to 28.0%) at 1 year. The pooled death rate was 0.2% (95% CI 0.1% to 0.5%) at 24 h, 0.3% (95% CI 0.1% to 0.7%) at 72 h, 0.5% (95% CI 0.3% to 0.9%) at 7-10 days, 1% (95% CI 0.6% to 1.7%) at 1 month and 5.9% (95% CI 4.5% to 7.7%) at 1 year. The most common adverse event was arrhythmia, for which its rate was 3.1% (95% CI 2.0% to 4.9%) at 24 h, 4.8% (95% CI 3.5% to 6.7%) at 72 h, 5.8% (95% CI 4.2% to 7.9%) at 7-10 days, 6.9% (95% CI 5.3% to 9.1%) at 1 month and 9.9% (95% CI 5.5% to 17) at 1 year. Ventricular arrhythmia was rare. Conclusions: The risk of death or life-threatening adverse event is rare in patients presenting syncope at the ED. The most common adverse events are brady and supraventricular arrhythmias, which occur during the first 3 days. Prolonged ECG monitoring in the ED in a short stay unit with ECG monitoring facilities may, therefore, be beneficial.

Experience of a smartphone ambulatory ECG clinic for emergency department patients with palpitation: a single-centre cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: Palpitation is one of the commonest presenting complaints to the emergency department (ED). Diagnosis depends on capturing an ECG during the episode. Unlike syncope, patients retain consciousness and therefore their ability to activate an ECG event recorder. The Investigation of Palpitation in the ED study demonstrated Food and Drug Administration approved AliveCor/Kardia device that links to a smartphone app was safe and effective. A Smartphone Palpitation and Pre-syncope Ambulatory Care Clinic was therefore established. OBJECTIVES: To review the first year of patients attending the service to determine the number and cost-effectiveness of cardiac dysrhythmias diagnoses. DESIGN: Single-center cohort study. SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, UK. All patients (over 16 years) presenting consecutively to ED with palpitation or pre-syncope, whose ECG was normal, had a compatible device and where an underlying cardiac dysrhythmia was possible were enrolled. INTERVENTION: Ambulatory Care Clinic utilizing the AliveCor/Kardia device. OUTCOME MEASURES AND ANALYSIS: Number diagnosed with cardiac dysrhythmia and mean cost per diagnosis. MAIN RESULTS: Between 24 July 2019 and 23 July 2020, 290 consecutive patients were referred of age 16-80 years (mean 43.3, SD 15.0). One hundred twenty (41.4%) were male. Two hundred thirty-seven (81.7%) were fitted with the device and 220 (75.9%) underwent full investigation. Seventeen of 237 (7.2%) patients had a cardiac diagnosis (12 atrial fibrillation/flutter, 5 supraventricular tachycardia and 1 atrial tachycardia). CONCLUSIONS: There were 17 cardiac diagnoses (7.2%). The cost per symptomatic rhythm diagnosis was 358 GBP (~415 Euro) and the cost per cardiac dysrhythmia diagnosis was 4570 GBP (~5298 Euro). A smartphone-based event recorder clinic should be considered for ED palpitation patients.

Correction: Personalized risk stratification through attribute matching for clinical decision making in clinical conditions with aspecific symptoms: The example of syncope.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228725.].

Targeted HIV screening in the emergency department.

Despite considerable improvement in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) knowledge and treatment in the last 3 decades, the overall number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) is still rising with up to one quarter being unaware of their HIV status. Early HIV diagnosis and treatment prolongs life, reduces transmission, improves quality of life, and is a cost-effective public health intervention. The emergency department (ED) sees a large number of patients from marginalized and traditionally underserved populations in whom HIV is known to be more prevalent and who may not attend traditional services because of either cultural reasons or because of a chaotic lifestyle. This article discusses the two main approaches to screening; 'Opt-out' screening offers testing routinely in all clinical settings, and 'Targeted' screening offers testing to individuals presenting with indicator conditions. There are many studies of 'Opt-out' ED HIV screening in urban areas of high-HIV prevalence. However, little is known about the effectiveness of 'targeted' HIV screening, especially in areas of low prevalence. This review discusses the background to HIV screening in the ED and reviews the evidence around 'targeted' HIV screening in adult EDs in different HIV prevalence settings, concluding that targeted HIV screening at the ED can be impactful, cost-effective, and well accepted in the ED population, but its long-term implementation requires extra funding and increased staffing resource limiting its application in low resource setting. Despite most evidence being from areas of high-HIV prevalence, targeted screening might also be appropriate in low-HIV prevalence areas.

Establishing a Smartphone Ambulatory ECG Service for Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department with Pre-Syncope and Palpitations.

Background and Objectives: The Investigation of Palpitations in the ED (IPED) study showed that a smartphone-based event recorder increased the number of patients in whom an electrocardiogram (ECG) was captured during symptoms over five-fold to more than 55% at 90 days compared to standard care and concluded that this safe, non-invasive and easy-to-use device should be considered part of on-going care to all patients presenting acutely with unexplained palpitations or pre-syncope. This study reports the process of establishing a smartphone palpitation and pre-syncope ambulatory care Clinic (SPACC) service. Materials and Methods: A clinical standard operating procedure (SOP) was devised, and funding was secured through a business case for the purchase of 40 AliveCor devices in the first instance. The clinic was launched on 22 July 2019. Results: Between 22 July 2019 and 31 October 2019, 68 patients seen in the emergency departments (EDs) with palpitations or pre-syncope were referred to SPACC. Of those, 30 were male and 38 were female, and the mean age was 45.8 years old (SD 15.1) with a range from 18 years old to 80 years old. A total of 50 (74%) patients underwent full investigation. On the first assessment, seven (10%) patients were deemed to have non-cardiac palpitations and were not fitted with the device. All patients who underwent full investigation achieved symptomatic rhythm correlation most with sinus rhythm, ventricular ectopics, or bigeminy. A symptomatic cardiac dysrhythmia was detected in six (8.8%) patients. Three patients had supraventricular tachycardia (4%), two had atrial fibrillation (3%), and one had atrial flutter (2%). Qualitative feedback from the SPACC team suggested several areas where improvement to the clinic could be made. Conclusion: We believe a smartphone palpitation service based on ambulatory care is simple to implement and is effective at detecting cardiac dysrhythmia in ED palpitation patients.

The Role of Targeted HIV Screening in the Emergency Department: A Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection continues to expand worldwide, and a significant proportion of infection is still undiagnosed. Recent studies have addressed the impact and feasibility of 'opt-out' HIV screening in Emergency Departments (EDs) in urban settings at high HIV prevalence, whereas little is known about the yield of implementing 'targeted' HIV testing, especially in low-prevalence areas. OBJECTIVE: The present study undertakes a scoping review of research carried out on the implementation of targeted HIV screening of adult in EDs to determine the impact, feasibility and acceptability of HIV testing in different HIV prevalence settings. DESIGN: Online databases (EMBASE, MEDLINE) were used to identify papers published between 2000 to 2020. A three-concept search was employed with HIV (HIV, Human immunodeficiency virus infection, HIV infections), targeted testing (Target, screening or testing) and emergency medicine (Emergency Service, emergency ward, A&E, accident and emergency or Emergency Department) (28th February 2020). Only full-text articles written in English, French, Spanish or Italian and using impact and/or feasibility and/or acceptability of the program as primary or secondary outcomes were analysed. RESULTS: The search provided 416 articles. Of these, 12 met inclusion criteria and were included in the final review. Most of the included studies were carried out in the United States (n=8; 67%) and in areas of high HIV prevalence (n=11; 92%). Three (20%) were randomized control studies. While the rate of newly diagnosed HIV cases varied widely (0.03-2.2%), likely due to methodological heterogeneity between studies, the linkage of new HIV diagnosis was often high (80-100%) and median CD4+ cell count was always greater than 200 cells per microliter. Targeted HIV screening was found to be cost-effective (out of 2 studies) and well accepted by participants (out 2 studies). CONCLUSIONS: Targeted HIV screening at the ED can be impactful, feasible and well accepted, but often requires extra funding and staff. Most previous work has focused on areas of high disease prevalence.