Integrating the clinical frailty scale with emergency department triage systems for elder patients: A prospective study.

BACKGROUND: This prospective study investigated whether integrating the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) with a triage system would improve triage for older adult emergency department (ED) patients. METHODS: We enrolled ED patients aged 65 years or older at 5 study sites in Taiwan between December 2020 and April 2021. All eligible patients were assigned a triage level by using the Taiwan Triage and Acuity Scale (TTAS) in accordance with usual practice. A CFS score was collected from them. The primary outcome was critical events, defined as ICU admission or in-hospital mortality. The secondary outcomes were ED medical expenditures, number of orders in the ED, and length of hospital stay (LOS). We applied a reclassification concept and integrated the CFS and TTAS to create the Triage Frailty Acuity Scale (TFAS). We compared the outcomes achieved between the TTAS and TFAS. RESULTS: Of 1023 screened ED patients, 890 were enrolled. The majority were assigned to TTAS level 3 (73.26%) and had CFS scores of 4 to 9 (55.96%). The primary outcomes were better predicted by the TFAS than the TTAS (area under the curve [AUC] 0.82 vs. 064). Using multivariable approach, TTAS level 1 (odds ratio [OR], 4.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7-13.4) and CFS score (OR, 5.8; 95% CI, 1.9-17.2) were significantly associated with the primary outcomes. For older adults at the highest triage level, the TFAS was not associated with an increase in the primary outcomes compared with the TTAS; however, the TFAS was associated with a significant decrease in the number of older ED patients assigned to triage levels 3 to 5. In addition, TFAS had a longer average LOS but did not have a higher average number of orders or ED medical expenditures compared to TTAS. CONCLUSIONS: The TFAS identified more older ED patients who had been triaged as less emergent but proceeded to need ICU admission or in-hospital death. Incorporating the CFS into triage may reduce the under-triage of older adults in the ED.

Comparison of the diagnostic accuracy of monocyte distribution width and procalcitonin in sepsis cases in the emergency department: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis and treatment of patients with sepsis reduce mortality significantly. In terms of exploring new diagnostic tools of sepsis, monocyte distribution width (MDW), as part of the white blood cell (WBC) differential count, was first reported in 2017. MDW greater than 20 and abnormal WBC count together provided a satisfactory accuracy and was proposed as a novel diagnostic tool of sepsis. This study aimed to compare MDW and procalcitonin (PCT)'s diagnostic accuracy on sepsis in the emergency department. METHODS: This was a single-center prospective cohort study. Laboratory examinations including complete blood cell and differentiation count (CBC/DC), MDW, PCT were obtained while arriving at the ED. We divided patients into non-infection, infection without systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), infection with SIRS, and sepsis-3 groups. This study's primary outcome is the sensitivity and specificity of MDW, PCT, and MDW + WBC in differentiating septic and non-septic patients. In addition, the cut-off value for MDW was established to maximize sensitivity at an optimal level of specificity. RESULTS: From May 2019 to September 2020, 402 patients were enrolled for data analysis. Patient number in each group was: non-infection 64 (15.9%), infection without SIRS 82 (20.4%), infection with SIRS 202 (50.2%), sepsis-3 15 (7.6%). The AUC of MDW, PCT, and MDW + WBC to predict infection with SIRS was 0.753, 0.704, and 0.784, respectively (p < 0.01). The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of MDW using 20 as the cutoff were 86.4%, 54.2%, 76.4%, and 70%, compared to 32.9%, 88%, 82.5%, and 43.4% using 0.5 ng/mL as the PCT cutoff value. On combing MDW and WBC count, the sensitivity and NPV further increased to 93.4% and 80.3%, respectively. In terms of predicting sepsis-3, the AUC of MDW, PCT, and MDW + WBC was 0.72, 0.73, and 0.70, respectively. MDW, using 20 as cutoff, exhibited sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of 90.6%, 37.1%, 18.7%, and 96.1%, respectively, compared to 49.1%, 78.6%, 26.8%, and 90.6% when 0.5 ng/mL PCT was used as cutoff. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, MDW is a more sensitive biomarker than PCT in predicting infection-related SIRS and sepsis-3 in the ED. MDW < 20 shows a higher NPV to exclude sepsis-3. Combining MDW and WBC count further improves the accuracy in predicting infection with SIRS but not sepsis-3. Trial registration The study was retrospectively registered to the ClinicalTrial.gov (NCT04322942) on March 26th, 2020.

Using mobility status as a frailty indicator to improve the accuracy of a computerised five-level triage system among older patients in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Owing to societal ageing, the number of older individuals visiting emergency departments (EDs) has increased in recent years. For this patient population, accurate triage systems are required. This retrospective cohort study assessed the accuracy of a computerised five-level triage system, the Taiwan Triage and Acuity System (TTAS), by determining its ability to predict in-hospital mortality in older adult patients and compare it with the corresponding rate in younger adult patients presenting to EDs. The association between frailty, which the current triage system does not consider, was also investigated. METHODS: The medical records of adult patients admitted to a single ED between 2016 and 2017 were reviewed. Data collected included information on demographics, triage level, frailty status, in-hospital mortality, and medical resource utilisation. The patients were divided into four age groups: two older adult groups (older: 65-84 years and very old: ≥85 years) and two younger adult groups (young: 18-39 and middle-aged: 40-64 years). RESULTS: Our study included 265,219 ED adult patients, of whom 64,104 and 16,009 were in the older and very old groups, respectively. The in-hospital mortality rate at each triage level increased with age. The ability of the TTAS to predict in-hospital mortality decreased with age (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUROC]: young: 0.86; middle-aged, 0.84; and older and very old: 0.79). Frailty was associated with in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 2.20; 95% confidence interval, 2.03-2.38). Adding mobility status as a frailty indicator to TTAS only slightly improved its ability to predict in-hospital mortality (AUROC: 0.74-0.77) in patients ≥65 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: The ability of the current triage system to predict in-hospital mortality decreases with age. Although frailty as mobility was associated with in-hospital mortality, its addition to the TTAS only slightly improved the accuracy with which in-hospital mortality in older patients presenting to EDs was predicted.

Two-stage prediction model for in-hospital mortality of patients with influenza infection.

BACKGROUND: Infleunza is a challenging issue in public health. The mortality and morbidity associated with epidemic and pandemic influenza puts a heavy burden on health care system. Most patients with influenza can be treated on an outpatient basis but some required critical care. It is crucial for frontline physicians to stratify influenza patients by level of risk. Therefore, this study aimed to create a prediction model for critical care and in-hospital mortality. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study extracted data from the Chang Gung Research Database. This study included the patients who were diagnosed with influenza between 2010 and 2016. The primary outcome of this study was critical illness. The secondary analysis was to predict in-hospital mortality. A two-stage-modeling method was developed to predict hospital mortality. We constructed a multiple logistic regression model to predict the outcome of critical illness in the first stage, then S1 score were calculated. In the second stage, we used the S1 score and other data to construct a backward multiple logistic regression model. The area under the receiver operating curve was used to assess the predictive value of the model. RESULTS: In the present study, 1680 patients met the inclusion criteria. The overall ICU admission and in-hospital mortality was 10.36% (174 patients) and 4.29% (72 patients), respectively. In stage I analysis, hypothermia (OR = 1.92), tachypnea (OR = 4.94), lower systolic blood pressure (OR = 2.35), diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.87), leukocytosis (OR = 2.22), leukopenia (OR = 2.70), and a high percentage of segmented neutrophils (OR = 2.10) were associated with ICU admission. Bandemia had the highest odds ratio in the Stage I model (OR = 5.43). In stage II analysis, C-reactive protein (OR = 1.01), blood urea nitrogen (OR = 1.02) and stage I model's S1 score were assocaited with in-hospital mortality. The area under the curve for the stage I and II model was 0.889 and 0.766, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The two-stage model is a efficient risk-stratification tool for predicting critical illness and mortailty. The model may be an optional tool other than qSOFA and SIRS criteria.

Validation of the five-tier Taiwan Triage and Acuity Scale for prehospital use by Emergency Medical Technicians.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the inter-rater reliability of the five-level Taiwan Triage and Acuity Scale (TTAS) when used by emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and triage registered nurses (TRNs). Furthermore, it sought to validate the prehospital TTAS scores according to ED hospitalisation rates and medical resource consumption. METHODS: This was a prospective observational study. After training in five-level triage, EMTs triaged patients arriving to the ED and agreement with the nurse triage (TRN) was assessed. Subsequently, these trained research EMTs rode along on ambulance calls and assigned TTAS scores for each patient at the scene, while the on-duty EMTs applied their standard two-tier prehospital triage scale and followed standard practice, blinded to the TTAS scores. The accuracy of the TTAS scores in the field for prediction of hospitalisation and medical resource consumption were analysed using logistic regression and a linear model, respectively, and compared with the accuracy of the current two-tier prehospital triage scale. RESULTS: After EMT's underwent initial training in five-level TTAS, inter-rater agreement between EMTs and TRNs for triage of ED patients was very good (κw=0.825, CI 0.750 to 0.900). For the outcome of hospitalisation, TTAS five-level system (Akaike's Information Criteria (AIC)=486, area under the curve (AUC)=0.75) showed better discrimination compared with TPTS two-level system (AIC=508, AUC=0.66). Triage assignments by the EMTs using the the five-level TTAS was linearly associated with hospitalisation and medical resource consumption. CONCLUSIONS: A five-level prehospital triage scale shows good inter-rater reliability and superior discrimination compared with the two-level system for prediction of hospitalisation and medical resource requirements.

Impact of the caller's emotional state and cooperation on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest recognition and dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

OBJECTIVE: This study determined the impact of the caller's emotional state and cooperation on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) recognition and dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DA-CPR) performance metrics. METHODS: This was a retrospective study using data from November 2015 to October 2016 from the emergency medical service dispatching centre in northern Taiwan. Audio recordings of callers contacting the centre regarding adult patients with non-traumatic OHCA were reviewed. The reviewers assigned an emotional content and cooperation score (ECCS) to the callers. ECCS 1-3 callers were graded as cooperative and ECCS 4-5 callers as uncooperative and highly emotional. The relation between ECCS and OHCA recognition, time to key events and DA-CPR delivery were investigated. RESULTS: Of the 367 cases, 336 (91.6%) callers were assigned ECCS 1-3 with a good inter-rater reliability (k=0.63). Dispatchers recognised OHCA in 251 (68.4%) cases. Compared with callers with ECCS 1, callers with ECCS 2 and 3 were more likely to give unambiguous responses about the patient's breathing status (adjusted OR (AOR)=2.6, 95% CI 1.1 to 6.4), leading to a significantly higher rate of OHCA recognition (AOR=2.3, 95% CI 1.1 to 5.0). Thirty-one callers were rated uncooperative (ECCS 4-5) but had shorter median times to OHCA recognition and chest compression (29 and 122 s, respectively) compared with the cooperative caller group (38 and 170 s, respectively). Nevertheless, those with ECCS 4-5 had a significantly lower DA-CPR delivery rate (54.2% vs 85.9%) due to 'caller refused' or 'overly distraught' factors. CONCLUSIONS: The caller's high emotional state is not a barrier to OHCA recognition by dispatchers but may prevent delivery of DA-CPR instruction. However, DA-CPR instruction followed by first chest compression is possible despite the caller's emotional state if dispatchers are able to skilfully reassure the emotional callers.

Features of hospital and emergency medical service in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients with shockable rhythm.

OBJECTIVE: Predicting the outcome of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients is crucial. We examined hospital characteristics and parameters of emergency medical service (including scene time interval and direct ambulance delivery to intensive heart hospitals) as survival or outcome predictors. STUDY DESIGN: Data from 546 consecutive OHCA shockable patients treated between January 2012 and December 2015 in Taoyuan City (Taiwan, ROC) were collected. In addition to demographic data, location of arrest, initial rhythm, availability of a hospital with or without 24/7 percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), emergency medical service (EMS) time, provision of cardiopulmonary resuscitation by a bystander, presence of a witness at collapse, and level of life support were analysed. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis showed that hospitalisation with immediate PCI availability was an independent predictor (OR: 4.32; 95% CI: 1.27-14.70) solely for the outcome of survival until discharge. The presence of a witness while collapsing (OR: 3.52; 95% CI: 1.03-11.98), EMS response time (OR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.70-0.98), and scene time interval (STI; OR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.81-0.99) were valuable for predicting the neurological outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Direct ambulance delivery to intensive heart hospitals that had 24/7 PCI availability was associated with a higher probability of surviving until discharge in OHCA patients with shockable rhythms. Similarly, a witnessed collapse was correlated with being discharged alive from hospital and recovering with good cerebral performance. In addition, longer response time and scene time interval indicated poorer survival and neurological outcome.

Validation of a Dispatch Protocol with Continuous Quality Control for Cardiac Arrest: A Before-and-After Study at a City Fire Department-Based Dispatch Center.

BACKGROUND: An optimized protocol to help dispatchers identify potential cases of cardiac arrest and provide phone instructions for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may increase the provision of bystander CPR, further improving the survival rate and neurological outcomes. OBJECTIVE: We assessed a revised dispatcher-assisted (DA)-CPR protocol with a continuous quality-improvement feature in a county fire department-based emergency medical services system. METHODS: This was a before-and-after intervention prospective study conducted in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. The participants were out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients from November 2014 to February 2016. Interventional quality control started in August 2015. Approximately 10% of the telephone calls from these OHCA patients were reviewed. RESULTS: In total, 66 and 64 cases were included in the before- and after-intervention groups, respectively. No significant differences were observed in sex, age, day, and time of events, or languages spoken by the callers. After the intervention, we found significant improvements in the rates at which cardiac arrests were recognized (54.5% vs. 68.8%; p = 0.007) and normal breathing was checked (51.5% vs. 76.6%, p = 0.003). Moreover, the frequency with which DA-CPR was provided by the dispatchers improved significantly (50.0% vs. 72.7%; p = 0.046). Significant improvement in patient outcomes was observed with regard to 24-h survival (7.6% vs. 20.3%, p = 0.036) but not with regard to survival to discharge (3.0% vs. 10.9%, p = 0.076). CONCLUSIONS: The study found this DA-CPR protocol, which includes continuous quality control, is promising as it improved the successful recognition of cardiac arrests.

Is 15 minutes an appropriate resuscitation duration before termination of a traumatic cardiac arrest? A case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Previous guidelines suggest up to 15 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) accompanied by other resuscitative interventions before terminating resuscitation of a traumatic cardiac arrest. The current study evaluated the duration of CPR according to outcome using the model of a county-based emergency medical services (EMS) system in Taiwan. METHODS: This study was performed as a prospectively defined retrospective review from EMS records and cardiac arrest registration between June 2011 and November 2012 in Taoyuan, Taiwan. RESULTS: A total of 396 patients were enrolled. Among the blunt injuries, most incidents were traffic accidents (66.5%) followed by falls (31.5%). Bystander CPR was performed in 34 patients (8.6%). Of the patients, 18.4% were sent to intermediate to advanced level traumatic care hospitals. Although 4.8% of patients survived for 24 hours, only 2.3% survived to discharge, and 0.8% achieved cerebral performance category 1 or 2. Among all patients who developed return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), 14.3% of ROSC was achieved within 15 minutes since CPR. Except for 1, most patients who developed ROSC over 24 hours but did not survive to discharge received CPR more than 15 minutes. Four of 6 patients who survived to discharge achieved ROSC after CPR for more than 15 minutes (16, 18, 22, and 24 minutes). Three patients discharged with cerebral performance category 1 or 2 received CPR for 6, 16, and 18 minutes, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Fifteen minutes of CPR before terminating resuscitation is inappropriate for patients undergoing traumatic cardiac arrsests, as longer duration resuscitation increases ROSC and survival.

Comparative Analysis of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Outcomes in Health Clinics, Nursing Homes, and Public Places: Implications for Optimizing Automated External Defibrillator Strategies.

Purpose: Various factors, such as event location and response time, influence the outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Very few studies have explored the delivery of basic life support (BLS) to patients having OHCA at health clinics or nursing homes-settings with professional BLS providers. Thus, in this study, we compared prognostic and survival outcomes between health clinics, nursing homes, and other public places (eg, workplaces and sports facilities/recreational areas) to offer insights for optimizing OHCA outcomes. Patients: This study included adults who had nontraumatic OHCA in Taoyuan City between January 2017 and December 2022. Methods: We collected data on patient characteristics, emergency medical service parameters, onsite patient management, automated external defibrillator (AED) locations, OHCA prognosis, and survival outcomes. Multivariate analyses were performed to predict survival to discharge (primary outcome) and neurological outcomes at discharge (secondary outcome). Results: During the study period, the numbers of OHCA events at health clinics, nursing homes, and other public places were 158, 208, and 1986, respectively. The mean age of OHCA in health medical clinics, nursing home and other public places were 63.4, 81.5 and 64.7, respectively (P value<0.001). The proportion of witnessed events, rate of bystander resuscitation, and frequency of AED utilization were the highest for health clinics (53.2% (84/158), 83.4% (132/158), and 13.3% (21/158), respectively, P value<0.001). The average AED-scene distances and response times were the lowest for health clinics (388.8 m and 5.4 min, respectively). In initial shockable rhythm group, the probabilities of survival to discharge at discharge were the highest for health clinics (aOR=1.41, 95% CI=1.04-1.81, P value=0.041)) and lowest for nursing homes (aOR=0.84, 95% CI=0.76-0.93, P value=0.024). Conclusion: Our research shows that OHCA patients at medical health clinics have higher rates of witnessing and bystander CPR and AED usage than other public places. However, while survival rates for patients with shockable rhythms are slightly better at health clinics, the neurological outcomes are not significantly different. The AED-scene distances are too far to be used effectively.

Effectiveness of Blended Versus Traditional Refresher Training for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Prospective Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Generally, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills decline substantially over time. By combining web-based self-regulated learning with hands-on practice, blended training can be a time- and resource-efficient approach enabling individuals to acquire or refresh CPR skills at their convenience. However, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of blended CPR refresher training compared with that of the traditional method. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated and compared the effectiveness of traditional and blended CPR training through 6-month and 12-month refresher sessions with CPR ability indicators. METHODS: This study recruited participants aged ≥18 years from the Automated External Defibrillator Donation Project. The participants were divided into 4 groups based on the format of the CPR training and refresher training received: (1) initial traditional training (a 30-minute instructor-led, hands-on session) and 6-month traditional refresher training (Traditional6 group), (2) initial traditional training and 6-month blended refresher training (an 18-minute e-learning module; Mixed6 group), (3) initial traditional training and 12-month blended refresher training (Mixed12 group), and (4) initial blended training and 6-month blended refresher training (Blended6 group). CPR knowledge and performance were evaluated immediately after initial training. For each group, following initial training but before refresher training, a learning effectiveness assessment was conducted at 12 and 24 months. CPR knowledge was assessed using a written test with 15 multiple-choice questions, and CPR performance was assessed through an examiner-rated skill test and objectively through manikin feedback. A generalized estimating equation model was used to analyze changes in CPR ability indicators. RESULTS: This study recruited 1163 participants (mean age 41.82, SD 11.6 years; n=725, 62.3% female), with 332 (28.5%), 270 (23.2%), 258 (22.2%), and 303 (26.1%) participants in the Mixed6, Traditional6, Mixed12, and Blended6 groups, respectively. No significant between-group difference was observed in knowledge acquisition after initial training (P=.23). All groups met the criteria for high-quality CPR skills (ie, average compression depth: 5-6 cm; average compression rate: 100-120 beats/min; chest recoil rate: >80%); however, a higher proportion (98/303, 32.3%) of participants receiving blended training initially demonstrated high-quality CPR skills. At 12 and 24 months, CPR skills had declined in all the groups, but the decline was significantly higher in the Mixed12 group, whereas the differences were not significant between the other groups. This finding indicates that frequent retraining can maintain high-quality CPR skills and that blended refresher training is as effective as traditional refresher training. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that 6-month refresher training sessions for CPR are more effective for maintaining high-quality CPR skills, and that as refreshers, self-learning e-modules are as effective as instructor-led sessions. Although the blended learning approach is cost and resource effective, factors such as participant demographics, training environment, and level of engagement must be considered to maximize the potential of this approach. TRIAL REGISTRATION: IGOGO NCT05659108; https://www.cgmh-igogo.tw.

Installation of Public Access Defibrillators for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests: Identifying Suitable Locations by Using a Geographic Information System.

BACKGROUND: Survival following an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest depends on prompt defibrillation. Despite the efforts made to install automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in crowded areas, their usage rate remains suboptimal. This study evaluated the efficiency of installing AEDs at key landmarks in Taoyuan City to enhance accessibility and usage. METHODS AND RESULTS: This retrospective cohort study analyzed nontraumatic public out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases in Taoyuan City from 2017 to 2021, using data from the Taoyuan Fire Department and a regional registry. AED data were collected for 1163 devices. A geographic information system mapped target locations within the city, and real-world walking routes were examined to assess coverage. The primary outcome was actual coverage and the coverage efficiency ratio, calculated as the actual coverage divided by the number of facilities at a location. The coverage efficiency ratio compared the coverage efficiency of target locations with existing public access defibrillators (PADs). Top locations for superior coverage in both downtown and outside downtown areas were bus stops and convenience stores (7-Eleven and FamilyMart), which outperformed existing PADs. Convenience stores had a higher coverage efficiency ratio than the public service sector. Bus stops showed high AED usage rates before ambulance arrival. CONCLUSIONS: The current PAD locations in Taoyuan City offer limited coverage, which highlights the need for strategically installed AEDs, particularly in convenience stores. Policymakers should consider using the cultural relevance and accessibility of convenience stores, particularly 7-Eleven branches, to enhance AED usage rates.

Effects of Dispatcher-Assisted Public-Access Defibrillation Programs on the Outcomes of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Before-and-After Study.

BACKGROUND: Public access defibrillation (PAD) programs have been implemented globally over the past decade. Although PAD can substantially increase the survival of cardiac arrest, PAD use remains low. This study aimed to evaluate whether drawing upon the successful experiences of dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation programs would increase the use of PAD in dispatcher-assisted PAD programs. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study using a before-and-after design was conducted in Taoyuan City using a local out-of-hospital cardiac arrest registry system and data of dispatcher performance derived from audio recordings. The primary outcomes were the rate of bystander PAD use, sustained return of spontaneous circulation, survival to discharge, and favorable neurological outcomes. The secondary outcomes were the performance of dispatchers in terms of PAD instruction and dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation administration, the time interval indicators of dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation. A total of 1159 patients were included and divided into 2 groups: the before-run-in group (502 patients) and the after-run-in group (657 patients). No significant difference was observed between the 2 groups in terms of baseline characteristics. The rate of PAD use in the after-run-in group significantly increased from 5.0% to 8.7% (P=0.015). The rate of favorable neurological outcomes increased from 4.4% to 5.9%, which was not a statistically significant difference. Compared with the before-run-in group, the rate of successful automated external defibrillator acquisition was 13.5% in the after-run-in group (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Implementing a dispatcher-assisted PAD protocol in a municipality setting significantly increased bystander PAD use without affecting dispatcher performance in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest recognition, cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction, or dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation time indicators.

Factors Affecting Self-Harm- or Violence-Related Urgent Psychiatric Consultation During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Taiwan.

Purpose: People's health-care-seeking behaviors considerably changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study evaluated the changes in self-harm- and violence-related urgent psychiatric consultation (UPC) in the emergency department (ED) during different stages of the pandemic and at different levels of hospitals. Patients and Methods: We recruited patients who received UPC during the baseline (2019), peak (2020), and slack (2021) periods of the same time window (calendar weeks 4-18) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Demographic data such as age, sex, and referral type (by the police/emergency medical system) were also recorded. Results: We found female gender and younger age associated with higher risk of self-harm-related UPCs, whereas patients visiting regional hospitals, male patients, and patients referred by the policy/emergency medical system, had a higher risk of violence-related UPCs. After adjustment, the different pandemic stages were not significantly associated with self-harm- or violence-related UPCs. Conclusion: Patient's demographic data, but not the pandemic itself, may be responsible for the changes in self-harm- and violence-related UPCs during the pandemic.

Impact of COVID-19 by Pandemic Wave among Patients with Gastroenterology Symptoms in the Emergency Departments at a Medical Center in Taiwan.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected emergency department (ED) usage. This study examines changes in the number of ED visits for gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and nonemergency GI conditions, such as acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and constipation, before the pandemic and at the peak and slack periods of the pandemic in Taiwan. This retrospective observational study was conducted at a referral medical center in northern Taiwan. We recorded the number of weekly ED visits for GI bleeding, AGE, and constipation from 2019 to 2021. We then compared the baseline period (calendar weeks 4-18 and 21-31, 2019) with two peak pandemic periods (period 1, calendar weeks 4-18, 2020; period 2, calendar weeks 21-31, 2021) and their corresponding slack periods. The decline in the number of ED visits during the two peak pandemic periods for GI bleeding (-18.4% and -30.2%) were not as substantial as for AGE (-64.1% and -76.7%) or for constipation (-44.4% and -63.6%), but GI bleeding cases were still significantly lower in number relative to the baseline. During the slack period, the number of ED visits for all three diagnoses rebounded but did not exceed the baseline. Our study revealed that there was a significant decline of GI complaint during the pandemic. This phenomenon was more prominent in nonemergency complaints (AGE and constipation) and less prominent in serious complaints (GI bleeding).

Integrin molecular tension required for focal adhesion maturation and YAP nuclear translocation.

Focal adhesions (FAs) provide the cells linkages to extracellular matrix (ECM) at sites of integrins binding and transmit mechanical forces between the ECM and the actin cytoskeleton. Cells sense and respond to physical stimuli from their surrounding environment through the activation of mechanosensitive signaling pathways, a process called mechanotransduction. In this study, we used RGD-peptide conjugated DNA tension gauge tethers (TGTs) with different tension tolerance (Ttol) to determine the molecular forces required for FA maturation in different sizes and YAP nuclear translocation. We found that the limitation of FA sizes in cells seeded on TGTs with different Ttol were less than 1 µm, 2 µm, 3 µm, and 6 µm for Ttol values of 43 pN, 50 pN, 54 pN, and 56 pN, respectively. This suggests that the molecular tension across integrins increases gradually as FA size increases throughout FA maturation. For YAP nuclear translocation, significant YAP nuclear localization was observed only in the cells seeded on the TGTs with Ttol ≥ 54 pN, but not on TGTs with Ttol ≤ 50 pN, suggesting a threshold of molecular force across integrins for YAP nuclear translocation lies in the range of 50 pN-54 pN.

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Department Visits of Patients with an Emergent or Urgent Diagnosis.

Purpose: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, visits to emergency department (ED) have significantly declined worldwide. The purpose of this study was to identify the trend of visits to ED for different diseases at the peak and slack stages of the epidemic. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective observational study conducted in a tertiary referral medical center in northern Taiwan. We recorded weekly ED visits for myocardial infarction with or without ST-elevation (STEMI or NSTEMI), out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), acute stroke, and congestive heart failure from 2016 to 2021. We compared the local epidemic peak periods (calendar weeks 4-18, 2020 and calendar weeks 21-31, 2021) and its corresponding slack periods (calendar weeks 4-18, 2021 and calendar weeks 21-31, 2020) with the baseline period (2016-2019) using Mann-Whitney test to identify the difference. Results: We observed a significant decline in ED visits (median [Q1, Q3]) during the epidemic for OHCA (6 [5, 7] and 5 [4, 6], p = 0.046, for baseline and peak period, respectively, in week 4-18), acute stroke (41.5 [38, 47] and 35 [28, 39], p < 0.001, in week 4-18, 40 [35, 45] and 35 [28, 40], p = 0.039, in week 21-31) and CHF (28 [24.25, 33] and 19 [12, 23], p < 0.001, in week 4-18, 18 [16, 23] and 13 [11, 16], p = 0.001, in week 21-31). Significant difference was not observed in patients with NSTEMI and STEMI in both week 4-18 and 21-31, and cardiac arrest in week 21-31. There was a rebound in ED visits in the slack period. Conclusion: This study revealed that ED visits significantly declined during the COVID-19 epidemic and rebounded in the slack period. The trend was significant for acute stroke and heart failure but was relatively less prominent effect for emergent events such as cardiac arrest or myocardial infarction.

Revising Vital Signs Criteria for Accurate Triage of Older Adults in the Emergency Department.

Objective: Because of physiologic changes in older adults, their vital signs need to be assessed differently. This study aimed to determine appropriate vital sign cut points for triage designation in older patients presented to the emergency department (ED). Patients and Methods: Data from 78,524 ED visits of patients aged ≥65 years in Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (LCGMH) between 2016 and 2017 were collected. New cut points for vital signs (systolic blood pressure [SBP], heart rate [HR], body temperature [BT], and Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS]) were determined using the critical event rate (the composite of admission to ICU and mortality in hospital) for each vital sign. The newly proposed triage scale was then validated using two other databases (Chang Gung Research Database [CGRD] and Taipei City Hospital [TPECH] database). The Taiwan Triage and Acuity Scale (TTAS) was used in this study. Results: In the LCGMH derivation group, older patients presenting with SBP < 80 mmHg, HR < 40 or > 140 beats per minute (bpm), BT < 35°C, and GCS score 3-8 had a critical event rate of >20% and were proposed to be uptriaged to TTAS level 1. Following a reclassification, a portion of older patients are uptriaged by the newly proposed TTAS, and increase in the critical event rate in TTAS level 1 and level 2 groups compared to the existing TTAS. The newly proposed TTAS exhibited comparable discriminatory ability for triage in older patients compared to the existing TTAS (the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve: CGRD, 0.76 vs 0.62; TPECH, 0.71 vs 0.59). Conclusion: Revising the vital signs triage criteria for older patients could be a way to improve the identification of patients with critical event outcomes in high TTAS level, thereby improving triage accuracy among older patients visiting the ED.

Tree-Based Algorithms and Association Rule Mining for Predicting Patients' Neurological Outcomes After First-Aid Treatment for an Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest During COVID-19 Pandemic: Application of Data Mining.

Objective: The authors performed several tree-based algorithms and an association rules mining as data mining tools to find useful determinants for neurological outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients as well as to assess the effect of the first-aid and basic characteristics in the EMS system. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. The outcome was Cerebral Performance Categories grading on OHCA patients at hospital discharge. Decision tree-based models inclusive of C4.5 algorithm, classification and regression tree and random forest were built to determine an OHCA patient's prognosis. Association rules mining was another data mining method which we used to find the combination of prognostic factors linked to the outcome. Results: The total of 3520 patients were included in the final analysis. The mean age was 67.53 (±18.4) year-old and 63.4% were men. To overcome the imbalance outcome issue in machine learning, the random forest has a better predictive ability for OHCA patients in overall accuracy (91.19%), weighted precision (88.76%), weighted recall (91.20%) and F1 score (0.9) by oversampling adjustment. Under association rules mining, patients who had any witness on the spot when encountering OHCA or who had ever ROSC during first-aid would be highly correlated with good CPC prognosis. Conclusion: The random forest has a better predictive ability for OHCA patients. This paper provides a role model applying several machine learning algorithms to the first-aid clinical assessment that will be promising combining with Artificial Intelligence for applying to emergency medical services.