External Validation of a Tool to Identify Low-Risk Patients With Isolated Subdural Hematoma and Preserved Consciousness.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The SafeSDH Tool was derived to identify patients with isolated (no other type of intracranial hemorrhage) subdural hematoma who are at very low risk of neurologic deterioration, neurosurgical intervention, or death. Patients are low risk by the tool if they have none of the following: use of anticoagulant or nonaspirin antiplatelet agent, Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) <14, more than 1 discrete hematoma, hematoma thickness >5 mm, or midline shift. We attempted to externally validate the SafeSDH Tool. METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review of patients aged ≥16 with a GCS ≥13 and isolated subdural hematoma who presented to 1 of 6 academic and community hospitals from 2005 to 2018. The primary outcome, a composite of neurologic deterioration (seizure, altered mental status, or symptoms requiring repeat imaging), neurosurgical intervention, discharge on hospice, and death, was abstracted from discharge summaries. Hematoma thickness, number of hematomas, and midline shift were abstracted from head imaging reports. Anticoagulant use, antiplatelet use, and GCS were gathered from the admission record. RESULTS: The validation data set included 753 patients with isolated subdural hematoma. Mortality during the index admission was 2.1%; 26% of patients underwent neurosurgical intervention. For the composite outcome, sensitivity was 99% (95% confidence interval [CI] 97 to 100), and specificity was 31% (95% CI 27 to 35). The tool identified 162 (21.5%) patients as low risk. Negative likelihood ratio was 0.03 (95% CI 0.01 to 0.11). CONCLUSION: The SafeSDH Tool identified patients with isolated subdural hematoma who are at low risk for poor outcomes with high sensitivity. With prospective validation, these low-risk patients could be safe for management in less intensive settings.

Cerebral Fat Embolism After a Fall.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral fat embolism is a rare diagnosis that can occur after significant long bone trauma. Most patients have evidence of pulmonary involvement, but this case involved a patient with a pure neurologic manifestation of a fat embolism. CASE REPORT: An 89-year-old woman presented to the emergency department as a transfer from an outside hospital with a diagnosis of air embolism after an episode of altered mental status and expressive aphasia. A secondary review of the patient's computed tomography angiography head imaging uncovered a cerebral fat embolism as the cause of the patient's acute neurologic event. The cerebral fat embolism was likely from a remote sacral fracture 6 weeks prior. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: When a patient presents with a concern for a stroke-like symptoms and a cerebral fat embolism is diagnosed, a thorough examination of the patient must be performed to identify the primary fracture site. Geriatric long bone fractures have well-known significant morbidity and mortality. An associated cerebral fat embolism can increase that mortality and morbidity and prompt diagnosis is important.

The Utility of Computed Tomography Angiogram in Patients with Mild Traumatic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) and traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (tSAH) differ significantly in their mortality and management. Although computed tomography angiography (CTA) is critical to guide timely interventions in aSAH, it lacks recognized benefit in assessing tSAH. Despite this, CTA commonly is included in tSAH evaluation. OBJECTIVE: Determine if any clinically significant cerebral aneurysms are identified on CTA in emergency department (ED) patients with a tSAH. METHODS: Retrospective observational study of consecutive blunt head trauma patients ages ≥ 16 years with Glasgow Coma Scale score (GCS) ≥ 13 who presented to an academic ED (100,000 annual visits) over a 7-year period. Those included had a CT-diagnosed SAH and underwent head CTA. The primary endpoint was the detection of any clinically significant brain aneurysms. RESULTS: There were 297 patients that met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-six patients (8.8%) had an incidental aneurysm discovered; one underwent elective outpatient intervention. Aneurysm-positive patients were more likely to be female (69.2% vs. 46.9%, p = 0.003), age 60 years or older (80.8% vs. 52.4%, p = 0.005), and be on anticoagulation (42.3% vs. 28.0%, p = 0.03). There were no differences between the aneurysm-positive and -negative patients with respect to GCS, history of hypertension, or mechanism of injury. CONCLUSIONS: In this 7-year retrospective chart review, CTA in patients with tSAH and GCS ≥ 13 did not reveal any clinically relevant cerebral aneurysms. One incidental aneurysm later underwent outpatient neurovascular intervention. In the absence of specific clinical concerns, CTA has minimal value in well-appearing patients with a tSAH.

Unscheduled return visits to the emergency department with ICU admission: A trigger tool for diagnostic error.

BACKGROUND: It is believed that patients who return to the Emergency Department (ED) and require admission are thought to represent failures in diagnosis, treatment or discharge planning. Screening readmission rates or patients who return within 72 h have been used in ED Quality Assurance efforts. These metrics require significant effort in chart review and only rarely identify care deviations. OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to evaluate the yield of reviewing ED return visits that resulted in an ICU admission. This study was conducted to evaluate the yield of reviewing ED return visits that resulted in an ICU admission. We planned to assess if the return visits with ICU admission were associated with deviations in care, and secondarily, to understand the common causes of error in this group. METHODS: Retrospective review of patients presenting to a university affiliated ED between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2015 and returned within 14 days requiring ICU admission. RESULTS: From 1,106,606 ED visits, 511 patients returned within 14 days and were admitted to an ICU. 223 patients returned for a reason related to the index visit (43.6%). Of these related returns, 31 (13.9%) had a deviation in care on the index visit. When a standard diagnostic process of care framework was applied to these 31 cases, 47.3% represented failures in the initial diagnostic pathway. CONCLUSION: Reviewing 14-day returns leading to ICU admission, while an uncommon event, has a higher yield in the understanding of quality issues involving diagnostic as well as systems errors.

Is repeat head CT necessary in patients with mild traumatic intracranial hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Patients with traumatic intracranial hemorrhage (TIH) frequently receive repeat head CT scans (RHCT) to assess for progression of TIH. The utility of this practice has been brought into question, with some studies suggesting that in the absence of progressive neurologic symptoms, the RHCT does not lead to clinical interventions. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of consecutive patients with CT-documented TIH and GCS ≥ 13 presenting to an academic emergency department from 2009 to 2013. Demographic, historical, and physical exam variables, number of CT scans during admission were collected with primary outcomes of: neurological decline, worsening findings on repeat CT scan, and the need for neurosurgical intervention. RESULTS: Of these 1126 patients with mild traumatic intracranial hemorrhage, 975 had RHCT. Of these, 54 (5.5% (4.2-7.2 95 CI) had neurological decline, 73 (7.5% 5.9-9.3 95 CI) had hemorrhage progression on repeat CT scan, and 58 (5.9% 4.5-7.6 95 CI) required neurosurgical intervention. Only 3 patients (0.3% 0.1-0.9% 95 CI) underwent neurosurgical intervention due to hemorrhage progression on repeat CT scan without neurological decline. In this scenario, the number of RHCT scans needed to be performed to identify this one patient is 305. CONCLUSIONS: RHCT after initial findings of TIH and GCS ≥ 13 leading to a change to operative management in the absence of neurologic progression is a rare event. A protocol that includes selective RHCT including larger subdural hematomas or patients with coagulopathy (vitamin K inhibitors and anti-platelet agents) may be a topic for further study.

Seizure frequency in patients with isolated subdural hematoma and preserved consciousness.

Background: Seizures are a complication of subdural hematoma (SDH), and there is substantial variability in the use of seizure prophylaxis for patients with SDH. However, the incidence of seizures in patients with SDH without severe neurotrauma is not clear. The objective of this study was to assess the frequency of and factors associated with seizures in patients with isolated SDH (iSDH) without severe neurotrauma. Methods: In this retrospective, observational study, we identified adults with Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) ≥13 and computed tomography (CT)-documented iSDH. The primary outcome was clinical seizure frequency. Seizure medication use was also assessed. Fisher's exact test and logistic regression were used to assess association. Results: Of 643 patients with iSDH, 14 (2.2%) had seizures during hospitalization. Of 630 patients (98%) not receiving seizure medication prior to SDH, 522 (82.9%) received levetiracetam. Of the patients who received a seizure medication, 12 (2.3%) had a seizure, while of the 121 patients who did not receive seizure medications, 2 (1.9%) had a seizure (p = .49). In multivariable regression, the only variable significantly associated with seizure was thickness of subdural hematoma (OR 1.16, p = .005). Conclusion: In patients with iSDH and preserved consciousness, in-hospital seizures were rare regardless of seizure medications use.

A natural language processing algorithm to extract characteristics of subdural hematoma from head CT reports.

PURPOSE: Subdural hematoma (SDH) is the most common form of traumatic intracranial hemorrhage, and radiographic characteristics of SDH are predictive of complications and patient outcomes. We created a natural language processing (NLP) algorithm to extract structured data from cranial computed tomography (CT) scan reports for patients with SDH. METHODS: CT scan reports from patients with SDH were collected from a single center. All reports were based on cranial CT scan interpretations by board-certified attending radiologists. Reports were then coded by a pair of physicians for four variables: number of SDH, size of midline shift, thickness of largest SDH, and side of largest SDH. Inter-rater reliability was assessed. The annotated reports were divided into training (80%) and test (20%) datasets. Relevant information was extracted from text using a pattern-matching approach, due to the lack of a mention-level gold-standard corpus. Then, the NLP pipeline components were integrated using the Apache Unstructured Information Management Architecture. Output performance was measured as algorithm accuracy compared to the data coded by the two ED physicians. RESULTS: A total of 643 scans were extracted. The NLP algorithm accuracy was high: 0.84 for side of largest SDH, 0.88 for thickness of largest SDH, and 0.92 for size of midline shift. CONCLUSION: A NLP algorithm can structure key data from non-contrast head CT reports with high accuracy. The NLP is a potential tool to detect important radiographic findings from electronic health records, and, potentially, add decision support capabilities.

72h returns: A trigger tool for diagnostic error.

BACKGROUND: Patients who return to the Emergency Department (ED) within 72h of discharge are often used for ED Quality Assurance efforts, however little is known about the yield of this kind of review and the types of errors it identifies. Our objective was to identify the prevalence, types and severity of errors in these cases. METHODS: Retrospective review of patients who presented to an urban, university affiliated ED between 10/1/2012-9/30/2015 who returned within 72 h requiring hospital admission. RESULTS: There were 413,167 ED visits during the study period with 2001 (0.48%) patients who returned within 72h and were admitted to the hospital. An event requiring further investigation was identified in 59 (2.95%) of these patients and 50 (2.49%) of them were deemed to represent a deviation from optimal care. Of these, 48 (96%) represented diagnostic error. When a standard diagnostic process of care framework was applied to these, the majority of cases represented failures in the initial diagnostic pathway (29 cases, 60.4%). When Error Severity Codes were applied, 16 (32%) resulted in minor harm and 34 (68%) resulted in major harm or death. CONCLUSION: Screening of 72h ED returns has low yield in identifying suboptimal care, with less than 3% of cases representing deviations from standard care. Of these, the majority represent cognitive errors in the diagnostic pathway. These reviews may be useful as a tool for Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation of individual clinicians, however likely serve less value in identifying systems issues contributing to unsafe care.

Utilization of head CT during injury visits to United States emergency departments: 2012-2015.

INTRODUCTION: Studies have shown increasing utilization of head computed tomography (CT) imaging of emergency department (ED) patients presenting with an injury-related visit. Multiple initiatives, including the Choosing Wisely™ campaign and evidence-based clinical decision support based on validated decision rules, have targeted head CT use in patients with injuries. Therefore, we investigated national trends in the use of head CT during injury-related ED visits from 2012 to 2015. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of data from the annual United States (U.S.) National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2012 to 2015. The study population was defined as injury-related ED visits, and we sought to determine the percentage in which a head CT was ordered and, secondarily, to determine both the diagnostic yield of clinically significant intracranial findings and hospital characteristics associated with increased head CT utilization. RESULTS: Between 2012 and 2015, 12.25% (95% confidence interval [CI] 11.48-13.02%) of injury-related visits received at least one head CT. Overall head CT utilization showed an increased trend during the study period (2012: 11.7%, 2015: 13.23%, p = 0.09), but the results were not statistically significant. The diagnostic yield of head CT for a significant intracranial injury over the period of four years was 7.4% (9.68% in 2012 vs. 7.67% in 2015, p = 0.23). CONCLUSIONS: Head CT use along with diagnostic yield has remained stable from 2012 to 2015 among patients presenting to the ED for an injury-related visit.

RSV in adult ED patients: Do emergency providers consider RSV as an admission diagnosis?

BACKGROUND: Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) has been recognized for over half a century as a cause of morbidity in infants and children. Over the past 20years, data has emerged linking RSV as a cause of illness in adults resulting in 177,000 annual hospitalizations and up to 14,000 deaths among older adults. OBJECTIVE: Characterize clinical variables in a cohort of adult RSV patients. We hypothesize that emergency physicians do not routinely consider RSV in the differential diagnosis (DDx) of influenza like illness. METHODS: Observational study of all adult inpatients, age≥19, with a positive RSV swab ordered within 48h of their hospital visit, including their emergency department (ED) visit, and who initially presented to a university affiliated urban 100,000 annual visit emergency department from 2007 to 2014. A data collection form was created, and a single trained clinical research assistant abstracted demographic, clinical variables. ED providers were given credit for RSV DDx if an RSV swab was ordered as part of the diagnostic ED workup. RESULTS: 295 consecutive inpatients (mean age=66.5years, range, 19-97, 53% male) were RSV positive during the 7-year study period. 207 cases (70%) were age≥60. 76 (26%) had fever, 86 (29%) had O2sat <92% and 145 (49%) had wheezing. 279 patients required admission, 30 needed ICU stay and overall mortality was 12 patients (4%). Age≥60 was associated with overall mortality (p=0.09). There were 106 (36%) immunocompromised patients (23% transplant, 40% cancer, 33% steroid use) in the cohort. A diagnosis of RSV was considered in the ED in 105 (36%) of patients. Being immunocompromised, having COPD/asthma, O2sat <92, or wheezing did not alert the ED provider to order an RSV test. CONCLUSION: Adults can harbor RSV as this can lead to significant mobility and mortality, especially in individuals who are over the age of 60. RSV is not being considered in the DDx diagnosis, and this was especially surprising in the transplant/immunocompromised subgroups. Given antiviral treatment options, educational efforts should be undertaken to raise awareness of RSV in adults.

Identifying patients with mild traumatic intracranial hemorrhage at low risk of decompensation who are safe for ED observation.

BACKGROUND: Patients with traumatic intracranial hemorrhage and mild traumatic brain injury (mTIH) receive broadly variable care which often includes transfer to a trauma center, neurosurgery consultation and ICU admission. However, there may be a low risk cohort of patients who can be managed without utilizing such significant resources. OBJECTIVE: Describe mTIH patients who are at low risk of clinical or radiographic decompensation and can be safely managed in an ED observation unit (EDOU). METHODS: Retrospective evaluation of patients age≥16, GCS≥13 with ICH on CT. Primary outcomes included clinical/neurologic deterioration, CT worsening or need for neurosurgery. RESULTS: 1185 consecutive patients were studied. 814 were admitted and 371 observed patients (OP) were monitored in the EDOU or discharged from the ED after a period of observation. None of the OP deteriorated clinically. 299 OP (81%) had a single lesion on CT; 72 had mixed lesions. 120 patients had isolated subarachnoid hemorrhage (iSAH) and they did uniformly well. Of the 119 OP who had subdural hematoma (SDH), 6 had worsening CT scans and 3 underwent burr hole drainage procedures as inpatients due to persistent SDH without new deficit. Of the 39 OP who had cerebral contusions, 3 had worsening CT scans and one required NSG admission. No patient returned to the ED with a complication. Follow-up was obtained on 81% of OP. 2 patients with SDH required burr hole procedure >2weeks after discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with mTIH, particularly those with iSAH, have very low rates of clinical or radiographic deterioration and may be safe for monitoring in an emergency department observation unit.

Opportunity to reduce transfer of patients with mild traumatic brain injury and intracranial hemorrhage to a Level 1 trauma center.

OBJECTIVE: Current guidelines do not address the disposition of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and resultant intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). Emergency medicine clinicians working in hospitals without neurosurgery coverage typically transfer patients with both to a trauma center with neurosurgery capability. Evidence is accruing which demonstrates that the risk of neurologic decompensation depends on the type of ICH and as a result, not every patient may need to be transferred. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for admission among patients with mild TBI and ICH who were transferred from a community hospital to the emergency department (ED) of a Level 1 trauma center. METHODS: Study subjects were patients ≥18years of age who were transferred from a community hospital to the ED of an urban, academic Level 1 trauma center between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016, and with an isolated traumatic ICH. Patients who had an epidural hematoma, were deemed to require a trauma center's level of service, were found to have non-traumatic ICHs, or had a Glasgow Coma Scale of <13 were excluded. Using a multivariable logistic regression model, we sought to determine patient factors and Computed Tomography (CT) findings which were associated with admission (to the floor, intensive care unit, or operating room with neurosurgery) of the Level 1 trauma center. RESULTS: 644 transferred patients were identified; 205 remained eligible after exclusion criteria. Presence of warfarin (odds ratio [OR] 4.09, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.64, 10.25, p=0.0026) and a subdural hematoma (SDH) ≥1 cm (OR 6.28, 95% CI 1.24, 31.71, p=0.0263) were independently statistically significant factors predicting admission. Age, sex, GCS, presence of neurologic deficit, aspirin use, clopidogrel use, SDH <1 cm, IPH, and SAH were each independently not significant predictive factors of an admission. CONCLUSIONS: After controlling for factors, transferred patients with mild TBI with a SDH ≥1 cm or on warfarin have a higher odds ratio of requiring inpatient admission to a Level 1 trauma center. While these patients may require admission, there may be opportunities to develop and study a low risk traumatic intracranial hemorrhage protocol, which keeps a subgroup of patients with a mild TBI and resultant ICH at community hospitals with access to a nearby Level 1 trauma center.

A prediction model to identify patients without a concerning intraabdominal diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with abdominal diagnoses constitute 5% to 10% of all emergency department (ED) presentations. The goal of this study is to identify which of these patients will have a nonconcerning diagnosis based on demographic, physical examination, and basic laboratory testing. METHODS: Consecutive patients from July 2013 to March 2014 discharged with a gastrointestinal (GI) diagnosis who presented to an urban, university-affiliated ED were identified. The cohort was split into a derivation set and a validation set. Using univariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis, a risk score was created based on the deviation data and then tested on the validation data. RESULTS: There were 8852 patients with a GI diagnosis during the study period. A total of 7747 (87.5%) of them had a nonconcerning diagnosis. The logistic regression model identified 13 variables that predict a concerning GI diagnosis and created a scoring system ranging from 0 to 20. The area under the receiver operating characteristic was 0.81. When dichotomized at greater than or equal to 7 vs less than 7, the risk score has a sensitivity of 91% (95% confidence interval [CI], 88-94), specificity of 46% (95% CI, 44-48), positive predictive value of 17% (95% CI, 15-19) and negative predictive value of 98% (95% CI, 97-99). CONCLUSION: One can determine with a high degree of certainty, based only on an initial evaluation and screening laboratory work (excluding radiology) whether a patient who presents with a GI-related complaint has a nonconcerning diagnosis. This model could be used as a tool to aid in quality assurance when reviewing patients discharged with GI complaints and with future study, as a secondary triage instrument in a crowded ED environment, and aid in resource allocation.

Seventy-Two-Hour Returns Are Not Useful in Identifying Emergency Department Patients With a Concerning Intra-Abdominal Process.

BACKGROUND: Seventy-two-hour returns to the emergency department (ED) have been used to identify patients who are believed to have been more likely to have suffered medical errors, missed diagnoses, or failure or inadequacy of previous treatment or discharge planning. This approach has been criticized as arbitrary, however, citing the lack of evidence to support its homogenous application to all organ system-based complaints and the unclear implication of returns. OBJECTIVE: Given the significant burden of gastrointestinal (GI)-related illness, our objective was to determine if an audit of 72-hour returns of GI-related diagnoses appropriately captures patients who return with a concerning diagnosis (CD) on their second visit. METHODS: Ten emergency physicians were surveyed and a list of concerning, "not to be missed" diagnoses were generated. The demographic and clinical variables were collected and analyzed on all patients with a GI International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision code presenting to an urban, university-affiliated ED between July 2013 and March 2014. RESULTS: There were 10,012 patient visits during the study period, including 1006 patients (10%) with ≥ 1 return visits. One hundred forty-seven patients (15%) returned within 72 hours, and 859 patients (85%) returned in > 72 hours. Patients that returned within 72 hours were no more likely to have a CD than those that returned at a later time (13.6% vs. 14.4%; p = 0.79). CONCLUSION: An audit of 72-hour returns only captures a small percentage of patients that return with a CD, and these patients are at no greater risk of harboring a CD than those that return at a later date.

Can video-based telehealth examinations of the abdomen safely determine the need for imaging?

There is little evidence on the reliability of the video-based telehealth physical examinations. Our objective was to evaluate the feasibility of a physician-directed abdominal examination using telehealth. This was a prospective, blinded observational study of patients >19 years of age presenting with abdominal pain to a large, academic emergency department. In addition to their usual care, patients had a video-based telehealth examination by an emergency physician early in the visit. We compared the in-person and telehealth providers' decisions on imaging. Thirty patients were enrolled and providers' recommendations for imaging were YES (telehealth: 18 (60%); in-person: 22 (73%)), UNSURE (telehealth: 9 (30%); in-person: 2 (7%)) and NO (telehealth: 6 (20%); in-person: 3 (10%)). There were 20 patients for whom both telehealth and in-person providers were not unsure; of these, 16 (80%, 95% confidence interval 56.3-94.3%) patients had a provider agreement on the need for imaging. While the use of video-based telehealth may be feasible for patients seeking emergency department care for abdominal pain, further study is needed to determine how it may be safely deployed. Currently, caution should be exercised when evaluating the need for abdominal imaging remotely.

Can tablet video-based telehealth assessment of the abdomen safely determine the need for abdominal imaging? A pilot study.

Objective: There is limited evidence on the reliability of video-based physical examinations. We aimed to evaluate the safety of a remote physician-directed abdominal examination using tablet-based video. Methods: This was a prospective observational pilot study of patients >19 years old presenting with abdominal pain to an academic emergency department July 9, 2021-December 21, 2021. In addition to usual care, patients had a tablet video-based telehealth history and examination by an emergency physician who was otherwise not involved in the visit. Both telehealth and in-person clinicians were asked about the patient's need for abdominal imaging (yes/no). Thirty-day chart review searched for subsequent ED visits, hospitalizations, and procedures. Our primary outcome was agreement between telehealth and in-person clinicians on imaging need. Our secondary outcome was potentially missed imaging by the telehealth physicians leading to morbidity or mortality. We used descriptive and bivariate analyses to examine characteristics associated with disagreement on imaging needs. Results: Fifty-six patients were enrolled; the median age was 43 years (interquartile range: 27-59), 31 (55%) were female. The telehealth and in-person clinicians agreed on the need for imaging in 42 (75%) of the patients (95% confidence interval [CI]: 62%-86%), with moderate agreement with Cohen's kappa ((k = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.15-0.67). For study patients who had a procedure within 24 hours of ED arrival (n = 3, 5.4%, 95% CI: 1.1%-14.9%) or within 30 days (n = 7, 12.5%, 95% CI: 5.2%-24.1%), neither telehealth physicians nor in-person clinicians missed timely imaging. Conclusion: In this pilot study, telehealth physicians and in-person clinicians agreed on the need for imaging for the majority of patients with abdominal pain. Importantly, telehealth physicians did not miss the identification of imaging needs for patients requiring urgent or emergent surgery.

CLUE: a randomized comparative effectiveness trial of IV nicardipine versus labetalol use in the emergency department.

INTRODUCTION: Our purpose was to compare the safety and efficacy of food and drug administration (FDA) recommended dosing of IV nicardipine versus IV labetalol for the management of acute hypertension. METHODS: Multicenter randomized clinical trial. Eligible patients had 2 systolic blood pressure (SBP) measures ≥180 mmHg and no contraindications to nicardipine or labetalol. Before randomization, the physician specified a target SBP ± 20 mmHg (the target range: TR). The primary endpoint was the percent of subjects meeting TR during the initial 30 minutes of treatment. RESULTS: Of 226 randomized patients, 110 received nicardipine and 116 labetalol. End organ damage preceded treatment in 143 (63.3%); 71 nicardipine and 72 labetalol patients. Median initial SBP was 212.5 (IQR 197, 230) and 212 mmHg (IQR 200,225) for nicardipine and labetalol patients (P = 0.68), respectively. Within 30 minutes, nicardipine patients more often reached TR than labetalol (91.7 vs. 82.5%, P = 0.039). Of 6 BP measures (taken every 5 minutes) during the study period, nicardipine patients had higher rates of five and six instances within TR than labetalol (47.3% vs. 32.8%, P = 0.026). Rescue medication need did not differ between nicardipine and labetalol (15.5 vs. 22.4%, P = 0.183). Labetalol patients had slower heart rates at all time points (P < 0.01). Multivariable modeling showed nicardipine patients were more likely in TR than labetalol patients at 30 minutes (OR 2.73, P = 0.028; C stat for model = 0.72) CONCLUSIONS: Patients treated with nicardipine are more likely to reach the physician-specified SBP target range within 30 minutes than those treated with labetalol.

Clinical predictors of significant findings on head computed tomographic angiography.

BACKGROUND: Although head computed tomographic angiography (CTA) is a sensitive tool for the evaluation of neurological symptoms in the emergency department (ED), little is known about which clinical signs predict significant CTA findings. OBJECTIVES: To identify clinical factors that predict significant findings on head CTA in patients presenting to the ED with neurological complaints. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of consecutive adult patients undergoing head CTA over a 6-month period in an urban, tertiary care ED with an annual volume of 76,000. Significant head CTA findings were defined as clinically significant neurological abnormalities undetected by previous imaging studies. Demographics, chief complaint, results of the neurological examinations (NE), and head non-contrast computed tomography (CT) results were used as predictors of significant head CTA. All predictors with a univariate p < 0.2 using Pearson's chi-squared were entered stepwise into a multivariable logistic regression including odds ratios (OR), with inclusion restricted to p < 0.05. RESULTS: Chart review yielded 456 cases; 215 (47%) were male. Mean age was 62 (SD 20) years. There were 189 patients (41%) with abnormal CTAs. Multivariable logistic regression indicated five variables that predicted a clinically significant CTA: abnormal CT (OR 3.72), chief complaint of subarachnoid hemorrhage-type headache (OR 2.30), and motor deficit (OR 2.23), visual deficit (OR 2.23), and other focal deficit (OR 2.18) on NE. A chief complaint of trauma (OR 0.23) predicted a normal CTA. CONCLUSIONS: Specific historical and focal neurological findings are useful for predicting clinically significant findings on head CTA.