Comparison of Two Symptom Checkers (Ada and Symptoma) in the Emergency Department: Randomized, Crossover, Head-to-Head, Double-Blinded Study.

BACKGROUND: Emergency departments (EDs) are frequently overcrowded and increasingly used by nonurgent patients. Symptom checkers (SCs) offer on-demand access to disease suggestions and recommended actions, potentially improving overall patient flow. Contrary to the increasing use of SCs, there is a lack of supporting evidence based on direct patient use. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy, safety, usability, and acceptance of 2 SCs, Ada and Symptoma. METHODS: A randomized, crossover, head-to-head, double-blinded study including consecutive adult patients presenting to the ED at University Hospital Erlangen. Patients completed both SCs, Ada and Symptoma. The primary outcome was the diagnostic accuracy of SCs. In total, 6 blinded independent expert raters classified diagnostic concordance of SC suggestions with the final discharge diagnosis as (1) identical, (2) plausible, or (3) diagnostically different. SC suggestions per patient were additionally classified as safe or potentially life-threatening, and the concordance of Ada's and physician-based triage category was assessed. Secondary outcomes were SC usability (5-point Likert-scale: 1=very easy to use to 5=very difficult to use) and SC acceptance net promoter score (NPS). RESULTS: A total of 450 patients completed the study between April and November 2021. The most common chief complaint was chest pain (160/437, 37%). The identical diagnosis was ranked first (or within the top 5 diagnoses) by Ada and Symptoma in 14% (59/437; 27%, 117/437) and 4% (16/437; 13%, 55/437) of patients, respectively. An identical or plausible diagnosis was ranked first (or within the top 5 diagnoses) by Ada and Symptoma in 58% (253/437; 75%, 329/437) and 38% (164/437; 64%, 281/437) of patients, respectively. Ada and Symptoma did not suggest potentially life-threatening diagnoses in 13% (56/437) and 14% (61/437) of patients, respectively. Ada correctly triaged, undertriaged, and overtriaged 34% (149/437), 13% (58/437), and 53% (230/437) of patients, respectively. A total of 88% (385/437) and 78% (342/437) of participants rated Ada and Symptoma as very easy or easy to use, respectively. Ada's NPS was -34 (55% [239/437] detractors; 21% [93/437] promoters) and Symptoma's NPS was -47 (63% [275/437] detractors and 16% [70/437]) promoters. CONCLUSIONS: Ada demonstrated a higher diagnostic accuracy than Symptoma, and substantially more patients would recommend Ada and assessed Ada as easy to use. The high number of unrecognized potentially life-threatening diagnoses by both SCs and inappropriate triage advice by Ada was alarming. Overall, the trustworthiness of SC recommendations appears questionable. SC authorization should necessitate rigorous clinical evaluation studies to prevent misdiagnoses, fatal triage advice, and misuse of scarce medical resources. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Register of Clinical Trials DRKS00024830; https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00024830.

Medical and cardio-vascular emergency department visits during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020: is there a collateral damage? A retrospective routine data analysis.

BACKGROUND: In this retrospective routine data analysis, we investigate the number of emergency department (ED) consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 in Germany compared to the previous year with a special focus on numbers of myocardial infarction and acute heart failure. METHODS: Aggregated case numbers for the two consecutive years 2019 and 2020 were obtained from 24 university hospitals and 9 non-university hospitals in Germany and assessed by age, gender, triage scores, disposition, care level and by ICD-10 codes including the tracer diagnoses myocardial infarction (I21) and heart failure (I50). RESULTS: A total of 2,216,627 ED consultations were analyzed, of which 1,178,470 occurred in 2019 and 1,038,157 in 2020. The median deviation in case numbers between 2019 and 2020 was - 14% [CI (- 11)-(- 16)]. After a marked drop in all cases in the first COVID-19 wave in spring 2020, case numbers normalized during the summer. Thereafter starting in calendar week 39 case numbers constantly declined until the end of the year 2020. The decline in case numbers predominantly concerned younger [- 16%; CI (- 13)-(- 19)], less urgent [- 18%; CI (- 12)-(- 22)] and non-admitted cases [- 17%; CI (- 13)-(- 20)] in particular during the second wave. During the entire observation period admissions for chest pain [- 13%; CI (- 21)-2], myocardial infarction [- 2%; CI (- 9)-11] and heart failure [- 2%; CI (- 10)-6] were less affected and remained comparable to the previous year. CONCLUSIONS: ED visits were noticeably reduced during both SARS-CoV-2 pandemic waves in Germany but cardiovascular diagnoses were less affected and no refractory increase was noted. However, long-term effects cannot be ruled out and need to be analysed in future studies.

Case report of severe constrictive perimyocarditis and ischemic hepatitis in a Crohn's disease patient upon infliximab-induced lupus-like syndrome.

Anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antibodies have become an indispensable part in the therapeutic landscape of treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. Nevertheless, they can be associated with the occurrence of severe systemic side effects. Here, we report the case of a 23-year-old patient with ileocolonic Crohn's disease in endoscopic remission under ongoing anti-TNF infliximab therapy with occurrence of novel generalized arthralgia, pleuritic chest pain, and dyspnea. Clinical, laboratory, and imaging diagnostic workup in an extended clinical routine setting at the University Hospital of Erlangen, Germany, was used by a multidisciplinary team consisting of gastroenterologists, radiologists, cardiologists, and rheumatologists to investigate the underlying cause of the clinical symptoms in the patient. The results received using the aforementioned diagnostic setup led to the diagnosis of severe constrictive perimyocarditis due to infliximab-induced lupus-like syndrome with distinct ANA reactivity and elevated anti-dsDNA levels. Furthermore, pronounced ischemic hepatitis was diagnosed. Infliximab treatment was immediately stopped, and initiated corticosteroid pulse therapy only led to partial response as it had to be reduced due to pronounced psychiatric side effects. Persistent signs of pericarditis required additional ibuprofen therapy, which led to subsequent resolution of cardial symptoms. Formerly elevated liver enzymes returned to normal, and there were no clinical signs of recurrence of Crohn's disease activity over 18 months of follow-up. The patient was subsequently switched to ustekinumab therapy for further treatment of underlying Crohn's disease. This case report describes for the first time severe infliximab-induced lupus-like syndrome in an IBD patient, concurrently mimicking ST-elevation myocardial infarction with MRI visualization of pericarditis, occurrence of ischemic hepatitis, and pronounced signs of systemic inflammation.

Mild therapeutic hypothermia after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest complicating ST-elevation myocardial infarction: long-term results in clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Recently, mild therapeutic hypothermia (MTH) has been integrated into the European resuscitation guidelines to improve outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Data on long-term results are limited, especially in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). HYPOTHESIS: Invasive MTH influences long-term prognosis after OHCA due to STEMI. METHODS: We analyzed 48 patients who underwent emergency coronary angiography for STEMI after witnessed OHCA. In 24 consecutive patients, MTH was performed via intravascular cooling (CoolGard System, 34°C maintained for 24 hours) after initialization by rapid infusion of cold saline. Clinical, procedural, and mortality data were compared to 24 historical controls. Neurological recovery was assessed using the Cerebral Performance Category score (CPC) at 30-day and 1-year follow-up. RESULTS: Median time delay until arrival of emergency medical service was 6 minutes (MTH group) vs 6.5 minutes (controls) (P = 0.16). Initial rhythm was ventricular fibrillation in 75% vs 66.7% (P = 0.75). There were no differences regarding baseline characteristics, angiographic findings, and success of cardiac catheterization procedures. MTH was not associated with a higher frequency of bleeding complications or of pneumonia. Thirty-day mortality was 33.3% in both groups. One-year mortality was 37.5% (MTH group) vs 50% (controls) (P = 0.56). At 1 year, favorable neurological outcome (CPC ≤2) was significantly more frequent in the MTH group (58.3% vs 20.8%, P = 0.017). Multivariate analysis identified MTH as independent predictor of favorable neurological outcome (P < 0.02, odds ratio: 12.73). CONCLUSIONS: MTH via intravascular cooling improves neurological long-term prognosis after OHCA due to STEMI and is safe in clinical practice.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction: long-term survival and neurological outcome.

BACKGROUND: Predictors of long-term outcome after ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) complicated by out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) are incompletely understood, including the influence of successful coronary reperfusion. METHODS: We analysed clinical and procedural data as well as 1-year outcome of 72 consecutive patients who underwent primary coronary intervention (PCI) after witnessed OHCA and STEMI and compared the results with 695 patients with STEMI and PCI, but without OHCA. Neurological recovery after OHCA was assessed using the Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) scale. RESULTS: PCI was successful in 83.3% after OHCA vs. 84.3% in the non-OHCA group (p=0.87). One-year mortality was 34.7% vs. 9.5% (p<0.001). 58.3% of the OHCA-patients showed complete neurological recovery (CPC 1) or moderate neurological disability (CPC 2). Another 6.9% showed severe cerebral disability (CPC 3) or permanent vegetative status (CPC 4). Delay from collapse until start of Advanced Cardiopulmonary Life Support (ACLS) was shorter for survivors with CPC status ≤2 (median 1 min, range 0-11 min) compared to non-survivors or survivors with CPC status >2 (median 8 min, range 0-13 min), p<0.0001. Age-adjusted multivariate analysis identified 'unsuccessful PCI', 'vasopressors on admission' and 'start of ACLS after >6 min' as independent predictors of negative long-term outcome (death or CPC >2). CONCLUSIONS: Mortality is high in patients with STEMI complicated by OHCA - even though PCI was performed with the same success rate as in patients without OHCA. The majority of survivors had favourable neurological outcomes at 1 year, especially if advanced life support had been started within ≤6 min and PCI was successful.