Risk factors, management, and outcomes in isolated parafalcine or tentorial subdural hematomas.

INTRODUCTION: Indications for hospitalization in patients with parafalcine or tentorial subdural hematomas (SDH) remain unclear. This study derived and validated a clinical decision rule to identify patients at low risk for complications such that hospitalization can be avoided. METHODS: A multicenter retrospective medical record review of adult patients with parafalcine or tentorial SDHs was completed. The primary outcome was significant injury, defined as injury that led to neurosurgery, discharge to another facility, or death. A multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify variables independently associated with the outcome in the derivation cohort. These variables were then validated on a separate cohort from a different institution abstracted without knowledge of the identified variables. RESULTS: In the derivation cohort, 134 patients with parafalcine/tentorial SDHs were identified. The mean age was 63 ± 19 years with 82 (61%) male. Seventy-one (53%) had significant injuries. Variables independently associated with significant injury included: age over 60, adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 3.46 (95% CI 1.24, 9.62), initial Glasgow Coma Scale score below 15, aOR =7.92 (95% CI 2.78, 22.5), and additional traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) on computerized tomography (CT), aOR =5.97 (95% CI 2.48, 14.4). These three variables had a sensitivity of 71/71 (100%, 95% CI 96, 100%) and specificity of 12/63 (19%, 95% CI 10, 31%). The validation cohort (n = 83) had a mean age of 62 ± 22 years with 50 (60%) male. The three variables had a sensitivity of 36/36 (100%, 95% CI 92, 100%) and specificity of 7/47 (15%, 95% CI 6.2, 28%). All 39 (100%, 95% CI 93, 100%) patients from both cohorts who underwent neurosurgery had additional TBI findings on their CT scan. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with parafalcine/tentorial SDHs who are under 60 years with initial GCS scores of 15 and no addition TBIs on CT are at low risk and may not need hospitalization. Furthermore, patients with isolated parafalcine/tentorial SDHs are unlikely to undergo neurosurgery. Prospective, external validation with a larger sample size is now recommended. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Emergent cardiac outcomes in patients with normal electrocardiograms in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Emergency physicians (EP) are frequently interrupted to screen electrocardiograms (ECG) from Emergency Department (ED) patients undergoing triage. Our objective was to identify discrepancies between the computer ECG interpretation and the cardiologist ECG interpretation and if any patients with normal ECGs underwent emergent cardiac intervention. We hypothesized that computer-interpreted normal ECGs do not require immediate review by an EP. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of adult (≥ 18 years old) ED patients with computer-interpreted normal ECGs. Laboratory, diagnostic testing and clinical outcomes were abstracted following accepted methodologic guidelines. The primary outcome was emergent cardiac catheterization (within four hours of ED arrival). All ECGs underwent final cardiologist interpretation. When cardiology interpretation differed from the computer (discrepant ECG interpretation), the difference was classified as potentially clinically significant or not clinically significant. Data was described with simple descriptive statistics. MAIN FINDINGS: 989 ECGs interpreted as normal by the computer were analyzed with a mean age of 50.4 ± 16.8 years (range 18-96 years) and 527 (53%) female. Discrepant ECG interpretations were identified in 184 cases including 124 (12.5%, 95% CI 10.4, 14.7%) not clinically significant and 60 (6.1%, 95% CI 4.6, 7.7%) potentially clinically significant. The 60 potentially clinically significant changes included: ST/T wave changes 45 (75%), T wave inversions 6 (10%), prolonged QT 3 (5%), and possible ischemia 10 (17%). Of these 60, 21 (35%) patients were admitted. Six patients had potassium levels >6.0 mEq/L, with one having a potentially clinically significant ECG change. No patient (0%, 95% CI 0, 0.3%) underwent immediate (within four hours) cardiac catherization whereas two underwent delayed cardiac interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiologists frequently disagree with a computer-interpreted normal ECG. Patients with computer-interpreted normal ECGs, however, rarely had significant ischemic events. A rare number of patients will have important cardiac outcomes regardless of the computer-generated normal ECG interpretation. Immediate EP review of the ECG, however, would not have changed these patients' ED courses.

Use of an Asymptomatic COVID-19 Testing Protocol in a Pediatric Emergency Department.

BACKGROUND: High rates of asymptomatic infections with COVID-19 have been reported. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to describe an asymptomatic COVID-19 testing protocol in a pediatric emergency department (ED). METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of pediatric patients (younger than 18 years) who were tested for COVID-19 via the asymptomatic testing protocol at a single urban pediatric ED between May 2020 and January 2021. This included all pediatric patients undergoing admission, urgent procedures, and psychiatric facility placement. The primary outcome was the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests. COVID-19 testing was performed via real-time polymerase chain reaction RNA assay testing. County-level COVID-19 data were used to estimate local daily COVID-19 cases/100,000 individuals (from all ages). Data were described with simple descriptive statistics. RESULTS: There were 1459 children tested for COVID-19 under the asymptomatic protocol. Mean ± standard deviation age was 8.2 ± 5.8 years. Two tests were inconclusive and 29 (2.0%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-2.8%) were positive. Of the 29 positive cases, 14 (48%; 95% CI 29-67%) had abnormal vital signs or signs and symptoms of COVID-19, on retrospective review. A total of 15 truly asymptomatic infections were identified. On the days that asymptomatic cases were identified, the lowest average daily community rate was 7.67 cases/100,000 individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Asymptomatic COVID-19 positivity rates in the pediatric ED were low when the average daily community rate was fewer than 7.5 cases/100,000 individuals. In the current pandemic, ED clinicians should assess for signs and symptoms of COVID-19, even when children present to the ED with unrelated chief symptoms.

Television-Related Head Injuries in Children: A Secondary Analysis of a Large Cohort Study of Head-Injured Children in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to describe the epidemiology, cranial computed tomography (CT) findings, and clinical outcomes of children with blunt head trauma after television tip-over injuries. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of children younger than 18 years prospectively evaluated for blunt head trauma at 25 emergency departments (EDs) in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network from June 2004 to September 2006. Children injured from falling televisions were included. Patients were excluded if injuries occurred more than 24 hours before ED evaluation or if neuroimaging was obtained before evaluation. Data collected included age, race, sex, cranial CT findings, and clinical outcomes. Clinically important traumatic brain injuries (ciTBIs) were defined as death from TBI, neurosurgery, intubation for more than 24 hours for the TBI, or hospital admission of 2 nights or more for the head injury, in association with TBI on CT. RESULTS: A total of 43,904 children were enrolled into the primary study and 218 (0.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.4% to 0.6%) were struck by falling televisions. The median (interquartile range) age of the 218 patients was 3.1 (1.9-4.9) years. Seventy-five (34%) of the 218 underwent CT scanning. Ten (13.3%; 95% CI, 6.6% to 23.2%) of the 75 patients with an ED CT had traumatic findings on cranial CT scan. Six patients met the criteria for ciTBI. Three of these patients died. All 6 patients with ciTBIs were younger than 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Television tip-overs may cause ciTBIs in children, including death, and the most severe injuries occur in children 5 years or younger. These injuries may be preventable by simple preventive measures such as anchoring television sets with straps.

How Well Do EMS Providers Predict Intracranial Hemorrhage in Head-Injured Older Adults?

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of emergency medical services (EMS) provider judgment for traumatic intracranial hemorrhage (tICH) in older patients following head trauma in the field. We also compared EMS provider judgment with other sets of field triage criteria. Methods: This was a prospective observational cohort study conducted with five EMS agencies and 11 hospitals in Northern California. Patients 55 years and older who experienced blunt head trauma were transported by EMS between August 1, 2015 and September 30, 2016, and received an initial cranial computed tomography (CT) imaging, were eligible. EMS providers were asked, "What is your suspicion for the patient having intracranial hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain)?" Responses were recorded as ordinal categories (<1%, 1-5%, >5-10%, >10-50%, or >50%) and the incidences of tICH were recorded for each category. The accuracy of EMS provider judgment was compared to other sets of triage criteria, including current field triage criteria, current field triage criteria plus multivariate logistical regression risk factors, and actual transport. Results: Among the 673 patients enrolled, 319 (47.0%) were male and the median age was 75 years (interquartile range 64-85). Seventy-six (11.3%) patients had tICH on initial cranial CT imaging. The increase in EMS provider judgment correlated with an increase in the incidence of tICH. EMS provider judgment had a sensitivity of 77.6% (95% CI 67.1-85.5%) and a specificity of 41.5% (37.7-45.5%) when using a threshold of 1% or higher suspicion for tICH. Current field triage criteria (Steps 1-3) was poorly sensitive (26.3%, 95% CI 17.7-37.2%) in identifying tICH and current field trial criteria plus multivariate logistical regression risk factors was sensitive (97.4%, 95% CI 90.9-99.3%) but poorly specific (12.9%, 95% CI 10.4-15.8%). Actual transport was comparable to EMS provider judgment (sensitivity 71.1%, 95% CI 60.0-80.0%; specificity 35.3%, 95% CI 31.6-38.3%). Conclusions: As EMS provider judgment for tICH increased, the incidence for tICH also increased. EMS provider judgment, using a threshold of 1% or higher suspicion for tICH, was more accurate than current field triage criteria, with and without additional risk factors included.

The First National Institutes of Health Institutional Training Program in Emergency Care Research: Productivity and Outcomes.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We assess the productivity, outcomes, and experiences of participants in the National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-funded K12 institutional research training programs in emergency care research. METHODS: We used a mixed-methods study design to evaluate the 6 K12 programs, including 2 surveys, participant interviews, scholar publications, grant submissions, and funded grants. The training program lasted from July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2017. We tracked scholars for a minimum of 3 years and up to 5 years, beginning with date of entry into the program. We interviewed program participants by telephone using open-ended prompts. RESULTS: There were 94 participants, including 43 faculty scholars, 13 principal investigators, 30 non-principal investigator primary mentors, and 8 program administrators. The survey had a 74% overall response rate, including 95% of scholars. On entry to the program, scholars were aged a median of 37 years (interquartile range [IQR] 34 to 40 years), with 16 women (37%), and represented 11 disciplines. Of the 43 scholars, 40 (93%) submitted a career development award or research project grant during or after the program; 26 (60%) have secured independent funding as of August 1, 2017. Starting with date of entry into the program, the median time to grant submission was 19 months (IQR 11 to 27 months) and time to funding was 33 months (IQR 27 to 39 months). Cumulative median publications per scholar increased from 7 (IQR 4 to 15.5) at program entry to 21 (IQR 11 to 33.5) in the first post-K12 year. We conducted 57 semistructured interviews and identified 7 primary themes. CONCLUSION: This training program produced 43 interdisciplinary investigators in emergency care research, with demonstrated productivity in grant funding and publications.

Pan-Asian Trauma Outcomes Study (PATOS): Rationale and Methodology of an International and Multicenter Trauma Registry.

BACKGROUND: Trauma is a major health burden and a time-dependent critical emergency condition among developing and developed countries. In Asia, trauma has become a rapidly expanding epidemic and has spread out to many underdeveloped and developing countries through rapid urbanization and industrialization. Most casualties of severe trauma, which results in significant mortality and disability are assessed and transported by prehospital providers including physicians, professional providers, and volunteer providers. Trauma registries have been developed in mostly developed countries and measure care quality, process, and outcomes. In general, existing registries tend to focus on inhospital care rather than prehospital care. METHODS: The Pan-Asia Trauma Outcomes Study (PATOS) was proposed in 2013 and initiated in November, 2015 in order to establish a collaborative standardized study to measure the capabilities, processes and outcomes of trauma care throughout Asia. The PATOS is an international, multicenter, and observational research network to collect trauma cases transported by emergency medical services (EMS) providers. Data are collected from the participating hospital emergency departments in various countries in Asia which receive trauma patients from EMS. Data variables collected include 1) injury epidemiologic factors, 2) EMS factors, 3) emergency department care factors, 4) hospital care factors, and 5) trauma system factors. The authors expect to achieve a sample size of 67,230 cases over the next 2 years of data collection to analyze the association between potential risks and outcomes of trauma. CONCLUSION: The PATOS network is expected to provide comparison of the trauma EMS systems and to benchmark best practice with participating communities.

Epidemiology of blunt head trauma in children in U.S. emergency departments.

Among more than 43,000 children treated in 25 emergency departments for blunt head trauma, traumatic brain injury was identified on CT scan in 7% of the patients. Falls were the most frequent injury mechanism for children under the age of 12 years.

Out-of-Hospital Triage of Older Adults With Head Injury: A Retrospective Study of the Effect of Adding "Anticoagulation or Antiplatelet Medication Use" as a Criterion.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Field triage guidelines recommend that emergency medical services (EMS) providers consider transport of head-injured older adults with anticoagulation use to trauma centers. However, the triage patterns and the incidence of intracranial hemorrhage or neurosurgery in these patients are unknown. Our objective is to describe the characteristics and outcomes of older adults with head trauma who are transported by EMS, particularly for patients who do not meet physiologic, anatomic, or mechanism-of-injury (steps 1 to 3) field triage criteria but are receiving anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications. METHODS: This was a retrospective study at 5 EMS agencies and 11 hospitals (4 trauma centers, 7 nontrauma centers). Patients aged 55 years or older with head trauma who were transported by EMS were included. The primary outcome was the presence of intracranial hemorrhage. The secondary outcome was a composite measure of inhospital death or neurosurgery. RESULTS: Of the 2,110 patients included, 131 (6%) had intracranial hemorrhage and 41 (2%) had inhospital death or neurosurgery. There were 162 patients (8%) with steps 1 to 3 criteria. Of the remaining 1,948 patients without steps 1 to 3 criteria, 566 (29%) had anticoagulant or antiplatelet use. Of these patients, 52 (9%) had traumatic intracranial hemorrhage and 15 (3%) died or had neurosurgery. The sensitivity (adjusted for clustering by EMS agency) of steps 1 to 3 criteria was 19.8% (26/131; 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.5% to 51.2%) for identifying traumatic intracranial hemorrhage and 34.1% (14/41; 95% CI 9.9% to 70.1%) for death or neurosurgery. The additional criterion of anticoagulant or antiplatelet use improved the sensitivity for intracranial hemorrhage (78/131; 59.5%; 95% CI 42.9% to 74.2%) and death or neurosurgery (29/41; 70.7%; 95% CI 61.0% to 78.9%). CONCLUSION: Relatively few patients met steps 1 to 3 triage criteria. For individuals who did not have steps 1 to 3 criteria, nearly 30% had anticoagulant or antiplatelet use. A relatively high proportion of these patients had intracranial hemorrhage, but a much smaller proportion died or had neurosurgery during hospitalization. Use of steps 1 to 3 triage criteria alone is not sufficient in identifying intracranial hemorrhage and death or neurosurgery in this patient population. The additional criterion of anticoagulant or antiplatelet use improves the sensitivity of the instrument, with only a modest decrease in specificity.

Does Prehospital Time Influence Clinical Outcomes in Severe Trauma Patients?: A Cross Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: Prehospital time potentially impacts clinical outcomes in severely injured trauma patients. The importance of individual components, including scene and response time, however, is controversial. Our objective was to determine the impact of prehospital times on survival in severely injured patients. METHODS: We reviewed injured trauma patients enrolled in a Korean EMS trauma registry during 2012. Severe trauma patients were defined as having either a "V" or lower in the AVPU system, a systolic blood pressure ≤90mmHg, or respiratory rate <10 or >29. Patients with Injury Severity Scores(ISS) < 9 were excluded. Patients were categorized by scene time into 4 groups as follows: <3 minutes, 3-6 minutes, 6-9 minutes, and ≥9 minutes and by prehospital time as follows: <16 minutes, 16-24 minutes, 24-32 minutes, and ≥32 minutes. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to adjust for possible confounders. RESULTS: A total of 2,257 eligible patients were analyzed. Scene time was <3 minutes in 220 (9.7%), 3-6 in 865 (38.3%), 6-9 in 587 (26.0%), and ≥9 in 585 (25.9%). In-hospital mortality was 396 (17.5%). Compared to a scene time 6 to 9 minutes, mortality was higher as the scene time decreased: odds ratio (OR) = 1.3(3 to <6), OR = 1.9(0 to <3). Mortality was slightly decreased as prehospital time increased, OR = 1.0(16 to <24), OR = 0.9(24 to <32), OR = 0.7(≥32). CONCLUSION: Longer prehospital times did not increase mortality in severely injured trauma patients in Korea. Furthermore, longer scene times were associated with lower mortality.

Do EMS Providers Accurately Ascertain Anticoagulant and Antiplatelet Use in Older Adults with Head Trauma?

OBJECTIVE: Prehospital provider assessment of the use of anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications in older adults with head trauma is important. These patients are at increased risk for traumatic intracranial hemorrhage and therefore field triage guidelines recommend transporting these patients to centers capable of rapid evaluation and treatment. Our objective was to evaluate EMS ascertainment of anticoagulant and antiplatelet medication use in older adults with head trauma. METHODS: A retrospective study of older adults with head trauma was conducted throughout Sacramento County. All 5 transporting EMS agencies and all 11 hospitals in the county were included in the study, which ran from January 2012 to December 2012. Patients ≥55 years who were transported to a hospital by EMS after head trauma were included. We excluded patients transferred between two facilities, patients with penetrating head trauma, prisoners, and patients with unmatched hospital data. Anticoagulant and antiplatelet use were categorized as: warfarin, direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC; dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and apixaban), aspirin, and other antiplatelet agents (e.g., clopidogrel and ticagrelor). We calculated the percent agreement and kappa statistic for binary variables between EMS and emergency department (ED)/hospital providers. A kappa statistic ≥0.60 was considered acceptable agreement. RESULTS: After excluding 174 (7.6%) patients, 2,110 patients were included for analysis; median age was 73 years (interquartile range 62-85 years) and 1,259 (60%) were male. Per ED/hospital providers, the use of any anticoagulant or antiplatelet agent was identified in 595 (28.2%) patients. Kappa statistics between EMS and ED/hospital providers for the specific agents were: 0.76 (95% CI 0.71-0.82) for warfarin, 0.45 (95% CI 0.19-0.71) for DOAC agents, 0.33 (95% CI 0.28-0.39) for aspirin, and 0.51 (95% CI 0.42-0.60) for other antiplatelet agents. CONCLUSIONS: The use of antiplatelet or anticoagulant medications in older adults who are transported by EMS for head trauma is common. EMS and ED/hospital providers have acceptable agreement with preinjury warfarin use but not with DOAC, aspirin, and other antiplatelet use.

Comparison of Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Care Systems Among Pan-Asian Countries: An International, Multicenter, Population-Based Survey.

OBJECTIVE: Knowledge on the current trauma systems in Asian countries is limited. The objective of this study was to describe the emergency medical services (EMS) and trauma care systems among countries participating in the Pan-Asian Trauma Outcomes Study (PATOS) Clinical Research Network. METHODS: The PATOS network consists of 33 participating sites from 14 countries. Standardized data was collected from each site using an EMS survey form and included general information (population, population density, urbanization, EMS service fee, etc.), dispatcher system, trauma care practice, trauma education program, existence of a trauma registry, and data on EMS transfers. Data is described with simple descriptive statistics. RESULTS: All countries included urban sites. Nine countries included rural sites and only one country included wilderness site. Of the 33 sties, 18 sites had physician-based EMS systems. EMS services were free in 9 countries. Twelve sites had dispatch centers operated by government health departments. EMS dispatcher certification was required in 29 sites. Thirty-two sites had EMS documented protocols for trauma and 31 sites had field triage tools. Thirty sites had designated trauma centers. Twenty-one sites had helicopter EMS systems. Thirty-one sites require certification for trauma education programs. Only 23 sites maintained EMS-based trauma registries. In 20 sites, EMS medical directors reviewed and assured trauma registry quality. Of patients transported by EMS rate of injured patients ranged from 15% to 59%. CONCLUSION: Substantial variability exists in EMS systems in Asia, especially for injured patients. Futures studies are required to assess the impact of this variability on patient outcomes.

Effect of Abdominal Ultrasound on Clinical Care, Outcomes, and Resource Use Among Children With Blunt Torso Trauma: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The utility of the focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) examination in children is unknown. Objective: To determine if the FAST examination during initial evaluation of injured children improves clinical care. Design, Setting, and Participants: A randomized clinical trial (April 2012-May 2015) that involved 975 hemodynamically stable children and adolescents younger than 18 years treated for blunt torso trauma at the University of California, Davis Medical Center, a level I trauma center. Interventions: Patients were randomly assigned to a standard trauma evaluation with the FAST examination by the treating ED physician or a standard trauma evaluation alone. Main Outcomes and Measures: Coprimary outcomes were rate of abdominal computed tomographic (CT) scans in the ED, missed intra-abdominal injuries, ED length of stay, and hospital charges. Results: Among the 925 patients who were randomized (mean [SD] age, 9.7 [5.3] years; 575 males [62%]), all completed the study. A total of 50 patients (5.4%, 95% CI, 4.0% to 7.1%) were diagnosed with intra-abdominal injuries, including 40 (80%; 95% CI, 66% to 90%) who had intraperitoneal fluid found on an abdominal CT scan, and 9 patients (0.97%; 95% CI, 0.44% to 1.8%) underwent laparotomy. The proportion of patients with abdominal CT scans was 241 of 460 (52.4%) in the FAST group and 254 of 465 (54.6%) in the standard care-only group (difference, -2.2%; 95% CI, -8.7% to 4.2%). One case of missed intra-abdominal injury occurred in a patient in the FAST group and none in the control group (difference, 0.2%; 95% CI, -0.6% to 1.2%). The mean ED length of stay was 6.03 hours in the FAST group and 6.07 hours in the standard care-only group (difference, -0.04 hours; 95% CI, -0.47 to 0.40 hours). Median hospital charges were $46 415 in the FAST group and $47 759 in the standard care-only group (difference, -$1180; 95% CI, -$6651 to $4291). Conclusions and Relevance: Among hemodynamically stable children treated in an ED following blunt torso trauma, the use of FAST compared with standard care only did not improve clinical care, including use of resources; ED length of stay; missed intra-abdominal injuries; or hospital charges. These findings do not support the routine use of FAST in this setting. Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01540318.

Dissemination of a Child Passenger Safety Program Through Trauma Center-Community Partnerships.

Improper child passenger restraint use contributes to higher pediatric motor vehicle collision morbidity and mortality among cultural minority populations. Child passenger safety education improves caregiver knowledge of restraint use, but effective interventions require culturally specific programming. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a child passenger safety education program culturally adapted through a pediatric trauma center's community partnerships. A nonexperimental observational cohort study using program evaluation data for the child passenger safety education programs during a 24-month period. Paired pretest/posttest self-reported survey responses measured changes in caregiver knowledge and self-efficacy of restraint use. Data were analyzed by class location and by caregiver language using a paired t test and Wilcoxon's signed ranks test. A total of 1,795 paired survey responses were collected in English, Spanish, or Russian. An increase in mean knowledge scores occurred overall, with a difference in mean of 0.565 (SE = 0.022, 95% CI [0.521, 0.607]). Stratification by class site and by language reflected significant increases in median scores, but findings were variable by study group. Pretest median scores for self-efficacy of restraint use were high for all groups, but the increases in posttest medians were also significant across groups (p ≤ .001). Caregiver knowledge and self-efficacy for child passenger restraint use increased after participation in the community classes. The pediatric trauma center's community partnerships facilitated uptake and adaption of the child passenger safety education programs and increased the injury prevention outreach to minority communities.

Validating the Use of ICD-9 Code Mapping to Generate Injury Severity Scores.

The Injury Severity Score (ISS) is a measure of injury severity widely used for research and quality assurance in trauma. Calculation of ISS requires chart abstraction, so it is often unavailable for patients cared for in nontrauma centers. Whether ISS can be accurately calculated from International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes remains unclear. Our objective was to compare ISS derived from ICD-9 codes with those coded by trauma registrars. This was a retrospective study of patients entered into 9 U.S. trauma registries from January 2006 through December 2008. Two computer programs, ICDPIC and ICDMAP, were used to derive ISS from the ICD-9 codes in the registries. We compared derived ISS with ISS hand-coded by trained coders. There were 24,804 cases with a mortality rate of 3.9%. The median ISS derived by both ICDPIC (ISS-ICDPIC) and ICDMAP (ISS-ICDMAP) was 8 (interquartile range [IQR] = 4-13). The median ISS in the registry (ISS-registry) was 9 (IQR = 4-14). The median difference between either of the derived scores and ISS-registry was zero. However, the mean ISS derived by ICD-9 code mapping was lower than the hand-coded ISS in the registries (1.7 lower for ICDPIC, 95% CI [1.7, 1.8], Bland-Altman limits of agreement = -10.5 to 13.9; 1.8 lower for ICDMAP, 95% CI [1.7, 1.9], limits of agreement = -9.6 to 13.3). ICD-9-derived ISS slightly underestimated ISS compared with hand-coded scores. The 2 methods showed moderate to substantial agreement. Although hand-coded scores should be used when possible, ICD-9-derived scores may be useful in quality assurance and research when hand-coded scores are unavailable.

Effect of Decreasing County Mental Health Services on the Emergency Department.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We evaluate the effect of decreasing county mental health services on the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This is a retrospective before-and-after study at a Level I academic university hospital adjacent to the county mental health treatment center. On October 1, 2009, the county decreased its inpatient psychiatric unit from 100 to 50 beds and closed its outpatient unit. Electronic health record data were collected for ED visits for the 8 months before the decrease in county services (October 2008 to May 2009) and the 8 months after the decrease (October 2009 to May 2010). Data for all adult patients (≥18 years) evaluated for a psychiatric consultation by a licensed clinical social worker were included. Outcome measures included the number of patients evaluated and the ED length of stay for those patients. RESULTS: One thousand three hundred ninety-two patient visits included a psychiatry consultation for the study period. The median age was 38 years (interquartile range [IQR] 27, 49), with no difference in age between periods. The mean number of daily psychiatry consultations increased from 1.3 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2 to 1.5) before closure to 4.4 (95% CI 4.1 to 4.7) afterward, with a difference in means of 3.0 visits (95% CI 2.7 to 3.3 visits). Average ED length of stay for psychiatry consultation patients was 14.1 hours (95% CI 13.1 to 15.0 hours) before closure and 21.9 hours (95% CI 20.7 to 23.2 hours) afterward, with a difference in means of 7.9 hours (95% CI 5.5 to 10.2 hours). CONCLUSION: The number of visits and length of stay for patients undergoing psychiatric consultation in the ED increased significantly after a decrease in county mental health services. This phenomenon has important implications for future policy to address the challenges of caring for patients with psychiatric needs in our communities.

Clinical Presentations and Outcomes of Children With Basilar Skull Fractures After Blunt Head Trauma.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We describe presentations and outcomes of children with basilar skull fractures in the emergency department (ED) after blunt head trauma. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of an observational cohort of children with blunt head trauma. Basilar skull fracture was defined as physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture without basilar skull fracture on computed tomography (CT), or basilar skull fracture on CT regardless of physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture. Other definitions included isolated basilar skull fracture (physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture or basilar skull fracture on CT with no other intracranial injuries on CT) and acute adverse outcomes (death, neurosurgery, intubation for >24 hours, and hospitalization for ≥2 nights with intracranial injury on CT). RESULTS: Of 42,958 patients, 558 (1.3%) had physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture, basilar skull fractures on CT, or both. Of the 525 (94.1%) CT-imaged patients, 162 (30.9%) had basilar skull fracture on CT alone, and 104 (19.8%) had both physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture and basilar skull fracture on CT; 269 patients (51.2%) had intracranial injuries other than basilar skull fracture on CT. Of the 363 (91.7%) CT-imaged patients with physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture, 104 (28.7%) had basilar skull fracture on CT. Of 266 patients with basilar skull fracture on CT, 104 (39.1%) also had physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture. Of the 256 CT-imaged patients who had isolated basilar skull fracture, none had acute adverse outcomes (0%; 95% confidence interval 0% to 1.4%), including none (0%; 95% confidence interval 0% to 6.1%) of 59 with isolated basilar skull fractures on CT. CONCLUSION: Approximately 1% of children with blunt head trauma have physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture or basilar skull fracture on CT. The latter increases the risk of acute adverse outcomes more than physical examination signs of basilar skull fracture. A CT scan is needed to adequately stratify the risk of acute adverse outcomes for these children. Children with isolated basilar skull fractures are at low risk for acute adverse outcomes and, if neurologically normal after CT and observation, are candidates for ED discharge.

The association between acute alcohol consumption and discharge against medical advice of injured patients in the ED.

PURPOSES: A paucity of data exists on the prevalence and predictors of discharging injured patients against medical advice from emergency departments. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between acute alcohol use and being discharged against medical advice. METHODS: We performed a prospective, observational study of injured patients enrolled into the Korean Centers for Disease and Prevention injury surveillance program in 7 tertiary, academic, and teaching hospitals from June 1, 2008, to November 31, 2011. Injured patients were assigned to 1 of 3 groups: discharged against medical advice, regular discharge, and transferred or admitted. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between acute alcohol use and being discharged against medical advice. RESULTS: A total of 125,327 patients were enrolled, and 3473 (2.8%) were discharged against medical advice. The proportion of acute alcohol use was significantly higher among the patients who were discharged against medical advice (40.1%) than the regular discharged (16.6%) or transferred/admitted (15.5%) patients. In a regression model, acute alcohol use increased the risk of being discharged against medical advice (adjusted odds ratio, 1.86; 95% confidence interval, 1.70-2.03). In addition, we identified the interaction between acute alcohol use and intention of injury. Acute alcohol use had a significant association with the discharge against medical advice with the unintentional injury (adjusted odds ratio, 2.56; 95% confidence interval, 2.30-2.84). CONCLUSION: Patients with acute alcohol use before sustaining an injury are at increased risk of being discharged against medical advice from the emergency departments.

Tranexamic Acid Use in United States Children's Hospitals.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of tranexamic acid (TXA) use for trauma and other conditions in children is unknown. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to describe the use of TXA in United States (US) children's hospitals for children in general, and specifically for trauma. METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of a large, administrative database of 36 US children's hospitals. We included children <18 years of age who received TXA (based on pharmacy charge codes) between 2009 and 2013. Patients were grouped into the following diagnostic categories: trauma, congenital heart surgery, scoliosis surgery, craniosynostosis/craniofacial surgery, and other, based on the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision principal procedure and diagnostic codes. TXA administration and dosage, in-hospital clinical variables, and diagnostic and procedure codes were documented. RESULTS: A total of 35,478 pediatric encounters with a TXA charge were included in the study cohort. The proportions of children who received TXA were similar across the years 2009 to 2013. Only 110 encounters (0.31%) were for traumatic conditions. Congenital heart surgery accounted for more than one-half of the encounters (22,863; 64%). Overall, the median estimated weight-based dose of TXA was 22.4 mg/kg (interquartile range, 7.3-84.9 mg/kg). CONCLUSIONS: We identified a wide frequency of use and range of doses of TXA for several diagnostic conditions in children. The use of TXA among injured children, however, appears to be rare despite its common use and efficacy among injured adults. Additional work is needed to identify appropriate indications for TXA and provide dosage guidelines among children with a variety of conditions, including trauma.