Design and Implementation of a postgraduate curriculum to support Ethiopia's first emergency medicine residency training program: the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration in Emergency Medicine (TAAAC-EM).

BACKGROUND: To design and implement an emergency medicine (EM) postgraduate training curriculum to support the establishment of the first EM residency program at Addis Ababa University (AAU). METHODS: In response to the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health mandate to develop EM services in Ethiopia, University of Toronto EM faculty were invited to develop and deliver EM content and expertise for the first EM postgraduate residency training program at AAU. The Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration-EM (TAAAC-EM) used five steps of a six-step approach to guide curriculum development and implementation: 1. Problem identification and general needs assessment, 2. Targeted needs assessment using indirect methods (interviews and site visits of the learners and learning environment), 3. Defining goals and objectives, 4. Choosing educational strategies and curriculum map development and 5. RESULTS: The needs assessment identified a learning environment with appropriate, though limited, resources for the implementation of an EM residency program. A lack of educational activities geared towards EM practice was identified, specifically of active learning techniques (ALTs) such as bedside teaching, simulation and procedural teaching. A curriculum map was devised to supplement the AAU EM residency program curriculum. The TAAAC-EM curriculum was divided into three distinct streams: clinical, clinical epidemiology and EM administration. The clinical sessions were divided into didactic and ALTs including practical/procedural and simulation sessions, and bedside teaching was given a strong emphasis. Implementation is currently in its seventh year, with continuous monitoring and revisions of the curriculum to meet evolving needs. CONCLUSION: We have outlined the design and implementation of the TAAAC-EM curriculum; an evaluation of this curriculum is currently underway. As EM spreads as a specialty throughout Africa and other resource-limited regions, this model can serve as a working guide for similar bi-institutional educational partnerships seeking to develop novel EM postgraduate training programs.

Atrial fibrillation anticoagulation care in a large urban family medicine practice.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in primary care achieving guideline-concordant stroke prevention treatment based on both the previous (2010) and the updated (2012) Canadian guideline recommendations. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. PARTICIPANTS: Primary care patients (N = 204) with AF. The mean age was 71.3 years and 53.4% were women. SETTING: Large urban community family practice in Toronto, Ont. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patient demographic characteristics such as sex and age; a list of current cardiac medications including anticoagulants and antiplatelets; the total number of medications; relevant current and past medical history including presence of diabetes, stroke or transient ischemic attack, hypertension, and vascular disease; number of visits to the family physician and cardiologist in the past year and past 5 years, and how many of these were for AF; the number of visits to the emergency department or hospitalizations for AF, congestive heart failure, or stroke; if patients were taking warfarin, how often their international normalized ratios were recorded, and how many times they were in the reference range; CHADS2 (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥ 75, diabetes mellitus, and stroke or transient ischemic attack) score, if recorded; and reason for not taking oral anticoagulants when they should have been, if recorded. RESULTS: Among those who had CHADS2 scores of 0, 64 patients (97.0%) were receiving appropriate stroke prevention in AF (SPAF) treatment according to the 2010 guidelines. When the 2012 guidelines were applied, 39 patients (59.1%) were receiving appropriate SPAF treatment (P < .001). For those with CHADS2 scores of 1, 88.4% of patients had appropriate SPAF treatment according to the 2010 guidelines, but only 55.1% were adequately treated according to the 2012 guidelines (P < .001). Of the patients at the highest risk (CHADS2 score > 1), 68.1% were adequately treated with anticoagulation and an additional 8.7% (6 of 69) had documented reasons why they were not taking anticoagulants. CONCLUSION: When assessed using the 2012 Canadian Cardiovascular Society AF guidelines, the proportion of patients receiving appropriate SPAF therapy in this primary care setting decreased substantially. All patients with CHADS2 scores of 0 or 1 should be reassessed to ensure that they are receiving optimal stroke prevention treatment.

Development and implementation of an emergency medicine graduate training program at Addis Ababa University School of Medicine: challenges and successes.

BACKGROUND: Ethiopians experience high rates of acute illness and injury that have been sub-optimally addressed by the existing health care system. High rates of patient morbidity and mortality prompted the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) and the Addis Ababa University School of Medicine (AAU-SM) to prioritize the establishment of emergency medicine (EM) as a medical specialty in Ethiopia to meet this acute health system need. OBJECTIVES: To review the EM residency training program developed and implemented at AAU-SM in partnership with the University of Wisconsin (UW), the University of Toronto (UT) and University of Cape Town (UCT) and to evaluate the progress and challenges to date. METHODS: An EM Task Force (EMTF) at AAU-SM developed a context-specific three-year graduate EM curriculum with UW input. This curriculum has been co-implemented by faculty teachers from AAU-SM, UT and UW. The curriculum together with all documents (written, audio, video) are reviewed and used as a resource for this article. RESULTS: Seventeen residents are currently in full-time training. Five residents research projects are finalized and 100% of residents passed their year-end exams. CONCLUSION: A novel graduate EM training program has been successfully developed and implemented at AAU-SM. Interim results suggest that this curriculum and tri-institutional collaboration has been successful in addressing the emergency health needs of Ethiopians and bolstering the expertise of Ethiopian physicians. This program, at the forefront of EM education in Africa, may serve as an effective model for future EM training development throughout Africa.

A review of the cost of atrial fibrillation.

OBJECTIVES: To systematically review and synthesize the literature on the costs of atrial fibrillation (AF) with attention to study design and costing methods, geography, and intervention approaches. METHODS: A systematic search for previously published studies reporting the costs for AF patients was conducted. Data were analyzed in three steps: first by evaluating overall system costs; second by evaluating the relative contribution of specific cost components; and third by examining variations across study designs, across primary treatment approach, and by geography. Finally, a specific review of the treatment costs associated with anticoagulation treatment was examined given the clinical importance and attention given to these costs in the literature. RESULTS: The literature search resulted in 115 articles. On review of the abstracts or full text of these articles, 21 articles met all study criteria and reported on health system AF-related direct costs. A further six articles focused exclusively on anticoagulation costs for patients with AF. The overall average annual system cost across 27 estimates obtained from the literature was $5450 (SD = $3624) in 2010 Canadian dollars and ranged from a low of $1,632 to a high of $21,099. About one-third of these costs could be attributed to anticoagulation management. The largest cost component was acute care, followed by outpatient and physician and then medication-related costs. CONCLUSION: AF-related medical costs are high, reflecting resource-intensive and long-term treatments including anticoagulation treatment. These costs, accompanied with increasing prevalence, justify increased attention to the management of patients with AF. Future studies of AF cost should ensure a broad assessment of the incremental direct medical and societal cost associated with this diagnosis.

Perceptions and reflections of early graduates of the first emergency medicine residency program in Ethiopia: A qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: A bi-institutional partnership between physicians at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia and the University of Toronto, Canada led the development and implementation of a novel emergency medicine (EM) postgraduate training program at Addis Ababa University (AAU). Subsequently, the first three cohorts of trainees were invited to participate in the evaluation of the curricular components devised and delivered by Toronto EM physicians as part of the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration in EM (TAAAC-EM). We sought to characterise the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum to improve it for future trainee cohorts. METHODS: This curriculum assessment used semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews to evaluate components of the TAAAC-EM program curriculum. Interviews were conducted with a purposive sampling of graduates from the first three cohorts of the TAAAC-EM program. RESULTS: Twelve participants were interviewed. The following themes were identified; The TAAAC-EM program built a novel EM culture at AAU and shifted teaching from didactic to learner-centered strategies where teachers serve as role models; The curriculum content of the EM resident program, including didactic and practical sessions, was well received by the graduates interviewed; Challenges identified included lack of continuity in training, and difficulties transitioning to practice in a locally nascent field; Participants evaluated the TAAAC-EM program model as very positive overall, and supported replicating the model by expanding within Ethiopia and beyond. CONCLUSIONS: The challenges identified in the program, including lack of continuity of clinical teaching and meeting the local educational resource needs of new graduates, helped inform program adaptations and improvements. TAAAC-EM, currently in its eleventh year, is now focused on transitioning full teaching responsibilities to local faculty and continuing to support a positive EM teaching culture. We believe that this thriving partnership can serve as a model for future north-south and south-south collaborations in postgraduate medical education.

Do PGY-1 residents in Emergency Medicine have enough experiences in resuscitations and other clinical procedures to meet the requirements of a Competence by Design curriculum?

BACKGROUND: With the transition to a Competence by Design (CBD) curriculum, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Emergency Medicine (FRCP-EM) training has created guidelines on experiences residents should have before progressing. We sought to quantify adult medical resuscitations and clinical procedures completed by PGY1 FRCP-EM residents to compare them to CBD requirements with the aim to identify areas of limited exposure requiring curriculum revisions prior to nation-wide CBD implementation. METHODS: Twenty-two PGY1 residents from four FRCP-EM programs recorded their activities from July 2017 to June 2018 in an online log that tracked resuscitations and procedures along with role assumed, supervision, and level of comfort. RESULTS: In total 515 resuscitations were logged with the median number per resident 15 (range 0 to 98). The most frequent resuscitation was altered mental status and the least was unstable dysrhythmia. 557 total procedures were logged with the median number 75 (range 8 to 273). The most frequent procedure done was simple laceration repair and the least frequent was intraosseous access. CONCLUSIONS: Unstable dysrhythmias and cardiorespiratory arrest along with intraosseous access and arthrocentesis are low event clinical exposures. In the era of CBD, the misalignment of entrustrable professional activity (EPA) targets and curriculum delivery should be monitored/reviewed to ensure expectations are realistic and that sufficient exposures are available.

CONTEXTE: Dans le cadre de la transition vers un programme d'études axé sur la compétence par conception (CPC), la formation pour devenir Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians en médecine d'urgence (FRCP-EM) a créé des lignes directrices sur l'expérience que les résidents devraient avoir avant de progresser. Nous avons tenté de quantifier les réanimations médicales d'adultes et les procédures cliniques effectuées par les résidents de première année de la formation postdoctorale en FRCP-EM pour les comparer aux exigences du programme de CPC dans le but d'identifier les domaines où l'exposition est limitée, nécessitant une révision du programme d'études avant la mise en œuvre de la CPC à l'échelle nationale. MÉTHODES: De juillet 2017 à juin 2018 vingt-deux résidents de première année de 4 programmes FRCP-EM ont entré dans un journal en ligne chaque réanimation ou procédure pratiquée ainsi que des informations comme le rôle qu'ils avaient assumé, la supervision et le niveau de confort éprouvé. RÉSULTATS: Au total, 515 réanimations ont été enregistrées, le nombre médian par résident étant de 15 (de 0 à 98). La réanimation la plus fréquente était l'altération de l'état mental et la moins fréquente était la dysrythmie instable. Parmi les 557 autres procédures enregistrées, avec un nombre médian de 75 (de 8 à 273), la plus fréquente était la réparation de lacérations simples et la moins fréquente était l'accès intra-osseux. CONCLUSIONS: Les dysrythmies instables et les arrêts cardio-respiratoires ainsi que l'accès intra-osseux et l'arthrocentèse sont pratiqués en faible nombre. À l'ère de la CPC, le décalage entre les ciblesd'activités professionnelle confiable (EPA) et le cursus proposé dans le programme d'études devrait être surveillé ou revu pour s'assurer que les attentes sont réalistes et que les résidents ont accès à une exposition suffisante.

Evaluation of a National Competency-Based Assessment System in Emergency Medicine: A CanDREAM Study.

BACKGROUND: In 2018, Canadian postgraduate emergency medicine (EM) programs began implementing a competency-based medical education (CBME) assessment program. Studies evaluating these programs have focused on broad outcomes using data from national bodies and lack data to support program-specific improvement. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the implementation of a CBME assessment program within and across programs to identify successes and opportunities for improvement at the local and national levels. METHODS: Program-level data from the 2018 resident cohort were amalgamated and analyzed. The number of entrustable professional activity (EPA) assessments (overall and for each EPA) and the timing of resident promotion through program stages were compared between programs and to the guidelines provided by the national EM specialty committee. Total EPA observations from each program were correlated with the number of EM and pediatric EM rotations. RESULTS: Data from 15 of 17 (88%) programs containing 9842 EPA observations from 68 of 77 (88%) EM residents in the 2018 cohort were analyzed. Average numbers of EPAs observed per resident in each program varied from 92.5 to 229.6, correlating with the number of blocks spent on EM and pediatric EM (r = 0.83, P < .001). Relative to the specialty committee's guidelines, residents were promoted later than expected (eg, one-third of residents had a 2-month delay to promotion from the first to second stage) and with fewer EPA observations than suggested. CONCLUSIONS: There was demonstrable variation in EPA-based assessment numbers and promotion timelines between programs and with national guidelines.

Emergency department patient compliance with follow-up for outpatient exercise stress testing: a randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Numerous patients are assessed in the emergency department (ED) for chest pain suggestive of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and subsequently discharged if found to be at low risk. Exercise stress testing is frequently advised as a follow-up investigation for low-risk patients; however, compliance with such recommendations is poorly understood. We sought to determine if compliance with follow-up for exercise stress testing is higher in patients for whom the investigation is ordered at the time of ED discharge, compared with patients who are advised to arrange testing through their family physician (FP). METHODS: Low-risk chest pain patients being discharged from the ED for outpatient exercise stress test and FP follow-up were randomized into 2 groups. ED staff ordered an exercise stress test for the intervention group, and the control group was advised to contact their FP to arrange testing. The primary outcome was completion of an exercise stress test at 30 days, confirmed through both patient contact and stress test results. Patients were unaware that our primary interest was their compliance with the exercise stress testing recommendations. RESULTS: Two-hundred and thirty-one patients were enrolled and baseline characteristics were similar between the 2 groups. Completion of an exercise stress test at 30 days occurred in 87 out of 120 (72.5%) patients in the intervention group and 60 out of 107 (56.1%) patients in the control group. The difference in compliance rates (16.4%) between the 2 groups was statistically significant (Chi(2) = 6.69, p < 0.001) with a relative risk of 1.29 (95% confidence interval 1.18-1.40), and the results remained significant after a "worst case" sensitivity analysis involving 4 control group cases lost to follow-up. When subjects were contacted by telephone 30 days after the ED visit, 60% of those who were noncompliant patients felt they did not have a heart problem and that further testing was unnecessary. CONCLUSION: When ED staff order an outpatient exercise stress test following investigation for potential ACS, patients are more likely to complete the test if it is booked for them before ED discharge. After discharge, many low-risk chest pain patients feel they are not at risk and do not return to their FP for further testing in a timely manner as advised. Changing to a strategy of ED booking of exercise stress testing may help earlier identification of patients with coronary heart disease.

Patterns and predictors of early mortality among emergency department patients in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Ethiopian emergency department (ED) patients have a considerable burden of illness and injury for which all-cause mortality rates have not previously been published. This study sought to characterize the burden of and to identify predictors for early all-cause mortality among patients presenting to the Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital ED (TASH-ED) in Ethiopia. METHODS: Data was prospectively collected from the records of all patients who died within 72 h of ED presentation. Pearson's Chi square and Fisher's exact tests were used to investigate associations between two outcome variables: (a) time to death and (b) immediate cause of death in relation to specific demographic and clinical factors. Time from ED presentation to death was dichotomized as 'very early' mortality within ≤6 h and death >6-72 h and logistic regression was used to assess the adjusted impact of these demographic and clinical variables on the probability of dying within 6 h of ED presentation. RESULTS: Between October 2012 and May 2013, 9956 patients visited the ED and 220 patients died within 72 h of admission. After excluding patients dead on arrival (n = 34), the average age of death was 43.1 years and the overall mortality rate was 1.9 %. Head injury (21.5 %) and sepsis (18.8 %) were the most common causes of death. Relative to medical patients, trauma patients were more likely to be male (p < 0.01), less likely to have had prior recent ED visits (p < 0.01) and more likely to be triaged as higher acuity (p = 0.04). The sole statistically significant predictor of death within 6 h from our multivariable logistic regression model was symptom duration less than 4 h (4-48 h vs. <4 h: OR = 0.20, 95 % CI 0.07, 0.53, p < 0.01; >48 h vs. <4 h: OR = 0.27, 95 % CI 0.09, 0.81, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The mortality burden of trauma and sepsis in the TASH-ED is substantial, and mortality patterns differ between these groups. As emergency medicine develops as a specialty in the Ethiopian health system, the potential impact of context-specific clinical care protocol development, trauma prevention advocacy and ED care re-organization initiatives to reduce mortality among these young, previously well patients warrants exploration.

Knowledge gaps in the diagnosis and management of patients with tropical diseases presenting to Canadian emergency departments: are the gaps being met?

OBJECTIVE: We conducted a needs assessment to identify knowledge gaps in the management of tropical diseases by Canadian emergency physicians and identify available, related continuing medical education (CME) resources. METHODS: A literature review was conducted to summarize challenges in the management of commonly encountered tropical diseases. An anonymous online survey was administered to Canadian emergency physicians using the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians survey deployment service in July and August 2012. The survey identified self-reported gaps in knowledge and assessed knowledge using case-based vignettes. A list of CME resources was generated from a review of major academic emergency medicine journals, online cases, and conference topics from emergency medicine associations during 2010-2011. Two independent reviewers assessed the relevance of the resources; differences were resolved by consensus. RESULTS: From 635 citations, 47 articles were selected for full review; the majority (66%) were retrospective chart reviews, few (10.6%) had an emergency medicine focus, and fewer still were Canadian (8.5%). In total, 1,128 surveys were distributed, and 296 (27%) participants were included in the study. Most respondents reported "no" (52.4%) or "some" (45.9%) training in tropical medicine. Most (69.9%) rated their comfort in managing patients with tropical diseases as "low." Few (11.1%) respondents reported a tropical disease being misdiagnosed or mismanaged; 44.1% indicated malaria. The perceived need for further training was high (76.7%). Conference workshops were the most highly requested CME modality, followed by case studies and podcasts. Correct answers to case vignettes ranged from 30.7 to 58.4%. Although 2,038 CME titles were extracted from extensive searches, only 6 were deemed relevant. CONCLUSIONS: Most Canadian emergency physicians have had minimal training in tropical diseases, reported a low comfort level in their management, and identified a high need for CME opportunities, which are lacking.

Use of an interdisciplinary, participatory design approach to develop a usable patient self-assessment tool in atrial fibrillation.

After identifying that significant care gaps exist within the management of atrial fibrillation (AF), a patient-focused tool was developed to help patients better assess and manage their AF. This tool aims to provide education and awareness regarding the management of symptoms and stroke risk associated with AF, while engaging patients to identify if their condition is optimally managed and to become involved in their own care. An interdisciplinary group of health care providers and designers worked together in a participatory design approach to develop the tool with input from patients. Usability testing was completed with 22 patients of varying demographics to represent the characteristics of the patient population. The findings from usability testing interviews were used to further improve and develop the tool to improve ease of use. A physician-facing tool was also developed to help to explain the tool and provide a brief summary of the 2012 Canadian Cardiovascular Society atrial fibrillation guidelines. By incorporating patient input and human-centered design with the knowledge, experience, and medical expertise of health care providers, we have used an approach in developing the tool that tries to more effectively meet patients' needs.

Troponin utilization in patients presenting with atrial fibrillation/flutter to the emergency department: retrospective chart review.

BACKGROUND: There are few recommendations about the use of cardiac markers in the investigation and management of atrial fibrillation/flutter. Currently, it is unknown how many patients with atrial fibrillation/flutter undergo troponin testing, and how positive troponin results are managed in the emergency department. We sought to look at the emergency department troponin utilization patterns. METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review of patients with atrial fibrillation/flutter presenting to the emergency department at three centers. Outcome measures included the rates of troponins ordered by emergency doctors, number of positive troponins, and those with positive troponins treated as acute coronary syndrome (ACS) by consulting services. RESULTS: Four hundred fifty-one charts were reviewed. A total of 388 (86%) of the patients had troponins ordered, 13.7% had positive results, and 4.9% were treated for ACS. CONCLUSIONS: Troponin tests are ordered in a high percentage of patients with atrial fibrillation/flutter presenting to emergency departments. Five percent of our total patient cohort was diagnosed as having acute coronary syndrome by consulting services.