Effect of transitioning from conventional cardiac troponin to high-sensitivity cardiac troponin on resource utilization- a single center experience.

BACKGROUND: Compared to conventional cardiac troponin (cTn), the high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) assay is associated with improved detection of myocardial infarction (MI). METHODS: We performed a descriptive retrospective analysis of resource utilization at Rush University Medical Center over the transition period (July 1, 2021) from a cTn to a hs-cTn assay. Inclusion criteria included emergency department (ED) encounters between January 1 to December 31, 2021, with chief complaints of "chest pain" or "dyspnea" with associated troponin orders. The primary endpoint was the percentage of ED discharges. Secondary endpoints included the number of cardiac studies ordered. Univariable comparisons of these endpoints were performed using Student's t-test for continuous variables and Chi-square tests for binary/categorical variables. RESULTS: A total of 5113 encounters were analyzed. Hs-cTn was associated with an overall increase in ED patient discharges with negative troponin tests (44.1% vs. 29.9%, P < 0.01). In terms of cardiac testing per encounter, hs-cTn was associated with significant increases in the number of troponin tests (1.9 vs. 1.6, P < 0.01), electrocardiograms (3.0 vs. 2.9, P = 0.01), and echocardiograms (0.5 vs. 0.4, P < 0.01). There was a significant decrease in the utilization of stress testing (0.21 vs. 0.26, P < 0.01). There was a significant increase in total coronary angiography use during the hs-cTn period compared to cTn (227/2471 (9.2%) vs. 195/2642 (7.4%), P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Transitioning from cTn to hs-cTn was associated with significantly increased ED discharges and an increase in troponin tests, ECG, echocardiograms, and coronary angiograms. There was a decrease in the number of stress tests.

Concurrent Testing for COVID-19 and HIV Infection at 6 High-Volume Emergency Departments in a Priority Jurisdiction for Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions in access to routine HIV screening. SETTING: We assess HIV and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing across 6 emergency departments (EDs) in Cook County, Illinois. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the number of SARS-CoV-2 tests, HIV screens, and the proportion of concurrent tests (encounters with both SARS-CoV-2 and HIV testing), correlating with diagnoses of new and acute HIV infection. RESULTS: Five sites reported data from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, and 1 site from September 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021. A total of 1,13,645 SARS-CoV-2 and 36,094 HIV tests were performed; 17,469 of these were concurrent tests. There were 102 new HIV diagnoses, including 25 acute infections. Concurrent testing proportions ranged from 6.7% to 37% across sites (P < 0.001). HIV testing volume correlated with the number of new diagnoses (r = 0.66, P < 0.01). HIV testing with symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 testing was strongly correlated with diagnosis of acute infections (r = 0.87, P < 0.001); this was not statistically significant when controlling for HIV testing volumes (r = 0.59, P = 0.056). Acute patients were more likely to undergo concurrent testing (21/25) versus other new diagnoses (29/77; odds ratio = 8.69, 95% CI: 2.7 to 27.8, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating HIV screening into SARS-CoV-2 testing in the ED can help maintain HIV screening volumes. Although all patients presenting to the ED should be offered opt-out HIV screening, testing individuals with symptoms of COVID-19 or other viral illness affords the opportunity to diagnose symptomatic acute and early HIV infection, rapidly link to care, and initiate treatment.

The transition from acute to persistent pain: the identification of distinct trajectories among women presenting to an emergency department.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and other negative psychosocial factors have been implicated in the transition from acute to persistent pain. Women (N = 375) who presented to an inner-city emergency department (ED) with complaints of acute pain were followed up for 3 months. They completed a comprehensive battery of questionnaires at an initial visit and provided ratings of pain intensity at the site of pain presented in the ED during 3 monthly phone calls. Latent class growth analyses were used to detect possible trajectories of change in pain intensity from the initial visit to 3 months later. A 3-trajectory solution was found, which identified 3 groups of participants. One group (early recovery; n = 93) had recovered to virtually no pain by the initial visit, whereas a second group (delayed recovery; n = 120) recovered to no pain only after 1 month. A third group (no recovery; n = 162) still reported elevated pain at 3 months after the ED visit. The no recovery group reported significantly greater PTSD symptoms, anger, sleep disturbance, and lower social support at the initial visit than both the early recovery and delayed recovery groups. Results suggest that women with high levels of PTSD symptoms, anger, sleep disturbance, and low social support who experience an acute pain episode serious enough to prompt an ED visit may maintain elevated pain at this pain site for at least 3 months. Such an array of factors may place women at an increased risk of developing persistent pain following acute pain.

Social support, social undermining, and acute clinical pain in women: Mediational pathways of negative cognitive appraisal and emotion.

Women may be disproportionately vulnerable to acute pain, potentially due to their social landscape. We examined whether positive and negative social processes (social support and social undermining) are associated with acute pain and if the processes are linked to pain via negative cognitive appraisal and emotion (pain catastrophizing, hyperarousal, anger). Psychosocial variables were assessed in inner-city women (N = 375) presenting to an Emergency Department with acute pain. The latent cognitive-emotion variable fully mediated social undermining and support effects on pain, with undermining showing greater impact. Pain may be alleviated by limiting negative social interactions, mitigating risks of alternative pharmacological interventions.

Race-related differences in acute pain complaints among inner-city women: the role of socioeconomic status.

Previous research has shown that African Americans (AA) report higher pain intensity and pain interference than other racial/ethnic groups as well as greater levels of other risk factors related to worse pain outcomes, including PTSD symptoms, pain catastrophizing, and sleep disturbance. Within a Conservation of Resources theory framework, we tested the hypothesis that socioeconomic status (SES) factors (i.e., income, education, employment, perception of income meeting basic needs) largely account for these racial/ethnic differences. Participants were 435 women [AA, 59.1%; Hispanic/Latina (HL), 25.3%; Non-Hispanic/White (NHW), 15.6%] who presented to an Emergency Department (ED) with an acute pain-related complaint. Data were extracted from psychosocial questionnaires completed at the participants' baseline interview. Structural equation modeling was used to examine whether racial/ethnic differences in pain intensity and pain interference were mediated by PTSD symptoms, pain catastrophizing, sleep quality, and sleep duration, and whether these mediation pathways were, in turn, accounted for by SES factors. Results indicated that SES factors accounted for the mediation relationships linking AA race to pain intensity via PTSD symptoms and the mediation relationships linking AA race to pain interference via PTSD symptoms, pain catastrophizing, and sleep quality. Results suggested that observed racial/ethnic differences in AA women's pain intensity, pain interference, and common risk factors for elevated pain may be largely due to racial/ethnic differences in SES. These findings highlight the role of social inequality in persistent health disparities facing inner-city, AA women.

Evolution of an Electronic Health Record Based-Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Screening Program in an Urban Emergency Department for Diagnosing Acute and Chronic HIV Infection.

BACKGROUND: Since 2006, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines recommend routine opt-out human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing among sexually active 13- to 64-year-olds. Earlier diagnosis and treatment of HIV infection reduces morbidity and mortality and can limit transmission to others. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to increase HIV testing, diagnosis, and linkage to care in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: Beginning May 4, 2015, we utilized our electronic health record (EHR) to enhance HIV testing in patients seen in the Rush University Medical Center emergency department in Chicago, IL, who were 13-64 years of age, did not have HIV listed on their problem list, and did not have an HIV antigen/antibody (Ag/Ab) test in the EHR within the past rolling 12-month period. Strategies included use of a "Best Practice Advisory" and later auto-order screening linked to a complete blood count order. RESULTS: Our baseline HIV test rate was 2.5% of the target population by age (average of 93 tests per month). From May 4, 2015 to January 31, 2019, 137,749 patients of 240,091 ED visits met our test criteria and 23,588 (17.1% of the target population) HIV Ag/Ab tests were performed, resulting in 164 positive tests. We identified 18 acute seroconverters, 51 new chronically infected persons, and 95 known infected, many of who had not disclosed their status. Our positive test rate was 0.70%, which dropped to 0.29% if only newly diagnosed individuals were counted. CONCLUSIONS: EHR enhancements in a large urban ED identifies both newly diagnosed acute and chronically HIV-infected persons. Identification of previously diagnosed patients offers an opportunity to relink them to care.

Race, psychosocial vulnerability and social support differences in inner-city women's symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Inner-city Black women may be more susceptible to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than White women, although mechanisms underlying this association are unclear. Living in urban neighborhoods distinguished by higher chronic stress may contribute to racial differences in women's cognitive, affective, and social vulnerabilities, leading to greater trauma-related distress including PTSD. Yet social support could buffer the negative effects of psychosocial vulnerabilities on women's health. METHODS/DESIGN: Mediation and moderated mediation models were tested with 371 inner-city women, including psychosocial vulnerability (i.e., catastrophizing, anger, social undermining) mediating the pathway between race and PTSD, and social support moderating psychosocial vulnerability and PTSD. RESULTS: Despite comparable rates of trauma, Black women reported higher vulnerability and PTSD symptoms, and lower support compared to White Hispanic and non-Hispanic women. Psychosocial vulnerability mediated the pathway between race and PTSD, and social support moderated vulnerability, reducing negative effects on PTSD. When examining associations by race, the moderation effect remained significant for Black women only. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether these psychosocial vulnerabilities represent one potential mechanism explaining Black women's greater risk of PTSD, although cumulative psychosocial vulnerability may be buffered by social support. Despite higher support, inner-city White women's psychosocial vulnerability may actually outweigh support's benefits for reducing trauma-related distress.

PTSD Symptoms and Acute Pain in the Emergency Department: The Roles of Vulnerability and Resilience Factors Among Low-income, Inner-city Women.

BACKGROUND: Given high levels of traumatic stress for low-income, inner-city women, investigating the link between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and pain is especially important. PURPOSE: Using the conservation of resources theory, we investigated direct and indirect relationships of PTSD symptoms, vulnerability factors (ie, resource loss, depressive symptoms, and social undermining), and resilience factors (ie, optimism, engagement, and social support) to acute pain reports in a sample of low-income, inner-city women. METHODS: Participants (N=341; mean age=28 y; 58.0% African American) were recruited from an inner-city Emergency Department following presentation with acute pain. Study data were gathered from psychosocial questionnaires completed at a baseline interview. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling examined direct and indirect relationships among PTSD symptoms, vulnerability factors, and resilience factors on self-reported pain intensity and pain interference. PTSD symptoms were directly related to higher pain intensity and pain interference and indirectly related through positive associations with vulnerability factors (all Ps<0.05). Pathways through resilience factors were not supported. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that presence of PTSD symptoms is associated with elevated acute pain responses both indirectly via psychosocial vulnerability factors and directly, independent of the psychosocial factors assessed. Resilience factors did not play a significant role in determining acute pain responses. Consistent with conservation of resources theory, the negative effects of vulnerability factors outweighed the positive effects of resilience factors.

Medicaid beneficiaries who continue to use the ED: a focus on the Illinois Medical Home Network.

OBJECTIVES: Frequent, nonurgent emergency department use continues to plague the American health care system through ineffective disease management and unnecessary costs. In 2012, the Illinois Medical Home Network (MHN) was implemented to, in part, reduce an overreliance on already stressed emergency departments through better care coordination and access to primary care. The purpose of this study is to characterize MHN patients and compare them with non-MHN patients for a preliminary understanding of MHN patients who visit the emergency department. Variables of interest include (1) frequency of emergency department use during the previous 12 months, (2) demographic characteristics, (3) acuity, (4) disposition, and (5) comorbidities. METHODS: We performed a retrospective data analysis of all emergency department visits at a large, urban academic medical center in 2013. Binary logistic regression analyses and analysis of variance were used to analyze data. RESULTS: Medical Home Network patients visited the emergency department more often than did non-MHN patients. Medical Home Network patients were more likely to be African American, Hispanic/Latino, female, and minors when compared with non-MHN patients. Greater proportions of MHN patients visiting the emergency department had asthma diagnoses. Medical Home Network patients possessed higher acuity but were more likely to be discharged from the emergency department compared with non-MHN patients. CONCLUSIONS: This research may assist with developing and evaluating intervention strategies targeting the reduction of health disparities through decreased use of emergency department services in these traditionally underserved populations.

Impact of a novel interventional platform and hospital design on the door-to-balloon time in patients presenting with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

INTRODUCTION: Reducing door-to-balloon (DTB) time in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction improves outcomes. Several hospital factors can delay DTB times and lead to increased morbidity and mortality. The effects of hospital design and an interventional platform (IP) on patient care, particularly on the DTB time, are unknown. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients presenting to the emergency department of a medical center from September 2010 to February 2014 who met criteria for a ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on whether they presented before or after the opening of the IP in our new hospital on January 6, 2012. Total DTB time and separate systematic intervals were tabulated. RESULTS: Fifty-two patients met our inclusion criteria, 21 pre-IP and 31 post-IP. Both groups had overall similar baseline characteristics. The mean DTB time significantly improved by 11.7 minutes after the opening of the IP (P = 0.016), and all cases had a DTB time 90 minutes or less as compared with 90.4% prior. Eighty-nine percent of the overall improvement in DTB happened before the patient reached the catheterization table. Important factors were the new emergency department (ED) design that facilitates rapid patient triage and the direct connection between the ED and cath lab. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the new hospital design had significant effects on immediate patient care by improving the DTB time at our institution. Further study regarding the long-term impact of hospital designs on patient care is needed.

Successful collaborative model for STEMI care between a STEMI-referral and a STEMI receiving center.

BACKGROUND: Patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) greatly benefit from a rapid door-to-balloon (D2B) time. For hospitals without a catheterization laboratory, it is imperative to establish partnerships with a STEMI receiving center (SRC). STEMI systems of care have been established to facilitate these relationships to improve rapid reperfusion. We describe the experience and benefits of such a relationship. METHODS: A partnership between our 2 institutions was established in April 2011. Saint Anthony Hospital (SAH) of Chicago is an inner city hospital with interventional cardiologists on staff, but no catheterization laboratory. Before the partnership, STEMI patients were transferred 8 miles to a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) hospital on the city's north side. Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) is an academic medical center with 24/7/365 PCI capability. SAH decided that a transfer relationship with a closer SRC would benefit patient care. The following steps were taken: both hospitals signed a STEMI transfer agreement for STEMI transfers regardless of insurance status; an education process occurred at both hospitals; agreement that transferred patients would follow-up at the STEMI referring hospital (SAH); a contract with a single ambulance provider was signed; a simple STEMI protocol was adopted. RESULTS: In 2010, SAH saw 20 patients with STEMI. Average time from patient arrival to leaving the emergency department (ED) [Door-in-Door-out (DIDO)] was 83 minutes, these times were not tracked carefully; approximate transfer time to SRC was 25 minutes; Door1-2-Balloon (D12B) time was not recorded. Since the new protocol, 44 patients transferred to RUMC for PCI to date. Median (inclusive minimum, maximum) time from ED arrival (D1) at referral hospital to SRC (D2) was 52 minutes (56, 192) for all PCI cases; 11 patients transferred did not have PCI; 1 patient expired upon arrival; and median time to first PCI device (D12B) was 86 minutes (53-167). DISCUSSION: Streamlining STEMI patient care to reduce D2B is a major priority. We have demonstrated that establishing a transfer program between a STEMI-Referral Hospital (SRH) and SRC can markedly improve time to reperfusion. This approach has resulted in D12B that match or exceeds the D2B for nontransfer patients at most STEMI-receiving hospitals.

Adverse outcomes in hospitalized patients who develop ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: There has been considerable emphasis on the care of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with the wide implementation of protocols to quickly identify and triage them from the emergency department (ED) to a cardiac catheterization laboratory for percutaneous coronary intervention. However, a small but important number of patients with STEMI develop ST-elevation while hospitalized for another medical problem. METHODS: A single-center, retrospective chart review was performed on 172 consecutive patients with STEMI who underwent emergency percutaneous coronary intervention. One hundred thirty-seven patients presenting to the ED with STEMI and 35 patients who developed STEMI while hospitalized were compared. RESULTS: Hospitalized patients with STEMI had delayed reperfusion, longer hospitalization, greater rates of stent thrombosis, and greater 30-day and 1-year mortality compared with these in patients presenting with STEMI to the ED. CONCLUSIONS: Optimized clinical pathways for prevention, early diagnosis, and expedited reperfusion of inpatients with STEMI are urgently needed.

The Rush University advanced trauma training program, a novel approach for military trauma training.

Nearly 90% of combat deaths occur on the battlefield before the casualty reaches a treatment facility. It has been shown that early intervention in trauma patients improves morbidity and mortality. Hence, the training of military health care providers in lifesaving measures is imperative to saving lives on the battlefield. To date, few courses exist to provide skills in combat-zone trauma stabilization and treatment. Even fewer offer training in the identification and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders and traumatic brain injury. We set out to develop a multidisciplinary, comprehensive course to include didactic lectures as well as hands-on training and observational modules. Ten courses have been delivered to date. Thus far, feedback from military personnel and course participants has revealed the positive impact of the training program. In this manuscript, we present the layout of the program and its contents.

Seroprevalence study using oral rapid HIV testing in a large urban emergency department.

BACKGROUND: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends universal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing for patients aged 13-64 years in health care settings where the seroprevalence is>0.1%. Rapid HIV testing has several advantages; however, recent studies have raised concerns about false positives in populations with low seroprevalence. STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine the seroprevalence of HIV in our Emergency Department (ED) population, understand patient preferences toward rapid testing in the ED, and evaluate the performance of a rapid oral HIV test. METHODS: A serosurvey offered oral rapid HIV 1/2 testing (OraQuick ADVANCE, Bethlehem, PA) to a convenience sample of 1348 ED patients beginning August 2008. Subjects declining participation were asked to complete an opt-out survey. RESULTS: 1000 patients were tested. Twelve had positive results (1.2%), including one who had newly diagnosed HIV infection; 988 patients tested negative. Of these, 335 (33.3%) had never been tested; 640 had prior history of a negative HIV test. No false-positive rapid HIV results were detected; 98.7% received the results of their preliminary HIV test, including 100% of those who tested positive. Most subjects who declined testing cited either a recent negative HIV test (160/348) or low perceived risk (65/348). A minority cited a concern regarding their privacy (11/348) or that the test might delay their treatment (7/348). CONCLUSIONS: The seroprevalence estimate of 1.2% was above the rate recommended by the CDC for routine universal opt-out testing in our study population. The acceptance rate of rapid HIV testing and the percentage of patients receiving results approximated other recent reports.