The Effect of Access to Electronic Health Records on Throughput Efficiency and Imaging Utilization in the Emergency Department.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the availability of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) reduces throughput time and utilization of advanced imaging for patients in an academic ED. DATA SOURCES: All patients arriving at an academic Emergency Department (ED) via ambulance between June 1, 2011, and June 4, 2012, were included in the study. This accounted for 9,970 unique ambulance patient visits. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective noninterventional analysis of patients in an academic ED. The primary independent variable was whether the patient had a prior EHR at the study hospital. Main outcomes were throughput time, number of advanced diagnostic imaging studies (CT, MRI, ultrasound), and the associated cost of these imaging studies. A set of controls, including age, gender, ICD9 codes, acuity measures, and NYU ED algorithm case severity classifications, was used in an ordinary least-squares (OLS) regression framework to estimate the association between EHR availability and the outcome measures. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A patient with a prior EHR experienced a mean reduction in CT scans of 13.9 percent ([4.9, 23.0]). There was no material change in throughput time for patients with a prior EHR and no difference in utilization of other imaging studies across patients with a prior EHR and those without. Cost savings associated with prior EHRs are $22.52 per patient visit. CONCLUSION: EHR availability for ED patients is associated with a reduction in CT scans and cost savings but had no impact on throughput time or order frequency of other imaging studies.

The impact of patient telephone call after discharge on likelihood to recommend in an academic emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction is a common parameter tracked by health care systems, and likely influences patient provider choice and may impact insurer payment. Achieving high satisfaction in an academic emergency department (ED) can be a daunting task due to variable volumes, acuity, and overcrowding. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of a postdischarge telephone call by a staff member after discharge from the ED on patient satisfaction. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study conducted in the two University of California San Diego Health System EDs. Press Ganey patient satisfaction surveys are mailed to a random sample of 50% of all discharged patients. In August 2010 a program of MD and RN telephone call back 1 to 5 days after the ED visit was initiated. In conjunction with this program, a custom question was added to the standard survey, "Called back after discharge, Yes/No?" All surveys returned between September 22, 2010 and December 7, 2010 were reviewed, and those that chose to self-identify were selected to allow for ED chart review. The key outcome variable "likelihood to recommend score" was dichotomized into the highest category, 5 (very good) and remaining levels, 1-4 (very poor, poor, fair, good). ED records were abstracted for data on waiting time (WT), length of stay (LOS), and triage class (TC). These variables were selected because they have been shown to impact patient satisfaction in prior studies. Likelihood to recommend ratings for those reporting "Yes" to call back were compared to those reporting "No" to call back. Summary statistics were generated for patient characteristics in the "Yes" and "No" groups. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals (CIs) for all counts and proportions were calculated with the "exact" method. A logistic regression model was constructed assessing odds ratio (OR) for likelihood-to-recommend score 5 while controlling for the variables of WT, LOS, and TC. RESULTS: In the study period, about 5000 surveys were mailed, 507 were returned, and 368 self-identified. Of those that self-identified, 136 patients answered "Yes" to the callback question and 232 answered "No." The mean age for those indicating "Yes" was 55.8 years (CI 52.9-58.7), and for those indicating "No," 50.7 years (CI 47.9-53.5). Gender and triage code were similar between the two groups. Among those answering "Yes," 89.0% (CI 82.5-93.7) provided a "5" rating for "likelihood to recommend," compared to 55.6% (CI 49.0-62.1) who replied "No" for call back. The logistic regression model generated an OR of 6.35 (CI 3.4-11.7) for providing a level 5 rating for "likelihood to recommend" for patients reporting "Yes" for call back after controlling for WT, LOS, and TC. CONCLUSION: In the study institution, patients that are called back are much more likely to have a favorable impression of the visit as assessed by likelihood to recommend regardless of WT, LOS, or TC. These data support "call back" as an effective strategy to improve ED patient satisfaction.

The impact of post-discharge patient call back on patient satisfaction in two academic emergency departments.

BACKGROUND: Patients' satisfaction is a common parameter tracked by health care systems and Emergency Departments (EDs). OBJECTIVES: To determine whether telephone calls by health care providers to patients after discharge from the ED was associated with improved patient satisfaction. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of Press Ganey (PG; Press Ganey Associates, South Bend, IN) surveys from two EDs operated by the University of California San Diego Health System. Responses to the YES/NO question, "After discharge, did you receive a phone call from an ED staff member?" was compared to the responses to the question "likelihood of recommending this ED to others" (LR). This variable could be ranked with a score of 1 (very poor) to 5 (very good). Responses were dichotomized into two groups, 1-4 and 5. Chi-squared was performed to assess LR between those answering YES vs. NO to the call back question. Differences in proportion, 95% confidence interval (CI), and p-value are reported. Rankings for percentage of 5s across all EDs in the PG database were compared based upon YES/NO responses. RESULTS: In the 12-month study period, about 30,000 surveys were mailed and 2250 (7.5%) were returned. Three hundred forty-seven (15.4%) checked off YES for the call back question. Percentage of 5s for LR for NO call back was 51.1% and for YES call back was 70.6% (difference = 19.5; 95% CI 14.0-24.6; p < 0.001).These values correlated with an ED ranking of 14(th) and 85(th) percentile, respectively. CONCLUSION: This retrospective study demonstrated a strong association between post-visit patient call back and LR. Further prospective study with control for co-variables is warranted.

Impact of patient and family communication in a pediatric emergency department on likelihood to recommend.

OBJECTIVE: Identify the specific patient experience variables that most strongly predict satisfaction as measured by the likelihood to recommend rating. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of a patient satisfaction survey distributed to patients during their visit to an academic children's hospital emergency department (ED) during a 3-month period. Any incomplete or incorrectly completed surveys were excluded. The associations between staff communication variables and "likelihood to recommend" were assessed while controlling for daily ED flow data. RESULTS: A total of 3135 surveys were completed with 825 (26%) excluded for incomplete or incorrect entry. After controlling for daily census, median daily wait time and median daily length of stay, the communication question that asks if the nurse or physician kept them informed while in the examination room had the strongest association (odds ratio, 12.2; 95% confidence interval, 9.3-16.1; P < 0.001), with the response of "always" likely to recommend this ED. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that keeping patients and their families informed has a more positive effect on patient satisfaction than any other variable studied even in the setting of increased census and wait times.

Severe iron deficiency anemia and lice infestation.

BACKGROUND: Lice infestation is a commonly encountered disorder in emergency medicine. The louse survives from a blood meal from its host; hence, iron deficiency anemia is a theoretic possibility. A limited number of reports of severe iron deficiency anemia have appeared in the veterinary literature, but a thorough review of the medical literature did not reveal a single instance in human beings. OBJECTIVE: We report a small case series of patients with heavy louse infestation and profound iron deficiency anemia. CASE REPORT: The index case along with two other cases discovered from an exhaustive search of 4 years of the institution's Emergency Department records all had heavy infestation with head and body lice. Laboratory evaluation revealed serum hemoglobin levels under 6 gm/dL, low serum ferritin levels, and microcytic red blood cell indices. All patients were admitted to the hospital, received transfusions, and had evaluation of their anemia. No patient had evidence of gastrointestinal blood loss or alternative explanation for their anemia. CONCLUSIONS: Although cause and effect cannot be established from this case series, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first published evidence of a provocative association of louse infestation and severe iron deficiency anemia in humans.

Comparison of three aspirin formulations in human volunteers.

INTRODUCTION: The treatment of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) includes the administration of aspirin. Current guidelines recommend chewing aspirin tablets to increase absorption. While this is intuitive, there are scant data supporting this recommendation. The purpose of this study is to assess which of 3 different aspirin formulations is most rapidly absorbed after ingestion. METHODS: A prospective, open-label, 3-way crossover volunteer study at a tertiary university medical center with human subjects 18 years or older. Fasted subjects were randomly assigned to receive aspirin 1,950 mg as (1) solid aspirin tablets swallowed whole, (2) solid aspirin tablet chewed then swallowed, or (3) a chewable aspirin formulation chewed and swallowed. Serum salicylate measurements were obtained over a period of 180 minutes. Pharmacokinetic parameters were determined. RESULTS: Thirteen males and 1 female completed all 3 arms of study. Peak serum salicylate concentrations were seen at 180 minutes in all groups. Mean peaks were 10.4, 11.3, and 12.2 mg/dL in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Mean area under the time concentration was 1,153, 1,401, and 1,743 mg-min/dL in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. No measurable salicylate concentrations were seen in 6 subjects in group 1 at 60 minutes as compared to 1 subject in group 2. All subjects in group 3 had measurable levels at 45 minutes. There were no adverse effects in any of the subjects during the study period. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrate that the chewable aspirin formulation achieved the most rapid rate of absorption. In addition, the chewable formulation absorption was more complete than the other formulations at 180 minutes. These data suggest that in the treatment of ACS, a chewable aspirin formulation may be preferable to solid tablet aspirin, either chewed or swallowed.

Impact of an express admit unit on emergency department length of stay.

BACKGROUND: Express admit units (EAUs) have been proposed as a way to expedite patient flow through the Emergency Department (ED). OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the effect of opening a five-bed EAU unit for temporary placement of admitted patients on our ED length of stay (LOS) and waiting room times (WT). METHOD: This was a before-and-after interventional study of the 3-month period immediately before (pre-EAU) and after opening (post-EAU) of the EAU. We compared ED LOS and WT for patients admitted and discharged from the ED for both time periods, controlling for daily census and patient acuity. RESULTS: During the post-EAU period, 386 patients (26.2% of total admits) were admitted through the EAU. Overall LOS decreased from 8:21 (interquartile range [IQR] 6:02-11:20) to 7:41 (IQR 5:22-10:16) for all admitted patients (p < 0.001), and from 3:41 (IQR 2:05-5:58) to 3:35 (IQR 2:00-5:55) for the discharged patients (p = 0.025). After controlling for census and acuity, the LOS decreased an average of 10% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6%-14%; p < 0.001) for admitted patients and 4% (95% CI 2%-7%; p = 0.001) for discharged patients. These changes represented a decreased LOS of about 50 and 9 min, respectively. There were no significant differences in WT (0:44; IQR 0:09-2:07 vs. 0:50; IQR 0:11-2:20 for admitted patients and 0:41; IQR 0:09-1:50 vs. 0:41; IQR 0:10-1:47 for discharged patients). However, after controlling for census and acuity, WT decreased 9% (95% CI 1%-16%; p = 0.022) for discharged patients, which represented a decrease of about 4 min. CONCLUSIONS: With an EAU, there was a modest improvement in ED LOS despite an overall increase in daily ED volume.

Impact of an internet-based emergency department appointment system to access primary care at safety net community clinics.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We evaluate the effect of an Internet-based, electronic referral system (termed IMPACT-ED for Improving Medical home and Primary care Access to the Community clinics Through the ED) on access and follow-up at primary care community clinics for safety net emergency department (ED) patients. METHODS: We conducted a nonblinded interventional trial at an urban, safety net, hospital ED with a census of 39,000 annually. IMPACT-ED identified patients who had no source of regular care and lived in a 15-ZIP-code low-income area served by 3 community clinics. Emergency physicians received an automated notification through the electronic medical record to access an imbedded software program for scheduling follow-up clinic appointments. Patients who would benefit from a follow-up clinic visit within 2 weeks as determined by the emergency physician received a computer-generated appointment time and clinic map with bus routes as part of their discharge instructions, and the clinics received an electronic notification of the appointment. We compared frequency of follow-up for a 6-month period before implementation when patients received written instructions to call the clinic on their own (pre-IMPACT) and 6 months after implementation (post-IMPACT). Statistical analysis was conducted with chi(2) testing, and corresponding 95% confidence intervals are presented. RESULTS: There were 326 patients who received an appointment (post-IMPACT), of whom 81 followed up at the clinic as directed (24.8%), compared with 399 patients who received a referral (pre-IMPACT), of whom 4 followed up as directed (1.0%), for an absolute improvement of 23.8% (95% confidence interval 19.1% to 28.6%). CONCLUSION: Although most patients still failed to follow up at the community clinics as directed, the use of an Internet-based scheduling program linking a safety net ED with local community clinics significantly improved the frequency of follow-up for patients without primary care.

The impact of arm position on the measurement of orthostatic blood pressure.

Blood pressure is a standard vital sign in patients evaluated in an Emergency Department. The American Heart Association has recommended a preferred position of the arm and cuff when measuring blood pressure. There is no formal recommendation for arm position when measuring orthostatic blood pressure. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of different arm positions on the measurement of postural changes in blood pressure. This was a prospective, unblinded, convenience study involving Emergency Department patients with complaints unrelated to cardiovascular instability. Repeated blood pressure measurements were obtained using an automatic non-invasive device with each subject in a supine and standing position and with the arm parallel and perpendicular to the torso. Orthostatic hypotension was defined as a difference of >or= 20 mm Hg systolic or >or= 10 mm Hg diastolic when subtracting standing from supine measurements. There were four comparisons made: group W, arm perpendicular supine and standing; group X, arm parallel supine and standing; group Y, arm parallel supine and perpendicular standing; and group Z, arm perpendicular supine and parallel standing. There were 100 patients enrolled, 55 men, mean age 44 years. Four blood pressure measurements were obtained on each patient. The percentage of patients meeting orthostatic hypotension criteria in each group was: W systolic 6% (95% CI 1%, 11%), diastolic 4% (95% CI 0%, 8%), X systolic 8% (95% CI 3%, 13%), diastolic 9% (95% CI 3%, 13%), Y systolic 19% (95% CI 11%, 27%), diastolic 30% (95% CI 21%, 39%), Z systolic 2% (95% CI 0%, 5%), diastolic 2% (95% CI 0%, 5%). Comparison of Group Y vs. X, Z, and W was statistically significant (p < 0.0001). Arm position has a significant impact on determination of postural changes in blood pressure. The combination of the arm parallel when supine and perpendicular when standing may significantly overestimate the orthostatic change. Arm position should be held constant in supine and standing positions when assessing for orthostatic change in blood pressure.

Impact of abdominal helical computed tomography on the rate of negative appendicitis.

Helical abdominal computed tomography (HCT) is a common test in the evaluation of patients with presumed appendicitis. Studies have demonstrated HCT to have high sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value. Despite this, there has not been consistent demonstration that HCT has had beneficial effect on patient outcome. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of HCT on patient outcome as measured by the rate of negative appendicitis and perforated appendicitis. Patients were identified from a pathology department database that included all patients taken to the operating room with a pre-operative diagnosis of appendicitis. Pathologic specimen analysis was used to determine the presence of appendicitis and perforation. Two periods were studied: Period A, a 4-year interval before the arrival of HCT; and Period B, a 3-year period several years after the incorporation of HCT into the evaluation of suspected appendicitis. Primary outcome measures were the rates of negative appendicitis and perforated appendicitis. During Period A, 316 patients were identified; 12% had conventional computed tomography, none had HCT. The negative appendicitis rate was 15.5%; the perforated appendicitis rate was 11.6%. During Period B, 477 patients were identified; 81.5% had HCT. The negative appendicitis rate was 7.9%; the perforated appendicitis rate was 14.4%. The difference in negative appendicitis rates was 7.6% (3.0%, 12.4%), and in perforated appendicitis it was -2.8% (95% CI -8.0%, 2.1%). At the study institution, there was a 48% decrease in the rate of negative appendicitis encountered in association with the common use of HCT.

The impact of a pneumatic tube and computerized physician order management on laboratory turnaround time.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We assess the effect of sequential modifications in laboratory processing, including pneumatic tube transport and fully computerized order management, on laboratory turnaround time in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This was an observational analysis of a comprehensive computerized database derived from ED, laboratory, and hospital information systems. The setting was an academic urban ED with annual census of 38,000. Participants and interventions included all patients who had laboratory testing (serum sodium level, troponin level, or CBC count) during three 1-month study periods: before pneumatic tube and computerized order management (prepneumatic tube), after pneumatic tube but before computerized order management (postpneumatic tube), and after both pneumatic tube and computerized order management (postpneumatic tube/computerized order management). The primary outcome measure was median laboratory turnaround time, reported with interquartile ranges. Additional measures included ED census and number of laboratory tests ordered during each study period. RESULTS: The monthly ED census was 3,021, 3,428, and 3,066 for the prepneumatic tube, postpneumatic tube, and postpneumatic tube/computerized order management periods. There was a significant decrease in turnaround time with each period and each test over time. For serum sodium testing, the median laboratory turnaround time decreased from 55.9 to 46.7 to 37.2 minutes for prepneumatic tube, postpneumatic tube, and postpneumatic tube/computerized order management periods. For CBC-count testing, median times decreased from 55.6 to 42.2 to 36.3 minutes, respectively. For troponin I testing, median times decreased from 52.8 to 41.8 to 30.6 minutes, respectively. CONCLUSION: Changes in laboratory specimen management, including the use of a pneumatic tube and computerized order management, resulted in a progressive decrease in laboratory turnaround time in the study ED.

Impact of helical computed tomography on the rate of negative appendicitis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of helical computed tomography (HCT) on the rate of negative appendicitis (NA). METHODS: A before-and-after comparison study comparing data from a prospective consecutive case series to data from a retrospective chart review. The prospective series included all patients presenting to the ED during a 19-month period, during which patients with suspected appendicitis were managed in accordance with a guideline that stipulated HCT in selected cases. The retrospective group included patients taken to the operating room (OR) with a preoperative diagnosis of appendicitis over a 4-year time frame before the use of HCT. The primary outcome variable was the rate of NA. RESULTS: During the HCT era, 104 of 310 patients, 71 (68%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 59-76) men and 33 (32%; 95% CI, 24-41) women, were taken to the OR with a diagnosis of appendicitis. Fourteen (13.5%; 95% CI, 8-21) were NA. During the pre-HCT period, 445 patients, 280 (62.9%; 95% CI, 58-67) men and 165 (37.1%; 95% CI, 33-42) women were taken to the OR with the preoperative diagnosis of appendicitis, and 66 (14.8%; 95% CI, 12-19) were NA. CONCLUSION: At the study institution, the selective use of HCT did not result in a significant decline in the rate of NA.

Impact of rapid entry and accelerated care at triage on reducing emergency department patient wait times, lengths of stay, and rate of left without being seen.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Patients who leave before being seen by a physician represent a significant problem for many emergency departments (EDs). We sought to determine the effect of a new ED rapid entry and accelerated care at triage (REACT) process on the frequency of patients who leave before being seen. METHODS: We conducted a before-after intervention design to study the effect of REACT for ambulatory patients presenting to our urban academic center ED with a census of approximately 37,000. This process redesign included patient identification tracking, integrated computer interfaces to eliminate up-front registration tasks, immediate placement of patients in open ED beds, and physician-directed ancillary testing and care at triage when no ED beds were available. Outcome measures included the average monthly rate of patients who left before being seen during the 6 months before (pre-REACT) and 6 to 12 months after (post-REACT) its initiation. Other measures included average of mean monthly rates of wait times, ED length of stay, ED census, and admissions. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in leave before being seen frequency from the pre-REACT to post-REACT periods (3.2% absolute decrease [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.9% to 4.6%]), despite an overall increase in ED census. Average mean monthly patient wait times decreased by 24 minutes [95% CI 10 to 38 minutes] after the initiation of REACT, as did overall ED length of stay by 31 minutes [95% CI 6 to 57 minutes]. CONCLUSION: The initiation of a rapid entry and accelerated care process significantly decreased patient leave before being seen rates, average wait times and length of stay, despite an overall increase in patient census.

Utility of impedance cardiography to improve physician estimation of hemodynamic parameters in the emergency department.

Emergency physicians must often make assessments of complex hemodynamic parameters. To assess the utility of impedance cardiography (ICG) in the emergency department, the authors examined treating physicians' abilities to assess stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), and systemic vascular resistance (SVR) by comparing the clinicians' estimates of these values to ICG measurements. Treating physicians were asked to estimate the SV, CO, and SVR of acutely ill patients as being low, normal, or high. ICG measurements of SV, CO, and SVR were also categorized as low, normal, or high. Physician estimates were compared with ICG measures for concordance. Changes of therapy initiated as a result of discordance between physician's estimates and ICG measurements were recorded. The treating physician assessments and ICG hemodynamic measurements were concordant in 62 of 101 (62%) cases for SV (kappa=0.068), in 53 of 101 (53%) cases for CO (p=0.125), and in 50 of 101 (50%) measurements for SVR (p=0.148). The low concordance suggests that treating physicians did not consistently estimate SV, CO, and SVR accurately. ICG provides noninvasive hemodynamic measurements of SV, CO, and SVR that offer clinical utility and potential value in the emergency department.

Mycotoxins revisited: Part II.

Mushrooms are ubiquitous in nature. They are an important source of nutrition, however, certain varieties contain chemicals that can be highly toxic to humans. Industrially cultivated mushrooms are historically very safe, whereas foraging for mushrooms or accidental ingestion of mushrooms in the environment can result in serious illness and death. The emergency department is the most common site of presentation for patients suffering from acute mushroom poisoning. Although recognition can be facilitated by identification of a characteristic toxidrome, the presenting manifestations can be variable and have considerable overlap with more common and generally benign clinical syndromes. The goal of this two-part article is to review the knowledge base on this subject and provide information that will assist the clinician in the early consideration, diagnosis and treatment of mushroom poisoning. Part I reviewed the epidemiology and demographics of mushroom poisoning, the physical characteristics of the most toxic varieties, the classification of the toxic species, and presented an overview of the cyclopeptide-containing mushroom class. Part II is focused on the presentation of the other classes of toxic mushrooms along with an up-to-date review of the most recently identified poisonous varieties.

Mycotoxins revisited: Part I.

Mushrooms are ubiquitous in nature. They are an important source of nutrition; however, certain varieties contain chemicals that can be highly toxic to humans. Industrially cultivated mushrooms are historically very safe, but foraging for mushrooms or accidental ingestion of mushrooms in the environment can result in serious illness and death. The emergency department is the most common site of presentation for patients suffering from acute mushroom poisoning. Although recognition can be facilitated by identification of a characteristic toxidrome, the presenting manifestations can be variable and have considerable overlap with more common and generally benign clinical syndromes. The goal of this two-part article is to review the knowledge base on this subject and provide information that will assist the clinician in the early consideration, diagnosis and treatment of mushroom poisoning. Part I, presented in this issue of the Journal, reviews the epidemiology and demographics of mushroom poisoning, the physical characteristics of the most toxic varieties, the classification of the toxic species, and an overview of the cyclopeptide-containing mushroom class. Part II, to be published in the next issue of the Journal, will be focused on the presentation of the other classes of toxic mushrooms along with an up-to-date review of the most recently identified poisonous varieties.

Clinical value of the total white blood cell count and temperature in the evaluation of patients with suspected appendicitis.

OBJECTIVES: The total white blood cell (WBC) count and temperature are often expected to be elevated in patients with appendicitis. Clinicians often use the results of these parameters in making a judgment about the presence or absence of disease. The objective of this study was to assess the discriminatory value of the total WBC count and presenting body temperature in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with signs and symptoms suggestive of appendicitis. METHODS: This was a prospective consecutive case series in a university ED with an annual census of 38,000. All patients presenting to the ED in whom the diagnosis of appendicitis was the attending physician's primary consideration were enrolled. Measures included age, gender, symptoms, physical findings, patient temperature as taken in the ED, initial total WBC count, and discharge diagnosis. Admitted patients were followed up until surgical or clinical outcomes, and discharged patients were followed up by telephone two weeks after the initial visit. All statistical analysis was performed using StatsDirect version 1.9.8. RESULTS: A total of 293 patients were enrolled over a two-year study period. The total WBC count was measured in 274 cases, and the temperature was measured in 293 cases. There were 130 male patients and 163 female patients. The mean age of the patients was 30.8 years (range, 7-75 years). Appendicitis was confirmed in 92 patients. In this study group of patients, a total WBC count >10,000 cells/mm(3) had a sensitivity of 76% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 65% to 84%) and a specificity of 52% (95% CI = 45% to 60%). The positive predictive value (PPV) was 42% (95% CI = 35% to 51%), and the negative predictive value (NPV) was 82% (95% CI = 74% to 89%). The positive likelihood ratio (LR) was 1.59 (95% CI = 1.31 to 1.93), and the negative LR was 0.46 (95% CI = 0.31 to 0.67). A temperature >99.0 degrees F had a sensitivity of 47% (95% CI = 36% to 57%) and a specificity of 64% (95% CI = 57% to 71%). The PPV was 37% (95% CI = 29% to 46%), and the NPV was 72% (95% CI = 65% to 79%). The positive LR was 1.3 (95% CI = 0.97 to 1.72), and the negative LR was 0.82 (95% CI = 0.65 to 1.01). The areas under the curve for the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve were 0.72 (95% CI = 0.65 to 0.79) and 0.59 (95% CI = 0.52 to 0.66) for an elevated total WBC count and an elevated temperature, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: An elevated total WBC count >10,000 cells/mm(3), while statistically associated with the presence of appendicitis, had very poor sensitivity and specificity and almost no clinical utility. There was minimal statistical association between a temperature of >99 degrees F and the presence of appendicitis. The ROC curve suggests there is no value of total WBC count or temperature that has sufficient sensitivity and specificity to be of clinical value in the diagnosis of appendicitis. Clinicians should be wary of reliance on either elevated temperature or total WBC count as an indicator of the presence of appendicitis.

Approach to decreasing emergency department ambulance diversion hours.

Analysis between two local Emergency Departments (EDs) suggested an oscillatory phenomenon for ambulance diversion: When one hospital went on diversion it led to a disproportionate flow of ambulance traffic to a neighboring facility that subsequently was forced to go on divert. We hypothesized if one hospital could avoid diversion status, the need for diversion could be averted in the neighboring facility. ED A secured additional resources and made a commitment to no diversion for 1 week. No changes in operations occurred in hospital B. We found no differences in ambulance runs or ED census at either facility comparing the week before, during, and after the trial. There was a dramatic decline in diversion hours from 19.7 to 1.4 and 27.7 to 0 at hospitals A and B, respectively, during the trial period (p < 0.05) compared to the weeks before and after. We conclude that reciprocating effects can be decreased with one institution's commitment to avoid diversion, thus decreasing the need for diversion at a neighboring facility.