Development of a brief bedside tool to screen women sexual assault survivors for risk of persistent posttraumatic stress six months after sexual assault.

This study aims to develop and validate a brief bedside tool to screen women survivors presenting for emergency care following sexual assault for risk of persistent elevated posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) six months after assault. Participants were 547 cisgender women sexual assault survivors who presented to one of 13 sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs for medical care within 72 h of a sexual assault and completed surveys one week and six months after the assault. Data on 222 potential predictors from the SANE visit and the week one survey spanning seven broadly-defined risk factor domains were candidates for inclusion in the screening tool. Elevated PTSS six months after assault were defined as PCL-5 > 38. LASSO logistic regression was applied to 20 randomly selected bootstrapped samples to evaluate variable importance. Logistic regression models comprised of the top 10, 20, and 30 candidate predictors were tested in 10 cross-validation samples drawn from 80% of the sample. The resulting instrument was validated in the remaining 20% of the sample. AUC of the finalized eight-item prediction tool was 0.77 and the Brier Score was 0.19. A raw score of 41 on the screener corresponds to a 70% risk of elevated PTSS at 6 months. Similar performance was observed for elevated PTSS at one year. This brief, eight-item risk stratification tool consists of easy-to-collect information and, if validated, may be useful for clinical trial enrichment and/or patient screening.

Race, Healthcare, and Health Disparities: A Critical Review and Recommendations for Advancing Health Equity.

An overwhelming body of evidence points to an inextricable link between race and health disparities in the United States. Although race is best understood as a social construct, its role in health outcomes has historically been attributed to increasingly debunked theories of underlying biological and genetic differences across races. Recently, growing calls for health equity and social justice have raised awareness of the impact of implicit bias and structural racism on social determinants of health, healthcare quality, and ultimately, health outcomes. This more nuanced recognition of the role of race in health disparities has, in turn, facilitated introspective racial disparities research, root cause analyses, and changes in practice within the medical community. Examining the complex interplay between race, social determinants of health, and health outcomes allows systems of health to create mechanisms for checks and balances that mitigate unfair and avoidable health inequalities. As one of the specialties most intertwined with social medicine, emergency medicine (EM) is ideally positioned to address racism in medicine, develop health equity metrics, monitor disparities in clinical performance data, identify research gaps, implement processes and policies to eliminate racial health inequities, and promote anti-racist ideals as advocates for structural change. In this critical review our aim was to (a) provide a synopsis of racial disparities across a broad scope of clinical pathology interests addressed in emergency departments-communicable diseases, non-communicable conditions, and injuries-and (b) through a race-conscious analysis, develop EM practice recommendations for advancing a culture of equity with the potential for measurable impact on healthcare quality and health outcomes.

Violence and Abuse: A Pandemic Within a Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, as society struggled with increasing disease burden, economic hardships, and with disease morbidity and mortality, governments and institutions began implementing stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders to help stop the spread of the virus. Although well-intentioned, one unintended adverse consequence was an increase in violence, abuse, and neglect. METHODS: We reviewed the literature on the effect the pandemic had on domestic violence, child and elder abuse and neglect, human trafficking, and gun violence. In this paper we explore common themes and causes of this violence and offer suggestions to help mitigate risk during ongoing and future pandemics. Just as these forms of violence primarily target at-risk, vulnerable populations, so did pandemic-related violence target marginalized populations including women, children, Blacks, and those with lower socioeconomic status. This became, and remains, a public health crisis within a crisis. In early 2021, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Public Health and Injury Committee was tasked with reviewing the impact the pandemic had on violence and abuse as the result of a resolution passed at the 2020 ACEP Council meeting. CONCLUSION: Measures meant to help control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic had many unintended consequences and placed people at risk for violence. Emergency departments (ED), although stressed and strained during the pandemic, remain a safety net for survivors of violence. As we move out of this pandemic, hospitals and EDs need to focus on steps that can be taken to ensure they preserve and expand their ability to assist victims should another pandemic or global health crisis develop.

Approach considerations for the management of strangulation in the emergency department.

Patients with a history of strangulation present to the emergency department with a variety of different circumstances and injury patterns. We review the terminology, pathophysiology, evaluation, management, and special considerations for strangulation injuries, including an overview of forensic considerations and legal framework for strangulation events.

Utility of COVID-19 antigen testing in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: The BinaxNOW coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Ag Card test (Abbott Diagnostics Scarborough, Inc.) is a lateral flow immunochromatographic point-of-care test for the qualitative detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid protein antigen. It provides results from nasal swabs in 15 minutes. Our purpose was to determine its sensitivity and specificity for a COVID-19 diagnosis. METHODS: Eligible patients had symptoms of COVID-19 or suspected exposure. After consent, 2 nasal swabs were collected; 1 was tested using the Abbott RealTime SARS-CoV-2 (ie, the gold standard polymerase chain reaction test) and the second run on the BinaxNOW point of care platform by emergency department staff. RESULTS: From July 20 to October 28, 2020, 767 patients were enrolled, of which 735 had evaluable samples. Their mean (SD) age was 46.8 (16.6) years, and 422 (57.4%) were women. A total of 623 (84.8%) patients had COVID-19 symptoms, most commonly shortness of breath (n = 404; 55.0%), cough (n = 314; 42.7%), and fever (n = 253; 34.4%). Although 460 (62.6%) had symptoms ≤7 days, the mean (SD) time since symptom onset was 8.1 (14.0) days. Positive tests occurred in 173 (23.5%) and 141 (19.2%) with the gold standard versus BinaxNOW test, respectively. Those with symptoms >2 weeks had a positive test rate roughly half of those with earlier presentations. In patients with symptoms ≤7 days, the sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values for the BinaxNOW test were 84.6%, 98.5%, 94.9%, and 95.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The BinaxNOW point-of-care test has good sensitivity and excellent specificity for the detection of COVID-19. We recommend using the BinasNOW for patients with symptoms up to 2 weeks.

Pain is common after sexual assault and posttraumatic arousal/reactivity symptoms mediate the development of new or worsening persistent pain.

ABSTRACT: Clinically significant new or worsening pain (CSNWP) is a common, yet often overlooked, sequelae of sexual assault. Little is known regarding factors influencing the development of CSNWP in sexual assault survivors. The current study used data from a recently completed prospective study to evaluate whether posttraumatic alterations in arousal and reactivity in the early aftermath of sexual assault influence the transition from acute to clinically significant new or worsening persistent pain. Women ≥ 18 years of age (n = 706) presenting for emergency care after sexual assault to 13 emergency care sites were enrolled in the study. Women completed assessments at the time of presentation as well as at 1 week (n = 706, 100%) and 6 weeks (n = 630, 91%). Nearly 70% of women reported CSNWP at the time of emergency care (n = 475, 69%), which persisted to 6 weeks in approximately 2 in 5 survivors (n = 248, 41%). A structural equation model adjusted for age, race, past trauma exposure, and preassault pain levels suggested that posttraumatic alterations in arousal/reactivity symptoms 1 week after assault partially mediated the transition from acute to persistent CSNWP. A significant portion (41%) of women sexual assault survivors develop CSNWP 6 weeks postassault. Posttraumatic arousal/reactivity symptoms in the early aftermath of assault contribute to CSNWP development; such symptoms are potential targets for secondary preventive interventions to reduce chronic postassault pain.

"I still feel so lost": experiences of women receiving SANE care during the year after sexual assault.

OBJECTIVE: Emergency caregivers provide initial care to women sexual assault (SA) survivors. An improved understanding of the issues facing this population can aide emergency care practitioners in providing high quality care. The goal of this study was to share the experiences of women SA survivors with the emergency care practitioners that care for them. METHODS: English-speaking adult women (n = 706) who received SA Nurse Examiner (SANE) evaluation within 72 hours of SA at 1 of 13 geographically distributed sites were enrolled in a prospective, longitudinal multi-site observational study. We qualitatively analyzed responses to the open-ended question: "What do you think is most important for researchers to understand about your experience since the assault?" asked 1 week, 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after enrollment. RESULTS: Themes from responses (n = 1434) from 590 women (84% of study sample) fell into 12 broad categories: daily life, justice, medical, and social services, mental health, physical health, prior trauma, recovery, romantic relationships, safety, self, shame, and social interactions. Responses demonstrated that the assault permeates many aspects of assault survivors' daily lives. CONCLUSIONS: Qualitative analyses of open-ended responses from a large cohort of women SA survivors receiving SANE care highlight the challenges for survivors and can increase understanding among the emergency care practitioners who care for them. The authors propose a brief acronym to help emergency care practitioners recall important messages for SA survivors.

Between Emergency Department Visits: The Role of Harm Reduction Programs in Mitigating the Harms Associated With Injection Drug Use.

Injection drug use is a major public health problem in the United States. Cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine are the most commonly injected illicit drugs, whereas opioids are responsible for the majority of overdose fatalities. Although recent emergency department (ED) efforts have focused on expanding capacity for buprenorphine induction for opioid use disorder treatment, the injection of illicit drugs carries specific health risks that require acknowledgment and management, particularly for patients who decline substance use treatment. Harm reduction is a public health approach that aims to reduce the harms associated with a health risk behavior, short of eliminating the behavior itself. Harm-reduction strategies fundamental to emergency medicine include naloxone distribution for opioid overdose. This clinical Review Article examines the specific health complications of injection drug use and reviews the evidence base for 2 interventions effective in reducing morbidity and mortality related to drug injection, irrespective of the specific drug used, that are less well known and infrequently leveraged by emergency medicine clinicians: syringe service programs and supervised injection facilities. In accordance with the recommendations of health authorities such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emergency clinicians can promote the use of harm-reduction programs in the community to reduce viral transmission and other risks of injection drug use by providing patients with information about and referrals to these programs after injection drug use-related ED visits.

Perceived Care Quality Among Women Receiving Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Care: Results From a 1-Week Postexamination Survey in a Large Multisite Prospective Study.

INTRODUCTION: This study examined the perspectives of female patients who had been sexually assaulted regarding the quality of care provided by sexual assault nurse examiners, including whether the patients' perspectives varied by their demographic characteristics and health status before the assault. METHODS: A total of 695 female patients who received care from sexual assault nurse examiners at 13 United States emergency care centers and community-based programs completed standardized surveys 1 week after receiving sexual assault nurse examiners' care for sexual assault. RESULTS: Most patients strongly agreed that the sexual assault nurse examiners provided high-quality care, including taking patients' needs/concerns seriously, not acting as though the assault was the patient's fault, showing care/compassion, explaining the sexual assault examination, and providing follow-up information. The perceptions did not vary by the patients' demographic characteristics or preassault health status. DISCUSSION: Female patients who had been sexually assaulted and who were evaluated at 13 widely geographically distributed sexual assault nurse examiners' programs consistently reported that the sexual assault nurse examiners provided high-quality, compassionate care.

Health care utilization by women sexual assault survivors after emergency care: Results of a multisite prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Approximately, 100,000 US women receive emergency care after sexual assault each year, but no large-scale study has examined the incidence of posttraumatic sequelae, receipt of health care, and frequency of assault disclosure to providers. The current study evaluated health outcomes and service utilization among women in the 6 weeks after sexual assault. METHODS: Women ≥18 years of age presenting for emergency care after sexual assault to twelve sites were approached. Among those willing to be contacted for the study (n = 1080), 706 were enrolled. Health outcomes, health care utilization, and assault disclosure were assessed via 6 week survey. RESULTS: Three quarters (76%) of women had posttraumatic stress, depression, or anxiety, and 65% had pain. Less than two in five reported seeing health care provider; receipt of care was not related to substantive differences in symptoms and was less likely among Hispanic women and women with a high school education or less. Nearly one in four who saw a primary care provider did not disclose their assault, often due to shame, embarrassment, or fear of being judged. CONCLUSION: Most women receiving emergency care after sexual assault experience substantial posttraumatic sequelae, but health care in the 6 weeks after assault is uncommon, unrelated to substantive differences in need, and limited in socially disadvantaged groups. Lack of disclosure to primary care providers was common among women who did receive care.

Anxiety Sensitivity Prospectively Predicts Increased Acute Posttraumatic Stress and Related Symptoms After Sexual Assault.

Anxiety sensitivity is a potential risk factor for posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and has been hypothesized to contribute to PTSS development. However, few prospective studies have evaluated whether anxiety sensitivity predicts PTSS. In a subsample of 48 women sexual assault survivors enrolled as part of a larger prospective observational study, elevated anxiety sensitivity measured via a brief assessment 1 week after experiencing a sexual assault was concurrently associated with PTSS at 1 week and prospectively predicted PTSS 6 weeks after the event, with small-to-medium effect sizes, η2 p = .10, even after covarying for trauma history. Heightened anxiety sensitivity at 1-week postevent also interacted with time to predict anxiety and depression both before and after sexual assault, with medium-to-large effect sizes, ηp 2 = .21- .24. This is consistent with research linking anxiety sensitivity to PTSS, but this was the first prospective study of which we are aware to demonstrate that anxiety sensitivity in the acute posttrauma period predicts PTSS among women who have recently experienced sexual assault. Future research should use the full Anxiety Sensitivity Index to replicate findings in a larger sample and explore whether targeting anxiety sensitivity could mitigate the development of PTSS in this vulnerable population.

A Case of Lactation Anaphylaxis.

We describe the case of a patient who presented multiple times to the emergency department (ED) with recurrent episodes of anaphylaxis in the immediate postpartum period. It was initially thought to be idiopathic in nature on previous visits, but was ultimately diagnosed as lactation anaphylaxis and successfully managed. The diagnosis was suspected when the detailed history revealed recurrent allergic symptoms with each episode of breastfeeding. Following emergency treatment of anaphylaxis, the patient was advised to transition to formula feeding and had no further allergic episodes from the time of discharge to the three-month follow-up period.

Predictors of Linkage to Care for Newly Diagnosed HIV-Positive Adults.

INTRODUCTION: Linkage to care following a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnosis is critical. In the U.S. only 69% of patients are successfully linked to care, which results in delayed receipt of antiretroviral therapy leading to immune system dysfunction and risk of transmission to others. METHODS: We evaluated predictors of failure to link to care at a large urban healthcare center in Philadelphia in order to identify potential intervention targets. We conducted a cohort study between May 2007 and November 2011 at hospital-affiliated outpatient clinics, emergency departments (EDs), and inpatient units. RESULTS: Of 87 patients with a new HIV diagnosis, 63 (72%) were linked to care: 23 (96%) from the outpatient setting and 40 (63%) from the hospital setting (ED or inpatient) (p<0.01). Those who were tested in the hospital-based settings were more likely to be black (p=0.01), homeless (p=0.03), and use alcohol or drugs (p=0.03) than those tested in the outpatient clinics. Patients tested in the ED or inpatient units had a 10.9 fold (p=0.03) higher odds of failure to link compared to those diagnosed in an outpatient clinic. When testing site was controlled, unemployment (OR 12.2;p<0.01) and substance use (OR 6.4;p<0.01) were associated with failure to link. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate the comparative success of linkage to care in outpatient medical clinics versus hospital-based settings. This study both reinforces the importance of routine opt-out HIV testing in outpatient practices, and demonstrates the need to better understand barriers to linkage.

Genital findings of women after consensual and nonconsensual intercourse.

After a sexual assault, forensic nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians are called on to collect evidence, document any genital injuries, and testify about the significance of injuries. Recently, the scientific rigor of the research has been challenged in the courts.

Identifying inaccuracies on emergency medicine residency applications.

BACKGROUND: Previous trials have showed a 10-30% rate of inaccuracies on applications to individual residency programs. No studies have attempted to corroborate this on a national level. Attempts by residency programs to diminish the frequency of inaccuracies on applications have not been reported. We seek to clarify the national incidence of inaccuracies on applications to emergency medicine residency programs. METHODS: This is a multi-center, single-blinded, randomized, cohort study of all applicants from LCME accredited schools to involved EM residency programs. Applications were randomly selected to investigate claims of AOA election, advanced degrees and publications. Errors were reported to applicants' deans and the NRMP. RESULTS: Nine residencies reviewed 493 applications (28.6% of all applicants who applied to any EM program). 56 applications (11.4%, 95%CI 8.6-14.2%) contained at least one error. Excluding "benign" errors, 9.8% (95% CI 7.2-12.4%), contained at least one error. 41% (95% CI 35.0-47.0%) of all publications contained an error. All AOA membership claims were verified, but 13.7% (95%CI 4.4-23.1%) of claimed advanced degrees were inaccurate. Inter-rater reliability of evaluations was good. Investigators were reluctant to notify applicants' dean's offices and the NRMP. CONCLUSION: This is the largest study to date of accuracy on application for residency and the first such multi-centered trial. High rates of incorrect data were found on applications. This data will serve as a baseline for future years of the project, with emphasis on reporting inaccuracies and warning applicants of the project's goals.

The influence of the causes and contexts of medical errors on emergency medicine residents' responses to their errors: an exploration.

PURPOSE: To determine emergency medicine residents' emotional and behavioral responses to their medical errors and examine associations between residents' responses to medical error and perceptions of their training. METHOD: In 2003, 55 residents at two U.S. residency programs were asked to complete questionnaires about their errors and responses to their errors in three domains: emotional response, learning behavior, and disclosure. The questions were a mixture of free text, yes/no responses, and some were rated using a five-point Likert scale. Based on a conceptual framework, the authors constructed scales to describe the various domains and associations between the residents' responses to medical error and perceptions of their training were examined using Somers' D. RESULTS: A total of 43 residents returned questionnaires (80%); 40 of these residents described errors. Thirty-three (83%) residents discussed the error with someone; 27 (71%) with the attending and 10 (28%) with the patient/family. Negative emotions were common: 27 (68%) felt remorse, 21 (53%) guilt, 23 (58%) inadequacy, and 22 (55%) frustration. Residents' negative emotional responses were associated with their personal characteristics [26% (95% CI, 5-47%) association with lack of experience] and residents' perceptions of their training environment: 15% association with job overload (95% CI, -8-38%) and 23% association with lack of institutional support (95% CI, 5-41%). While 32 (81%) residents increased attention to detail, only 2 (5%) increased their use of evidence-based medicine. CONCLUSIONS: Errors committed by emergency medicine residents often resulted in negative emotions, limited constructive system-based improvements, and inadequate disclosure. Negative perceptions of the training environment are associated with negative emotional responses.

Assessment of communication and interpersonal skills competencies.

Excellent communication and interpersonal (C-IP) skills are a universal requirement for a well-rounded emergency physician. This requirement for C-IP skill excellence is a direct outgrowth of the expectations of our patients and a prerequisite to working in the increasingly complex emergency department environment. Directed education and assessment of C-IP skills are critical components of all emergency medicine (EM) training programs and now are a requirement of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Outcome Project. In keeping with its mission to improve the quality of EM education and in response to the ACGME Outcome Project, the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD-EM) hosted a consensus conference focusing on the application of the six core competencies to EM. The objective of this article is to report the results of this consensus conference as it relates to the C-IP competency. There were four primary goals: 1) define the C-IP skills competency for EM, 2) define the assessment methods currently used in other specialties, 3) identify the methods suggested by the ACGME for use in C-IP skills, and 4) analyze the applicability of these assessment techniques to EM. Ten specific communication competencies are defined for EM. Assessment techniques for evaluation of these C-IP competencies and a timeline for implementation are also defined. Standardized patients and direct observation were identified as the criterion standard assessment methods of C-IP skills; however, other methods for assessment are also discussed.