Identifying trigger concepts to screen emergency department visits for diagnostic errors.

OBJECTIVES: The diagnostic process is a vital component of safe and effective emergency department (ED) care. There are no standardized methods for identifying or reliably monitoring diagnostic errors in the ED, impeding efforts to enhance diagnostic safety. We sought to identify trigger concepts to screen ED records for diagnostic errors and describe how they can be used as a measurement strategy to identify and reduce preventable diagnostic harm. METHODS: We conducted a literature review and surveyed ED directors to compile a list of potential electronic health record (EHR) trigger (e-triggers) and non-EHR based concepts. We convened a multidisciplinary expert panel to build consensus on trigger concepts to identify and reduce preventable diagnostic harm in the ED. RESULTS: Six e-trigger and five non-EHR based concepts were selected by the expert panel. E-trigger concepts included: unscheduled ED return to ED resulting in hospital admission, death following ED visit, care escalation, high-risk conditions based on symptom-disease dyads, return visits with new diagnostic/therapeutic interventions, and change of treating service after admission. Non-EHR based signals included: cases from mortality/morbidity conferences, risk management/safety office referrals, ED medical director case referrals, patient complaints, and radiology/laboratory misreads and callbacks. The panel suggested further refinements to aid future research in defining diagnostic error epidemiology in ED settings. CONCLUSIONS: We identified a set of e-trigger concepts and non-EHR based signals that could be developed further to screen ED visits for diagnostic safety events. With additional evaluation, trigger-based methods can be used as tools to monitor and improve ED diagnostic performance.

Diagnostic Decision-Making in the Emergency Department.

Emergency medicine requires diagnosing unfamiliar patients with undifferentiated acute presentations. This requires hypothesis generation and questioning, examination, and testing. Balancing patient load, care across the severity spectrum, and frequent interruptions create time pressures that predispose humans to fast thinking or cognitive shortcuts, including cognitive biases. Diagnostic error is the failure to establish an accurate and timely explanation of the problem or communicate that to the patient, often contributing to physical, emotional, or financial harm. Methods for monitoring diagnostic error in the emergency department are needed to establish frequency and serve as a foundation for future interventions.

True Costs of Medical Clearance: Accuracy and Disagreement between Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine Providers.

INTRODUCTION: Medical clearance is required to label patients with mental illness as free of acute medical concerns. However, tests may extend emergency department lengths of stay and increase costs to patients and hospitals. The objective of this study was to determine how knowledgeable emergency and psychiatric providers are about the costs of tests used for medical clearance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We surveyed the department of psychiatry (Psych) and department of emergency medicine (EM) faculty and residents to obtain their estimates of the costs of 18 laboratory/imaging studies commonly used for medical clearance. Survey responses were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test to compare the median cost estimates between residents and faculty in EM and Psych. RESULTS: A total of 99 physicians (response rate, 47.8%) completed the survey, including 47 faculty (EM = 28; Psych = 20) and 52 residents (EM = 29; Psych = 23). Across all the groups, cost estimates for tests were inaccurate, off by several hundred dollars for three tests, and by $13-$80 for 15. Significant differences between EM and Psych providers for estimated median costs of specific tests included between residents for urine drug screens (EM: $800; Psych: $50; P < 0.0001) and ECG (EM: $25; Psych: $75; P = 0.004); between faculty for urinalysis (EM: $40; Psych: $18; P = 0.020) and urine drug screen (EM: $100; Psych: $10; P < 0.0001); and between all physicians for urine drug screen (EM: $500; Psych: $50; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Further education on the financial costs of medical clearance is needed to inform workup decisions and consensus between emergency and psychiatric providers.

Which transfers can we avoid: Multi-state analysis of factors associated with discharge home without procedure after ED to ED transfer for traumatic injury.

OBJECTIVE: Among injured patients transferred from one emergency department (ED) to another, we determined factors associated with being discharged from the second ED without procedures, or admission or observation. METHODS: We analyzed all patients with injury diagnosis codes transferred between two EDs in the 2011 Healthcare Utilization Project State Emergency Department and State Inpatient Databases for 6 states. Multivariable hierarchical logistic regression evaluated the association between patient (demographics and clinical characteristics) and hospital factors, and discharge from the second ED without coded procedures. RESULTS: In 2011, there were a total of 48,160 ED-to-ED injury transfers, half of which (49%) were transferred to non-trauma centers, including 23% with major trauma. A total of 22,011 transfers went to a higher level of care, of which 36% were discharged from the ED without procedures. Relative to torso injuries, discharge without procedures was more likely for patients with soft tissue (OR 6.8, 95%CI 5.6-8.2), head (OR 3.7, 95%CI 3.1-4.6), facial (OR 3.8, 95%CI 3.1-4.7), or hand (OR 3.1, 95%CI 2.6-3.8) injuries. Other factors included Medicaid (OR 1.3, 95%CI 1.2-1.5) or uninsured (OR 1.3, 95%CI 1.2-1.5) status. Treatment at the receiving ED added an additional $2859 on average (95% CI $2750-$2968) per discharged patient to the total charges for injury care, not including the costs of ambulance transport between facilities. CONCLUSION: Over a third of patients transferred to another ED for traumatic injury are discharged from the second ED without admission, observation, or procedures. Telemedicine consultation with sub-specialists might reduce some of these transfers.

The Role of Mental Health Disease in Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations: Findings From a Large State.

BACKGROUND: Preventable hospitalizations are markers of potentially low-value care. Addressing the problem requires understanding their contributing factors. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to determine the correlation between specific mental health diseases and each potentially preventable hospitalization as defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. DESIGN/SUBJECTS: The Texas Inpatient Public Use Data File, an administrative database of all Texas hospital admissions, identified 7,351,476 adult acute care hospitalizations between 2005 and 2008. MEASURES: A hierarchical multivariable logistic regression model clustered by admitting hospital adjusted for patient and hospital factors and admission date. RESULTS: A total of 945,280 (12.9%) hospitalizations were potentially preventable, generating $6.3 billion in charges and 1.2 million hospital days per year. Mental health diseases [odds ratio (OR), 1.25; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.22-1.27] and substance use disorders (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.12-1.13) both increased odds that a hospitalization was potentially preventable. However, each mental health disease varied from increasing or decreasing the odds of potentially preventable hospitalization depending on which of the 12 preventable hospitalization diagnoses were examined. Older age (OR, 3.69; 95% CI, 3.66-3.72 for age above 75 years compared with 18-44 y), black race (OR 1.44; 95% CI, 1.43-1.45 compared to white), being uninsured (OR 1.52; 95% CI, 1.51-1.54) or dual-eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.22-1.24) compared with privately insured, and living in a low-income area (OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.17-1.23 for lowest income quartile compared with highest) were other patient factors associated with potentially preventable hospitalizations. CONCLUSIONS: Better coordination of preventative care for mental health disease may decrease potentially preventable hospitalizations.

"What Do People Do If They Don't Have Insurance?": ED-to-ED Referrals.

OBJECTIVE: Up to 20% of patients seen in public emergency departments (EDs) have already been seen for the same complaint at another ED, but little is known about the origin or impact of these duplicate ED visits. The goals of this investigation were to explore 1) whether patients making a repeat ED visit are self-referred or indirectly referred from the other ED and 2) gather the perspective of affected patients on the health, social, and financial consequences of these duplicate ED visits. METHODS: This mixed-methods study conducted over a 10-week period during 2016 in a large public hospital ED in Texas prospectively surveyed patients seen in another ED for the same chief complaint. Selected patients presenting with fractures were then enrolled for semistructured qualitative interviews, which were audiotaped, transcribed, and independently coded by two team members until thematic saturation was reached. RESULTS: A total of 143 patients were identified as being recently seen at another local ED for the same chief complaint prior to presenting to the public hospital; 94% were uninsured and 61% presented with fractures. A total of 27% required admission at the public ED and 95% of those discharged required further outpatient follow-up. Fifty-one percent of patients completed a survey and qualitative interviews were conducted with 23 fracture patients. Fifty-three percent of patients reported that staff at the first hospital told them to go the public hospital ED, and 23% reported referral from a follow-up physician associated with the first hospital. Seventy-three percent reported receiving the same tests at both EDs. Interview themes identified multiple health care visits for the same injury, concern about complications, disrespectful treatment at the first ED, delayed care, problems accessing needed follow-up care without insurance, loss of work, and financial strain. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients presenting to a public hospital ED after treatment for the same complaint in another local ED were indirectly referred to the public ED without transferring paperwork or records, incurring duplicate testing and patient anxiety.

The Changing Health Policy Environment and Behavioral Health Services Delivery.

Deinstitutionalization has left an inadequate supply of inpatient psychiatric beds. Simultaneous cuts to public funding and insurance coverage for outpatient mental health treatment have increased the frequency of acute psychiatric crises. The resulting lack of available options has shifted the burden of treatment to emergency departments and the criminal justice system. Recent legislation has improved insurance access, but rules are not always enforced and there are still few options for care. Discussion of mental health care delivery must acknowledge that many emergent behavioral health crises arise in the context of acute substance intoxication, withdrawal, or dependence.

The imperative for emergency medicine to create its own alternative payment model.

Seven years after the Affordable Care Act legislated Alternative Payment Models, it is time for Emergency Medicine to find its place within this value-based trend by developing its own Alternative Payment Model.

Health Information Exchange: What do patients want?

To determine whether emergency department patients want to share their medical records across health systems through Health Information Exchange and if so, whether they prefer to sign consent or share their records automatically, 982 adult patients presenting to an emergency department participated in a questionnaire-based interview. The majority (N = 906; 92.3%) were willing to share their data in a Health Information Exchange. Half (N = 490; 49.9%) reported routinely getting healthcare outside the system and 78.6 percent reported having records in other systems. Of those who were willing to share their data in a Health Information Exchange, 54.3 percent wanted to sign consent but 90 percent of those would waive consent in the case of an emergency. Privacy and security were primary concerns of patients not willing to participate in Health Information Exchange and preferring to sign consent. Improved privacy and security protections could increase participation, and findings support consideration of "break-the-glass" provider access to Health Information Exchange records in an emergent situation.

"I Broke My Ankle": Access to Orthopedic Follow-up Care by Insurance Status.

OBJECTIVES: While the Affordable Care Act seeks to reduce emergency department (ED) visits for outpatient-treatable conditions, it remains unclear whether Medicaid patients or the uninsured have adequate access to follow-up care. The goal of this study was to determine the availability of follow-up orthopedic care by insurance status. METHODS: Using simulated patient methodology, all 102 eligible general orthopedic practices in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, were contacted twice by a caller requesting follow-up for an ankle fracture diagnosed in a local ED using a standardized script that differed by insurance status. Practices were randomly assigned to paired private and uninsured or Medicaid and uninsured scenarios. RESULTS: We completed 204 calls: 59 private, 43 Medicaid, and 102 uninsured. Appointment success rate was 83.1% for privately insured (95% confidence interval [CI] = 73.2% to 92.9%), 81.4% for uninsured (95% CI = 73.7% to 89.1%), and 14.0% for Medicaid callers (95% CI = 3.2% to 24.7%). Controlling for paired calls to the same practice, an uninsured caller had 5.7 times higher odds (95% CI = 2.74 to 11.71) of receiving an appointment than a Medicaid caller (p < 0.001), but the same odds as a privately insured caller (odds ratio = 1.0, 95% CI = 0.19 to 5.37, p = 1.0). Uninsured patients had to bring a median of $350 (interquartile range = $250 to $400) to their appointment to be seen, and only two uninsured patients were able to obtain an appointment for $100 or less up front. In comparison, typical total payments collected for privately insured patients were $236 and for Medicaid patients $128. When asked where else they could go, 49 (48%) uninsured callers and one Medicaid caller (2%) were directed to local public hospital EDs as alternative sources of care. Of the practices that appeared on Medicaid's published list of orthopedic providers accepting new patients, 15 told callers that they did not accept Medicaid, 11 did not treat ankles, nine listed nonworking phone numbers, and only three actually scheduled an appointment for the Medicaid caller. CONCLUSIONS: Less than one in seven Medicaid patients could obtain orthopedic follow-up after an ED visit for a fracture, and prices quoted to the uninsured were 30% higher than typical negotiated rates paid by the privately insured. High up-front costs for uninsured patients and low appointment availability for Medicaid patients may leave these patients with no other option than the ED for necessary care.

Impact of Insurance Status on Outcomes and Use of Rehabilitation Services in Acute Ischemic Stroke: Findings From Get With The Guidelines-Stroke.

BACKGROUND: Insurance status affects access to care, which may affect health outcomes. The objective was to determine whether patients without insurance or with government-sponsored insurance had worse quality of care or in-hospital outcomes in acute ischemic stroke. METHODS AND RESULTS: Multivariable logistic regressions with generalized estimating equations stratified by age under or at least 65 years were adjusted for patient demographics and comorbidities, presenting factors, and hospital characteristics to determine differences in in-hospital mortality and postdischarge destination. We included 589 320 ischemic stroke patients treated at 1604 US hospitals participating in the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke program between 2012 and 2015. Uninsured patients with hypertension, high cholesterol, or diabetes mellitus were less likely to be taking appropriate control medications prior to stroke, to use an ambulance to arrive to the ED, or to arrive early after symptom onset. Even after adjustment, the uninsured were more likely than the privately insured to die in the hospital (<65 years, OR 1.33 [95% CI 1.22-1.45]; ≥65 years OR 1.54 [95% CI 1.34-1.75]), and among survivors, were less likely to go to inpatient rehab (<65 OR 0.63 [95% CI 0.6-0.67]; ≥65 OR 0.56 [95% CI 0.5-0.63]). In contrast, patients with Medicare and Medicaid were more likely to be discharged to a Skilled Nursing Facility (<65 years OR 2.08 [CI 1.96-2.2]; OR 2.01 [95% CI 1.91-2.13]; ≥65 years OR 1.1 [95% CI 1.07-1.13]; OR 1.41 [95% CI 1.35-1.46]). CONCLUSIONS: Preventative care prior to ischemic stroke, time to presentation for acute treatment, access to rehabilitation, and in-hospital mortality differ by patient insurance status.

Factors Associated With Potentially Preventable Pediatric Admissions Vary by Diagnosis: Findings From a Large State.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to determine characteristics associated with potentially preventable pediatric admissions as defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. METHODS: The Texas Inpatient Public Use Data File, an administrative database of hospital admissions, identified 747 040 pediatric admissions ages 0 to 17 years to acute care facilities between 2005 and 2008. Potentially preventable admissions included 5 diagnoses: asthma, perforated appendicitis, diabetes, gastroenteritis, and urinary tract infection. A hierarchical multivariable logistic regression model clustered by admitting hospital and adjusted for admission date estimated the patient and hospital factors associated with potentially preventable admission. RESULTS: An average of 71 444 hospital days per year and 14.1% (N = 105 055) of all admissions were potentially preventable, generating $304 million in hospital charges per year in 1 state. Younger age (odds ratio [OR]: 2.88 [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.80-2.96]), black race (OR: 1.48 [95% CI: 1.45-1.52]) or Hispanic ethnicity (OR: 1.06 [95% CI: 1.04-1.08]), lower income (OR: 1.11 [95% CI: 1.02-1.20]), comorbid substance abuse disorder (OR: 2.03 [95% CI: 1.75-2.34]), and admission on a weekend (OR: 1.05 [95% CI: 1.03-1.06]) or to a critical access hospital (OR: 1.61 [95% CI: 1.20-2.14]) were high-risk factors for potentially preventable admission, whereas Native American race (OR: 0.91 [95% CI: 0.85-0.98]), government insurance (OR: 0.83 [95% CI: 0.89-0.96]) or no insurance (OR: 0.93 [95% CI: 0.89-0.96]), and living in a rural county (OR: 0.70 [95% CI: 0.68-0.73]) were associated factors. However, most factors varied from high to low odds depending on which of the 5 potentially preventable diagnoses was examined. CONCLUSIONS: Potentially preventable admissions represent a high burden of time and costs for the pediatric population, but strategies to reduce them should be tailored to each diagnosis because the associated factors are not uniform across all potentially preventable admissions.

Indirect Referral of Orthopaedic Patients to a Safety-Net Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: Patients seen in emergency departments (EDs) not requiring admission are typically discharged with appropriate follow-up. Sometimes hospitals indirectly refer, or redirect, patients to a different hospital's ED. Anecdotally, indirect referrals are commonly received in safety-net hospitals. This study characterizes the types of patients and hospitals affected and the cost of indirect referral in the orthopaedic trauma population. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional chart review was conducted of 1,162 consecutive adult patients receiving orthopaedic care in an urban public hospital ED over a six-month period in 2011. Multivariable logistic regression analysis compared patients who were indirectly referred with those presenting primarily. RESULTS: One in five (N=236) patients treated for orthopaedic injury was indirectly referred from neighboring hospitals with orthopaedists available; 209 (88.6%) of these patients were uninsured (OR 3.69; CI 1.85-7.34). Nonprofit hospitals initially treated 107 (64.1%) of these patients. Costs for largely uncompensated care at the public hospital were $1.77 million.

Unintended adverse consequences of electronic health record introduction to a mature universal HIV screening program.

Early HIV detection and treatment decreases morbidity and mortality and reduces high-risk behaviors. Many Emergency Departments (EDs) have HIV screening programs as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recent federal legislation includes incentives for electronic health record (EHR) adoption. Our objective was to analyze the impact of conversion to EHR on a mature ED-based HIV screening program. A retrospective pre- and post-EHR implementation cohort study was conducted in a large urban, academic ED. Medical records were reviewed for HIV screening rates from August 2008 through October 2013. On 1 November 2010, a comprehensive EHR system was implemented throughout the hospital. Before EHR implementation, labs were requested by providers by paper orders with HIV-1/2 automatically pre-selected on every form. This universal ordering protocol was not duplicated in the new EHR; rather it required a provider to manually enter the order. Using a chi-squared test, we compared HIV testing in the 6 months before and after EHR implementation; 55,054 patients presented before, and 50,576 after EHR implementation. Age, sex, race, acuity of presenting condition, and HIV seropositivity rates were similar pre- and post-EHR, and there were no major patient or provider changes during this period. Average HIV testing rate was 37.7% of all ED patients pre-, and 22.3% post-EHR, a 41% decline (p < 0.0001), leading to 167 missed new diagnoses after EHR. The rate of HIV screening in the ED decreased after EHR implementation, and could have been improved with more thoughtful inclusion of existing human processes in its design.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's Effect on Emergency Medicine: A Synthesis of the Data.

This review synthesizes the existing literature to provide evidence-based predictions for the future of emergency care in the United States as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, with a focus on emergency department (ED) visit volume, acuity, and reimbursement. Patient behavior will likely be quite different for patients gaining Medicaid than for those gaining private insurance through the Marketplaces. Despite the threat of the individual mandate, not all uninsured patients will enroll, and those who choose to enroll will likely be a different population from those who remain uninsured. New Medicaid enrollees will be a sicker population and will likely increase their number of ED visits substantially. Their acuity will be higher at first but will then revert to the traditionally high number of low-acuity visits made by Medicaid patients. Most patients enrolling through the Marketplace are choosing high-deductible health plans, and they will initially avoid the ED because of high out-of-pocket costs but may present later and sicker after self-rationing their care. Most patients gaining health coverage through the Affordable Care Act will be shifting from uninsured to either Medicaid or private insurance, both of which reimburse more than self-pay, so ED collections should increase. Because of the differences between Medicaid and Marketplace plans, there will be a difference in ED volume, acuity, and financial outcomes, depending on states' current demographics, whether states expand Medicaid, and how aggressively states advertise new options for coverage in Medicaid or state health insurance Marketplaces.

Nodal stage of surgically resected non-small cell lung cancer and its effect on recurrence patterns and overall survival.

PURPOSE: Current National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) for patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with N2 involvement. We investigated the relationship between nodal stage and local-regional recurrence (LR), distant recurrence (DR) and overall survival (OS) for patients having an R0 resection. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A multi-institutional database of consecutive patients undergoing R0 resection for stage I-IIIA NSCLC from 1995 to 2008 was used. Patients receiving any radiation therapy before relapse were excluded. A total of 1241, 202, and 125 patients were identified with N0, N1, and N2 involvement, respectively; 161 patients received chemotherapy. Cumulative incidence rates were calculated for LR and DR as first sites of failure, and Kaplan-Meier estimates were made for OS. Competing risk analysis and proportional hazards models were used to examine LR, DR, and OS. Independent variables included age, sex, surgical procedure, extent of lymph node sampling, histology, lymphatic or vascular invasion, tumor size, tumor grade, chemotherapy, nodal stage, and visceral pleural invasion. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 28.7 months. Patients with N1 or N2 nodal stage had rates of LR similar to those of patients with N0 disease, but were at significantly increased risk for both DR (N1, hazard ratio [HR] = 1.84, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.30-2.59; P=.001; N2, HR = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.55-3.48; P<.001) and death (N1, HR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.18-1.81; P<.001; N2, HR = 2.33, 95% CI: 1.78-3.04; P<.001). LR was associated with squamous histology, visceral pleural involvement, tumor size, age, wedge resection, and segmentectomy. The most frequent site of LR was the mediastinum. CONCLUSIONS: Our investigation demonstrated that nodal stage is directly associated with DR and OS but not with LR. Thus, even some patients with, N0-N1 disease are at relatively high risk of local recurrence. Prospective identification of risk factors for local recurrence may aid in selecting an appropriate population for further study of postoperative radiation therapy.

Injury type and emergency department management of orthopaedic patients influences follow-up rates.

BACKGROUND: Orthopaedic clinic follow-up is required to ensure optimal management and outcome for many patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with an orthopaedic injury. While several studies have shown that demographic variables influence patient follow-up after discharge from the ED, the objective of this study was to examine orthopaedic-related and other factors associated with the failure to return for orthopaedic outpatient management, so-called "no-show," after an ED visit. METHODS: A chart review was conducted at a large academic public hospital. Four hundred and sixty-four consecutive adult patients who received an orthopaedic consult in the ED with subsequent referral to the orthopaedic clinic from January through June, 2011, were included. With use of chi-square and Mann-Whitney univariate tests, data regarding injury type and management were analyzed for association with no-show. Variables with p < 0.25 were included in a multivariate stepwise forward logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The overall no-show rate was 26.1%. Logistic regression modeling revealed significant differences in no-show rates based on cause of injury (odds ratio [OR] 7.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.27 to 25.1), with assault victims having the highest no-show rate. Anatomic region of injury significantly influenced no-show rates (OR 6.61; 95% CI, 1.45 to 30.5), with patients with a spine or back complaint having the highest no-show rate. Follow-up rates were influenced by the orthopaedic resident provider consulted (OR 10.8; 95% CI, 4.11 to 31.1), and this was not related to level of training (p = 0.25). The type of bracing applied influenced the no-show rate (OR 2.46; 95% CI, 1.58 to 3.96), and the easier it was to remove the brace (splint), the worse the follow-up (p = 0.0001). Several demographic variables were also predictive of clinic nonattendance, including morbid obesity (OR 15.0; 95% CI, 4.83 to 51.6) and current tobacco use (OR 5.56; 95% CI, 2.19 to 15.4). CONCLUSIONS: This study supports previous evidence of high no-show rates with scheduled orthopaedic follow-up among patients treated in the ED. The data highlight distinct orthopaedic-related factors associated with nonattendance. These findings are useful in identifying patients at high risk for no-show to scheduled orthopaedic follow-up appointments and may influence disposition and management decisions for these patients.

Preparing for effective communications during disasters: lessons from a World Health Organization quality improvement project.

BACKGROUND: One hundred ninety-four member nations turn to the World Health Organization (WHO) for guidance and assistance during disasters. Purposes of disaster communication include preventing panic, promoting appropriate health behaviors, coordinating response among stakeholders, advocating for affected populations, and mobilizing resources. METHODS: A quality improvement project was undertaken to gather expert consensus on best practices that could be used to improve WHO protocols for disaster communication. Open-ended surveys of 26 WHO Communications Officers with disaster response experience were conducted. Responses were categorized to determine the common themes of disaster response communication and areas for practice improvement. RESULTS: Disasters where the participants had experience included 29 outbreaks of 13 different diseases in 16 countries, 18 natural disasters of 6 different types in 15 countries, 2 technical disasters in 2 countries, and ten conflicts in 10 countries. CONCLUSION: Recommendations to build communications capacity prior to a disaster include pre-writing public service announcements in multiple languages on questions that frequently arise during disasters; maintaining a database of statistics for different regions and types of disaster; maintaining lists of the locally trusted sources of information for frequently affected countries and regions; maintaining email listservs of employees, international media outlet contacts, and government and non-governmental organization contacts that can be used to rapidly disseminate information; developing a global network with 24-h cross-coverage by participants from each time zone; and creating a central electronic sharepoint where all of these materials can be accessed by communications officers around the globe.

Identification of stage I non-small cell lung cancer patients at high risk for local recurrence following sublobar resection.

OBJECTIVE: An increasing proportion of patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is undergoing sublobar resection (L-). However, there is little information about the risks and correlates of local recurrence (LR) after such surgery, especially compared with patients undergoing lobectomy (L+). METHODS: Ninety-three and 318 consecutive patients with stage I NSCLC underwent L- and L+, respectively, from 2000 to 2006. Median follow-up was 34 months. RESULTS: In the L- group, the LR rates at 2, 3, and 5 years were 13%, 24%, and 40%, respectively. The risk of LR was significantly associated with tumor grade, tumor size, and T stage. The crude risk of LR was 33.8% (21 of 62) for patients whose tumors were grade ≥ 2. In the L+ group, the LR rates at 2, 3, and 5 years were 14%, 19%, and 24%, respectively. The risk of LR significantly increased with increasing tumor size, length of hospital stay, and the presence of diabetes. The L- group experienced a significant increase in failure in the bronchial stump/staple line compared with the L+ group (10% vs 3%; P = .04) and nonsignificant trends toward increased ipsilateral hilar and subcarinal failure rates. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with stage I NSCLC who undergo L- have an increased risk of LR compared with patients undergoing L+, particularly when they have tumors grade ≥ 2 or tumor size > 2 cm. If L- is considered, additional local therapy should be considered to reduce this risk of LR, especially with tumors grade ≥ 2 or size > 2 cm.

Lobectomy leads to optimal survival in early-stage small cell lung cancer: a retrospective analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Stage I or II small cell lung cancer is rare. We evaluated the contemporary incidence of early-stage small cell lung cancer and defined its optimal local therapy. METHODS: We analyzed the incidence, treatment patterns, and outcomes of 2214 patients with early-stage small cell lung cancer (1690 with stage I and 524 with stage II) identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database from 1988 to 2005. RESULTS: Early-stage small cell lung cancer constituted a stable proportion of all small cell lung cancers (3%-5%), lung cancers (0.10%-0.17%), and stage I lung cancers (1%-1.5%) until 2003 but, by 2005, increased significantly to 7%, 0.29%, and 2.2%, respectively (P < .0001). Surgery for early-stage small cell lung cancer peaked at 47% in 1990 but declined to 16% by 2005. Patients treated with lobectomy or greater resections (lobe) without radiotherapy had longer median survival (50 months) than those treated with sublobar resections (sublobe) without radiotherapy (30 months, P = .006) or those treated with radiotherapy alone (20 months, P < .0001). Patients undergoing sublobe without radiotherapy also demonstrated superior survival than patients receiving radiotherapy alone (P = .002). The use or omission of radiotherapy made no difference after limited resection (30 vs 28 months, P = .6). Multivariable analysis found survival independently related to age, year of diagnosis, tumor size, stage, and treatment (lobe vs sublobe vs radiotherapy alone). CONCLUSIONS: Surgery is an underused modality in the management of early-stage small cell lung cancer. Lobectomy provides optimal local control and leads to superior survival. Although sublobar resection proved inferior to lobectomy, it conferred a survival advantage superior to radiotherapy alone. The addition of radiotherapy to resection provided no additional benefit.