Experience of admission and readmission to the emergency department for patients with acute abdominal pain: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Abdominal pain is one of the most common complaints when patients are admitted to emergency departments (ED). Unfortunately, many of these patients are readmitted to the ED shortly after initial discharge. The perspectives of these patients have not yet been explored. PURPOSE: The study aimed to explore how patients readmitted with acute abdominal pain in the ED experienced their initial admission, the time after discharge, and the cause of readmission. METHODS: The study had a qualitative explorative design with a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach. Semi-structured individual telephone interviews were conducted with 14 patients readmitted with acute abdominal pain. RESULTS: The analysis showed four themes: 1) being vulnerable during hospitalisation, 2) the meaning of information during hospitalisation, 3) discharged without being diagnosed, and 4) readmitted in the pursuit of relief. The patients wanted more knowledge and better communication despite their vulnerable condition. Patients were discharged whilst still in pain, and uncertainty of the situation at home contributed to mistrust of the health professionals. CONCLUSION: Patients' experience of the first ED admission due to acute abdominal pain was loneliness, minimal contact with healthcare professionals, and lack of information and involvement in pain management. Discharge was associated with feelings of insignificance and contributed to a fear of death. Pain was the main reason for readmission. Patients described how multiple readmissions contributed to being taken seriously by healthcare professionals.

Can clinicians identify community-acquired pneumonia on ultralow-dose CT? A diagnostic accuracy study.

BACKGROUND: Without increasing radiation exposure, ultralow-dose computed tomography (CT) of the chest provides improved diagnostic accuracy of radiological pneumonia diagnosis compared to a chest radiograph. Yet, radiologist resources to rapidly report the chest CTs are limited. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of emergency clinicians' assessments of chest ultralow-dose CTs for community-acquired pneumonia using a radiologist's assessments as reference standard. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study. Ten emergency department clinicians (five junior clinicians, five consultants) assessed chest ultralow-dose CTs from acutely hospitalised patients suspected of having community-acquired pneumonia. Before assessments, the clinicians attended a focused training course on assessing ultralow-dose CTs for pneumonia. The reference standard was the assessment by an experienced emergency department radiologist. Primary outcome was the presence or absence of pulmonary opacities consistent with community-acquired pneumonia. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were calculated using generalised estimating equations. RESULTS: All clinicians assessed 128 ultralow-dose CTs. The prevalence of findings consistent with community-acquired pneumonia was 56%. Seventy-eight percent of the clinicians' CT assessments matched the reference assessment. Diagnostic accuracy estimates were: sensitivity = 83% (95%CI: 77-88), specificity = 70% (95%CI: 59-81), positive predictive value = 80% (95%CI: 74-84), negative predictive value = 78% (95%CI: 73-82). CONCLUSION: This study found that clinicians could assess chest ultralow-dose CTs for community-acquired pneumonia with high diagnostic accuracy. A higher level of clinical experience was not associated with better diagnostic accuracy.

Clinical characteristics, factors associated with urinary tract infection and outcome in acutely admitted patients with infection; an exploratory cross-sectional cohort study.

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) remain a leading infectious disease cause of admission to the emergency department (ED) and antibiotic prescription. Heterogeneity of disease presentation challenges early diagnostics, leading to improper antibiotic prescription and delayed diagnosis. Prior studies have relied on positive urine cultures for diagnosis, but its performance suffers from false positives and false negatives. This study aimed to identify factors associated with UTIs and describe patient characteristics and outcomes while not using positive urine culture as an obligatory part of diagnosis. Methods: Adult patients admitted to the ED suspected of infection were prospectively included in an exploratory cross-sectional cohort study. An expert panel retrospectively determined the final diagnosis. Factors associated with a UTI were identified using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis, outcomes were evaluated with adjusted Cox regression analysis, and length of stay was compared with a zero-inflated negative binomial logistic regression model. Results: Of 966 patients who were enrolled, 200 were diagnosed with a UTI by the expert panel. We found a significant association between a UTI diagnosis and the typical UTI symptoms: dysuria (OR 7.8), change of urine appearance (OR 3.9), suprapubic or flank pain (OR 3.7), and increased urinary frequency (OR 3.2). Urinary dipstick analysis for white blood cells (WBCs) (OR 6.0-24.0), nitrite (OR 4.7), and blood (OR 3.6-12.0) was also significantly associated. Subgroup analysis of urinary dipstick analysis of men and women still showed significance in both groups. No significant difference in outcome or length of stay was found. Conclusion: Typical UTI symptoms are associated with a UTI diagnosis, which underlines the importance of exploring a patient's medical history. Urinary dipstick analysis for WBC, nitrite, and blood is also strongly associated and should be considered when evaluating patients admitted to the ED with suspicion of infection.

Diagnostic Performance of Plasma SP-D, KL-6, and CC16 in Acutely Hospitalised Patients Suspected of Having Community-Acquired Pneumonia-A Diagnostic Accuracy Study.

Community-acquired pneumonia is a common cause of acute hospitalisation. Identifying patients with community-acquired pneumonia among patients suspected of having the disease can be a challenge, which causes unnecessary antibiotic treatment. We investigated whether the circulatory pulmonary injury markers surfactant protein D (SP-D), Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6), and Club cell protein 16 (CC16) could help identify patients with community-acquired pneumonia upon acute admission. In this multi-centre diagnostic accuracy study, SP-D, KL-6, and CC16 were quantified in plasma samples from acutely hospitalised patients with provisional diagnoses of community-acquired pneumonia. The area under the receiver operator characteristics curve (AUC) was calculated for each marker against the following outcomes: patients' final diagnoses regarding community-acquired pneumonia assigned by an expert panel, and pneumonic findings on chest CTs. Plasma samples from 339 patients were analysed. The prevalence of community-acquired pneumonia was 63%. AUCs for each marker against both final diagnoses and chest CT diagnoses ranged between 0.50 and 0.56. Thus, SP-D, KL-6, and CC16 demonstrated poor diagnostic performance for community-acquired pneumonia in acutely hospitalised patients. Our findings indicate that the markers cannot readily assist physicians in confirming or ruling out community-acquired pneumonia.

Community-acquired pneumonia: use of clinical characteristics of acutely admitted patients for the development of a diagnostic model - a cross-sectional multicentre study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of adults with suspected acute community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) on hospitalisation, evaluate their prediction performance for CAP and compare the performance of the model to the initial assessment of the physician. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, multicentre study. SETTING: The data originated from the INfectious DisEases in Emergency Departments study and were collected prospectively from patient interviews and medical records. The study included four Danish medical emergency departments (EDs) and was conducted between 1 March 2021 and 28 February 2022. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 954 patients admitted with suspected infection were included in the study. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME: The primary outcome was CAP diagnosis assessed by an expert panel. RESULTS: According to expert evaluation, CAP had a 28% prevalence. 13 diagnostic predictors were identified using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression to build the prediction model: dyspnoea, expectoration, cough, common cold, malaise, chest pain, respiratory rate (>20 breaths/min), oxygen saturation (<96%), abnormal chest auscultation, leucocytes (<3.5×109/L or >8.8×109/L) and neutrophils (>7.5×109/L). C reactive protein (<20 mg/L) and having no previous event of CAP contributed negatively to the final model. The predictors yielded good prediction performance for CAP with an area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.85 (CI 0.77 to 0.92). However, the initial diagnosis made by the ED physician performed better, with an AUC of 0.86 (CI 84% to 89%). CONCLUSION: Typical respiratory symptoms combined with abnormal vital signs and elevated infection biomarkers were predictors for CAP on admission to an ED. The clinical value of the prediction model is questionable in our setting as it does not outperform the clinician's assessment. Further studies that add novel diagnostic tools and use imaging or serological markers are needed to improve a model that would help diagnose CAP in an ED setting more accurately. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04681963.

The Diagnostic Accuracy of Procalcitonin, Soluble Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator Receptors, and C-Reactive Protein in Diagnosing Urinary Tract Infections in the Emergency Department-A Diagnostic Accuracy Study.

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a leading bacterial infection in the emergency department (ED). Diagnosing UTIs in the ED can be challenging due to the heterogeneous presentation; therefore, fast and precise tests are needed. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic precision of procalcitonin (PCT), soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptors (suPARs), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in diagnosing UTIs, grading the severity of UTIs, and ruling out bacteremia. Methods: We recruited adults admitted to three Danish EDs with suspected UTIs. PCT, suPAR, and CRP were used in index tests, while blood cultures, expert panel diagnosis, and severity grading were used in the reference tests. Logistic regression and area under the receiver operator characteristic curves (AUROCs) were utilized to evaluate the models and determine the optimal cut-offs. Results: We enrolled 229 patients. PCT diagnosed UTI with an AUROC of 0.612, detected severe disease with an AUROC of 0.712, and ruled out bacteremia with an AUROC of 0.777. SuPAR had AUROCs of 0.480, 0.638, and 0.605, while CRP had AUROCs of 0.599, 0.778, and 0.646. Conclusions: The diagnostic performance of PCT, suPAR, or CRP for UTIs or to rule out severe disease was poor. However, PCT can safely rule out bacteremia in clinically relevant numbers in ED patients suspected of UTI.

Urine Flow Cytometry and Dipstick Analysis in Diagnosing Bacteriuria and Urinary Tract Infections among Adults in the Emergency Department-A Diagnostic Accuracy Trial.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a leading infectious cause of emergency department admission. Early UTI diagnosis is challenging, and a faster, preferably point-of-care urine analysis is necessary. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of urine flow cytometry (UFC) and urine dipstick analysis (UDA) in identifying bacteriuria and UTIs. This study included adults suspected of an infection admitted to three Danish emergency departments. UFC and UDA were the index tests, and urine culture and an expert panel diagnosis were the reference tests. We used logistic regression and receiver operator characteristics curves to find each test's optimal model and cut-off. We enrolled 966 patients and performed urine cultures on 786. Urine culture was positive in 337, and 200 patients were diagnosed with a UTI. The UFC model ruled out bacteriuria in 10.9% with a negative predictive value (NPV) of 94.6% and ruled out UTI in 38.6% with an NPV of 97.0%. UDA ruled out bacteriuria in 52.1% with an NPV of 79.2% and UTI in 52.8% with an NPV of 93.9%. Neither UFC nor UDA performed well in ruling out bacteriuria in our population. In contrast, both tests ruled out UTI safely and in clinically relevant numbers.

Adjusting perioperative methadone dose for elderly and fragile hip fracture patients (MetaHip-trial) - A statistical analysis plan for an adaptive dose-finding trial.

Background: The elderly population is expanding globally. This gives numerous challenges especially regarding hip fracture patients. In the US alone over 300.000 hip fracture patients are treated each year, and a large amount of those develop opoid addiction. Hip fractures require surgical intervention within 24 h and is associated with significant pain even at rest. Postoperative analgesic treatment need to be optimized to ensure adequate pain relief and to prevent subsequent opioid addiction. Previous studies have shown that methadone effectively decreases post-operative opioid consumption but the studies focused on younger patients undergoing elective surgery. This study focus on the use of methadone on the elderly, fragile patients undergoing acute surgery, by first determining the maximal tolerable dose.The hypothesis is the maximal tolerable doses of these hip-fracture patients lies between 0.10 mg/kg and 0.20 mg/kg. This trial aims to estimate the maximum tolerable dose of methadone when administered to elderly patients undergoing surgery for a hip fracture. Method: This project is an adaptive dose-finding trial. The continuous reassessment method will estimate the maximum tolerable dose of methadone. The primary outcome will be respiratory depression. The statistical analysis plan will be published a priori to the closure of patient recruitment and statistical analysis of database results. Conclusion: The results of this study will give valuable information about the maximally tolerated dose of methadone for postoperative pain relief for elderly patients with hip fractures and potential adverse events.This trial is registered on clinicaltrials.gov with trial registration: NCT05581901. Registered 17 October 2022, https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05581901?term=methadone&cond = hip&draw = 2&rank = 1.

Antibiotic Guideline Adherence at the Emergency Department: A Descriptive Study from a Country with a Restrictive Antibiotic Policy.

BACKGROUND: Denmark has a low level of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Patients hospitalized with suspected infection often present with unspecific symptoms. This challenges the physician between using narrow-spectrum antibiotics in accordance with guidelines or broad-spectrum antibiotics to compensate for diagnostic uncertainty. The aim of this study was to investigate adherence to a restrictive antibiotic guideline for the most common infection in emergency departments (EDs), namely community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). METHOD: This multicenter descriptive cross-sectional study included adults admitted to Danish EDs with a suspected infection. Data were collected prospectively from medical records. RESULTS: We included 954 patients in the analysis. The most prescribed antibiotics were penicillin with beta-lactamase inhibitor at 4 h (307 (32.2%)), 48 h (289 (30.3%)), and day 5 after admission (218 (22.9%)). The empirical antibiotic treatment guidelines for CAP were followed for 126 (31.3%) of the CAP patients. At 4 h, antibiotics were administered intravenously to 244 (60.7%) of the CAP patients. At day 5, 218 (54.4%) received oral antibiotics. CONCLUSION: Adherence to CAP guidelines was poor. In a country with a restrictive antibiotic policy, infections are commonly treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics against recommendations.

Evaluation of point-of-care multiplex polymerase chain reaction in guiding antibiotic treatment of patients acutely admitted with suspected community-acquired pneumonia in Denmark: A multicentre randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Rapid and accurate detection of pathogens is needed in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) to enable appropriate antibiotics and to slow the development of antibiotic resistance. We aimed to compare the effect of point-of-care (POC) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of respiratory pathogens added to standard care with standard care only (SCO) on antibiotic prescriptions after acute hospital admission. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We performed a superiority, parallel-group, open-label, multicentre, randomised controlled trial (RCT) in 3 Danish medical emergency departments (EDs) from March 2021 to February 2022. Adults acutely admitted with suspected CAP during the daytime on weekdays were included and randomly assigned (1:1) to POC-PCR (The Biofire FilmArray Pneumonia Panel plus added to standard care) or SCO (routine culture and, if requested by the attending physician, target-specific PCR) analysis of respiratory samples. We randomly assigned 294 patients with successfully collected samples (tracheal secretion 78.4% or expectorated sputum 21.6%) to POC-PCR (n = 148, 50.4%) or SCO (146, 49.6%). Patients and investigators owning the data were blinded to the allocation and test results. Outcome adjudicators and clinical staff at the ED were not blinded to allocation and test results but were together with the statistician, blinded to data management and analysis. Laboratory staff performing standard care analyses was blinded to allocation. The study coordinator was not blinded. Intention-to-treat and per protocol analysis were performed using logistic regression with Huber-White clustered standard errors for the prescription of antibiotic treatment. Loss to follow-up comprises 3 patients in the POC-PCR (2%) and none in the SCO group. Intention-to-treat analysis showed no difference in the primary outcome of prescriptions of no or narrow-spectrum antibiotics at 4 h after admission for the POC-PCR (n = 91, 62.8%) odds ratio (OR) 1.13; (95% confidence interval (CI) [0.96, 1.34] p = 0.134) and SCO (n = 87, 59.6%). Secondary outcomes showed that prescriptions were significantly more targeted at 4-h OR 5.68; (95% CI [2.49, 12.94] p < 0.001) and 48-h OR 4.20; (95% CI [1.87, 9.40] p < 0.001) and more adequate at 48-h OR 2.11; (95% CI [1.23, 3.61] p = 0.006) and on day 5 in the POC-PCR group OR 1.40; (95% CI [1.18, 1.66] p < 0.001). There was no difference between the groups in relation to intensive care unit (ICU) admissions OR 0.54; (95% CI [0.10, 2.91] p = 0.475), readmission within 30 days OR 0.90; (95% CI [0.43, 1.86] p = 0.787), length of stay (LOS) IRR 0.82; (95% CI [0.63, 1.07] p = 0.164), 30 days mortality OR 1.24; (95% CI [0.32, 4.82] p = 0.749), and in-hospital mortality OR 0.98; (95% CI [0.19, 5.06] p = 0.986). CONCLUSIONS: In a setting with an already restrictive use of antibiotics, adding POC-PCR to the diagnostic setup did not increase the number of patients treated with narrow-spectrum or without antibiotics. POC-PCR may result in a more targeted and adequate use of antibiotics. A significant study limitation was the concurrent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulting in an unusually low transmission of respiratory virus. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04651712).

Empirical antibiotic treatment for community-acquired pneumonia and accuracy for Legionella pneumophila, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Clamydophila pneumoniae: a descriptive cross-sectional study of adult patients in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Many factors determine empirical antibiotic treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). We aimed to describe the empirical antibiotic treatment CAP patients with an acute hospital visit and to determine if the current treatment algorithm provided specific and sufficient coverage against Legionella pneumophila, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Clamydophila pneumoniae (LMC). METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional, multicenter study of all adults with an acute hospital visit in the Region of Southern Denmark between January 2016 and March 2018 was performed. Using medical records, we retrospectively identified the empirical antibiotic treatment and the microbiological etiology for CAP patients. CAP patients who were prescribed antibiotics within 24 h of admission and with an identified bacterial pathogen were included. The prescribed empirical antibiotic treatment and its ability to provide specific and sufficient coverage against LMC pneumonia were determined. RESULTS: Of the 19,133 patients diagnosed with CAP, 1590 (8.3%) patients were included in this study. Piperacillin-tazobactam and Beta-lactamase sensitive penicillins were the most commonly prescribed empirical treatments, 515 (32%) and 388 (24%), respectively. Our analysis showed that 42 (37%, 95% CI: 28-47%) of 113 patients with LMC pneumonia were prescribed antibiotics with LMC coverage, and 42 (12%, 95% CI: 8-15%) of 364 patients prescribed antibiotics with LMC coverage had LMC pneumonia. CONCLUSION: Piperacillin-tazobactam, a broad-spectrum antibiotic recommended for uncertain infectious focus, was the most frequent CAP treatment and prescribed to every third patient. In addition, the current empirical antibiotic treatment accuracy was low for LMC pneumonia. Therefore, future research should focus on faster diagnostic tools for identifying the infection focus and precise microbiological testing.

Ultra-low-dose emergency chest computed tomography protocols in three vendors: A technical note.

Background: In suspected community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), chest CT is superior to the routinely obtained radiographs (CXR), but administers higher radiation doses. However, ultra-low-dose CT (ULDCT) has shown promising results. Purpose: To compare radiation dose and image quality using standard and ULDCT protocols designed for a multicenter study encompassing three CT scanner models from GE, Canon, and Siemens. Material and methods: Patients with suspected CAP were referred for non-contrast standard dose chest CT (NCCT) and ULDCT. Effective radiation dose and Contrast-to-Noise Ratio (CNR) was calculated. Results: Mean effective doses were GE (n = 10) 6.93 mSv in NCCT and 0.27 mSv in ULDCT; Canon (n = 9) 3.48 in mSv NCCT and 1.11 mSv in ULDCT; Siemens (n = 10) 2.85 mSv in NCCT and 0.45 mSv in ULDCT. CNR was reduced by 29-39% in ULDCT. Conclusion: The proposed CT protocols yielded dose reductions of 96%, 68%, and 84% using a GE, Canon, and Siemens scanner, respectively.

Carrier prevalence of Clostridioides difficile in emergency departments and the association of prior antibiotic consumption: a combined cross-sectional and nested case-control study.

INTRODUCTION: Clostridioides difficile infection is an urgent public health threat, and the incidence has been increasing over the last decades. Knowledge of the prevalence of C. difficile in acutely admitted patients and risk factors for colonization with C. difficile assists emergency departments (EDs) in prioritizing preventive initiatives. This national study aimed to describe prevalence and risk factors for C. difficile carriers acutely admitted to EDs, focusing on the impact of earlier antibiotic prescription. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide analytic cross-sectional study with prospective data collection combined with a nested case-control study with retrospective data collection. All adults visiting one of eight Danish EDs were interviewed and examined for C. difficile. Using a national register, we collected the antibiotic history within the 2 years prior to enrolment. The primary outcome was the prevalence of C. difficile colonization, and secondary outcomes were related to risk factors and prior antibiotic prescription. Multivariate analyses examined the association between earlier antibiotic prescription and C. difficile colonization. RESULTS: Of 5019 participants, 89 were colonized with C. difficile (prevalence of 1.8%). A significant and exposure-dependent association was found for penicillins [DDD/person-year(PY) > 20; OR 4.93 (95% CI 2.22-10.97)] and fluoroquinolones [DDD/PY > 20; OR 8.81 (95% CI 2.54-30.55)], but not macrolides. Timing of the prescription did not affect the association. CONCLUSIONS: One out of 55 patients visiting a Danish ED were colonized with C. difficile. Risk factors for colonization included high age, comorbidity and prior prescription of fluoroquinolones and penicillins.

Gram Stain and Culture of Sputum Samples Detect Only Few Pathogens in Community-Acquired Lower Respiratory Tract Infections: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Identification of the bacterial etiology of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) is crucial to ensure a narrow-spectrum, targeted antibiotic treatment. However, Gram stain and culture results are often difficult to interpret as they depend strongly on sputum sample quality. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic yield of Gram stain and culture from respiratory samples collected by tracheal suction and expiratory technique from adults admitted with suspected community-acquired LRTI (CA-LRTI). In this secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial, 177 (62%) samples were collected by tracheal suction, and 108 (38%) by expiratory technique. We detected few pathogenic microorganisms, and regardless of sputum quality, there were no significant differences between the sample types. Common pathogens of CA-LRTI were identified by culture in 19 (7%) samples, with a significant difference between patients with or without prior antibiotic treatment (p = 0.007). The clinical value of sputum Gram stain and culture in CA-LRTI is therefore questionable, especially in patients treated with antibiotics.

Chief Complaints, Underlying Diagnoses, and Mortality in Adult, Non-trauma Emergency Department Visits: A Population-based, Multicenter Cohort Study.

INTRODUCTION: Knowledge about the relationship between symptoms, diagnoses, and mortality in emergency department (ED) patients is essential for the emergency physician to optimize treatment, monitoring, and flow. In this study, we investigated the association between symptoms and discharge diagnoses; symptoms and mortality; and we then analyzed whether the association between symptoms and mortality was influenced by other risk factors. METHODS: This was a population-based, multicenter cohort study of all non-trauma ED patients ≥18 years who presented at a hospital in the Region of Southern Denmark between January 1, 2016-March 20, 2018. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the association between symptoms and mortality adjusted for other risk factors. RESULTS: We included 223,612 ED visits with a median patient age of 63 and even distribution of females and males. The frequency of the chief complaints at presentation were as follows: non-specific symptoms (19%); abdominal pain (16%); dyspnea (12%); fever (8%); chest pain (8%); and neurologic complaints (7%). Discharge diagnoses were symptom-based (24%), observational (hospital visit for observation or examination, 17%), circulatory (12%), or respiratory (12%). The overall 30-day mortality was 3.5%, with 1.7% dead within 0-7 days and 1.8% within 8-30 days. The presenting symptom was associated with mortality at 0-7 days but not with mortality at 8-30 days. Patients whose charts were missing documentation of symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.5) and dyspneic patients (aOR 2.4) had the highest mortality at 0-7 days across patients with different primary symptoms. Patients ≥80 years and patients with a higher degree of comorbidity had increased mortality from 0-7 days to 8-30 days (aOR from 24.0 to 42.7 and 1.9 to 2.8, respectively). CONCLUSION: Short-term mortality was more strongly associated with patient-related factors than with the primary presenting symptom at arrival to the hospital.

Expiratory Technique versus Tracheal Suction to Obtain Good-Quality Sputum from Patients with Suspected Lower Respiratory Tract Infection: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Microbiological diagnostics of good-quality sputum samples are fundamental for infection control and targeted treatment of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). This study aims to compare the expiratory technique and tracheal suction on the quality of sputa from adults acutely hospitalized with suspected LRTI. We performed an open-label, randomized controlled trial. Patients were randomized to sputum sampling by tracheal suction (standard care) or the expiratory technique. The primary outcome was quality of sputum evaluated by microscopy and was analysed in the intention-to-treat population. The secondary outcomes were adverse events and patients experience. In total, 280 patients were assigned to tracheal suction (n = 141, 50.4%) or the expiratory technique (n = 139, 49.6%). Sputum samples were collected from 122 (86.5%) patients with tracheal suction and 67 (48.2%) patients with expiratory technique. Good-quality sputa were obtained more often with tracheal suction than with expiratory technique (odds ratio 1.83 [95% CI 1.05 to 3.19]; p = 0.035). There was no statistical difference in adverse events (IRR 1.21 [95% CI, 0.94 to 1.66]; p = 0.136), but patient experience was better in the expiratory technique group (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, tracheal suction should be considered a routine procedure in emergency departments for patients with suspected LRTI.

Addition of point-of-care test reduces antibiotic prescription in hospitalised children with suspected respiratory tract infection: A pre-test-post-test study.

AIM: Prompt and accurate aetiological diagnostics are needed if physicians are to improve and target antibiotic treatment. We aimed to investigate whether antibiotic-prescribing decisions are improved with availability of point-of-care polymerase chain reaction (POC-PCR) diagnostic testing of children with suspected respiratory tract infection, and if it had an impact on referral for additional medical procedures. METHODS: This was a single-centre one-group pre-test-post-test study. Children visiting our paediatric department with respiratory tract infection symptoms were included if the treating paediatrician was considering an antibiotic prescription. Throat swabs were analysed for pathogens using POC-PCR. The paediatrician registered treatment decisions, referrals for additional procedures and decisions about hospitalisation into a questionnaire before and after receiving the POC-PCR results. RESULTS: We included 95 children. The availability of results from POC-PCR analysis significantly changed the prescribed antibiotic treatment to non-antibiotic treatment in 46% (36%-56%) of the children and the reverse in 2% (1%-8%). Paediatricians referred significantly fewer patients to additional medical procedures with availability of POC-PCR. CONCLUSION: POC-PCR significantly reduced the odds of antibiotic prescription and referral for additional medical procedures. Thus, POC-PCR presents an opportunity to improve antibiotic-prescribing practices if it is combined with standard clinical evaluation.

Healthcare professionals' experiences and attitudes to care coordination across health sectors: an interview study.

BACKGROUND: The number of older people is increasing, resulting in more people endure chronic diseases, multimorbidities and complex care needs. Insufficient care coordination across healthcare sectors has negative consequences for health outcomes, costs and patient evaluation. Despite introducing initiatives to solve coordination challenges within healthcare, the need remains for more consistent solutions. In particular, improved care coordination would benefit older adults characterised by complex care needs, high use of healthcare resources and multiple care providers. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To identify and analyse healthcare professionals' perspectives and approaches to care coordination across sectors when older people are acutely hospitalised. DESIGN: Qualitative interview study. METHODS: Semi-structured, individual interviews with 13 healthcare professionals across health sectors and professions were conducted. The strategy for the qualitative analysis was inspired by Kirsti Malterud and labelled 'systematic text condensation'. This strategy is a descriptive and explorative method for thematic cross-case analysis of qualitative data. RESULTS: Four themes/categories emerged from the analysis; "Organisational factors", "Approaches to care", "Communication and knowledge", and "Relations". CONCLUSION: Different organisational cultures can discourage intersectoral care coordination. Approaches to care vary at all levels across health sectors and professions. Organisational, leadership and professional identity affect the working cultures and must be considered in the future recruitment and socialisation of healthcare staff. Our research suggests that combinations of healthcare standardisations and flexible, adaptive solutions are required to improve intersectoral care coordination.

Risk of hematoma after hemithyroidectomy in an outpatient setting: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: After thyroid surgery, the overriding concern is the risk of post-thyroid bleeding (PTB). This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the safety of hemithyroidectomy in an outpatient setting compared to an inpatient setting. The objectives were to (1) find the proportion of PTB in patients scheduled for outpatient hemithyroidectomy, (2) examine if outpatient hemithyroidectomy is clinically safe compared to an inpatient setting and (3) evaluate which selection criteria are most relevant for hemithyroidectomy in an outpatient setting. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted using the following databases: MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE (Ovid) and the Cochrane Library from inception until September 2021. We included studies reporting on PTB of patients after hemithyroidectomy in an outpatient setting. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa tool. The results were synthesised using Bayesian meta-analysis. Certainty in evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. RESULTS: This review included 11 cohort studies and 9 descriptive studies reporting solely on outpatients resulting in a total of 46,866 patients. PTB was experienced by 58 of the 9025 outpatients (0.6%) and 415 of the 37,841 inpatients (1.1%). There was no difference between the PTB rate of outpatients and inpatients (RR 0.715 CrI [0.396-1.243]). The certainty of the evidence was very low due to the high risk of bias. CONCLUSION: The risk of PTB in an outpatient setting is very low, and outpatient hemithyroidectomy should be considered clinically safe. The most relevant selection criteria to consider in outpatient hemithyroidectomy are (1) relevant comorbidities and (2) psycho/-social factors.