Articles: emergency-medicine.
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'Surprise billing', or the phenomenon of unexpected coverage gaps in which patients receiving out-of-network medical bills after what they thought was in-network care, has been a major focus of policymakers and advocacy groups recently, particularly in the Emergency Department (ED) setting, where patients' ability to choose a provider is exceedingly limited. The No Surprises Act is the legislative culmination to address "surprise bills," with the aim of promoting price transparency as a solution for billing irregularities. However, the knowledge and perceptions of patients regarding emergency care price transparency, particularly the degree to which ED patients are cost conscious is unknown. Accordingly, we sought to quantify that perception by measuring patients' direct predictions for the cost of their care. ⋯ This study is the first to our knowledge that sought to quantify how patients perceive the cost of acute, unscheduled care in the ED. We found that ED patients generally do not consider the price before going to the ED, and subsequently overestimate the negotiated total costs of acute, unscheduled emergency care as well as their out-of-pocket responsibility for care. Certain demographics are less predictive of this association. Notably, patients with Medicare/Medicaid and those with high school education or below were of the furthest off in predicting the actual cost of care. This lends credence to the established trend of patients' limited knowledge of the total cost of healthcare; moreover, that they overestimate the cost of their care could serve as a barrier to accessing that care particularly in more vulnerable groups. We hope that this finding adds useful information to policymakers in sculpting future legislation around surprise billing.
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Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a neurologic emergency characterized by cerebral ischemia eliciting a temporary focal neurological deficit. Many clinical prediction scores have been proposed to assess the risk of stroke after TIA; however, studies on their clinical validity and comparisons among them are scarce. The objective is to compare the accuracy of ABCD2, ABCD2-I, and OTTAWA scores in the prediction of a stroke at 7, 90 days, and 1 year in patients presenting with TIA. ⋯ Among clinical items of each score, duration of symptoms, previous TIA, hemiparesis, speech disturbance, gait disturbance, previous cerebral ischemic lesions, and known carotid artery disease were independent predictors of stroke. Clinical scores have moderate prognostic accuracy for stroke after TIA. Considering the independent predictors for stroke, our study indicates the need to continue research and prompts the development of new tools on predictive scores for TIA.
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The objective was to conduct a scoping review of the literature and develop consensus-derived research priorities for future research inquiry in an effort to (1) identify and summarize existing research related to race, racism, and antiracism in emergency medicine (EM) and adjacent fields and (2) set the agenda for EM research in these topic areas. ⋯ Evidence of racism in EM emerged in nearly every facet of our literature. Key research priorities identified through consensus processes provide a roadmap for addressing and eliminating racism and other systems of oppression in EM.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Point-of-Care Echocardiography of the Right Heart Improves Acute Heart Failure Risk Stratification for Low-Risk Patients: The REED-AHF Prospective Study.
Validated acute heart failure (AHF) clinical decision instruments (CDI) insufficiently identify low-risk patients meriting consideration of outpatient treatment. While pilot data show that tricuspid annulus plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) is associated with adverse events, no AHF CDI currently incorporates point-of-care echocardiography (POCecho). We evaluated whether TAPSE adds incremental risk stratification value to an existing CDI. ⋯ TAPSE increased detection of low-risk AHF patients, after use of a validated CDI, at risk thresholds more conservative than standard of care.
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Multicenter Study
Establishing the International Research Priorities for Pediatric Emergency Medicine Point-of-Care Ultrasound: A Modified Delphi Study.
The Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) Point-of-care Ultrasound (POCUS) Network (P2Network) was established in 2014 to provide a platform for international collaboration among experts, including multicenter research. The objective of this study was to use expert consensus to identify and prioritize PEM POCUS topics, to inform future collaborative multicenter research. ⋯ This consensus study has established a research agenda to inform future international multicenter PEM POCUS trials. This study has highlighted the ongoing need for high-quality evidence for PEM POCUS applications to guide clinical practice.