Introduction: Emergency department (ED) use for healthcare that can be treated elsewhere is costly to the healthcare system. However, convenience settings such as urgent care centers (UCC) are generally inaccessible to low-income patients. Housing an UCC within a federally qualified health center (FQHC UCC) provides an accessible convenience setting for low-income patients. In 2014 a FQHC UCC opened two blocks from an ED in the same health system. Our goal was to compare characteristics, access to care, and utilization preferences for FQHC UCC and low-acuity ED patients through retrospective chart review and prospective surveying. Methods: We completed a retrospective chart review of all patients from March 1, 2018-March 1, 2019, and compared characteristics of low-acuity ED patients (N = 3,911) and FQHC UCC patients (N = 12,571). We also surveyed FQHC UCC patients (N = 201) and low-acuity ED patients (N = 198) from January-July 2019. Results: Half of FQHC UCC patients had private insurance. Of ED patients, 29% were aware of the FQHC UCC. Both groups had similar rates of primary care providers. The most common reason for choosing the ED was perceived severity, and for choosing a FQHC UCC was speed. Conclusion: These findings show similarities and differences between these two patient populations. Future research is needed to determine utilization patterns and in-depth reasons behind them. Interventions that help patients decide where to go for low-acuity care may create more utilization efficiency. [West J Emerg Med. 2020;21(6)162-171.] of services than most primary care offices. 9 UCCs also tend to have much lower average costs ($168) 10 than the ED ($978-$2,259). 10,11 However, these convenience settings are a topic of debate regarding their ability to replace EDs for care. One study found that 13.7-27.1% of all ED visits could be treated at an UCC or retail clinic, which would result in a cost savings of approximately $4.4 billion per year. 12 Others argue that patients who are more likely to use the ED for low-acuity conditions have little access to other types of care, including convenience settings. 13 Convenience settings generally do not
Almost one-fifth of patients who underwent ERCP with plastic biliary stent placement had delayed removal with nearly one-fifth of these patients requiring hospitalization for stent obstruction. Targeting patients at risk by improving communication and ease of scheduling an ERCP may reduce preventable adverse events associated with delayed biliary stent removal.
Introduction: Hypoxic-ischemic injury from cardiac arrest may cause cerebral edema, leading to increased intracranial pressure (ICP) and brain tissue damage. Optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) is associated with elevated ICP. Limited clinical studies have reported ONSD changes in the early post-resuscitation time frame. We sought to evaluate the utility of bedside ocular ultrasound measurements in the assessment of post-cardiac arrest brain injury. Methods: We studied adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrests treated at an urban academic ED and achieving return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) between May 2018 to May 2019. We included witnessed and unwitnessed arrest as well as shockable and non-shockable rhythms. After ROSC, trained emergency physicians performed bedside ultrasonographic assessment of bilateral ONSD at 1, 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours using an ocular preset on a 15MHz linear probe. ONSD measurements at these time frames were compared between groups stratified by rhythm type and neurological outcome. Cerebral performance category (CPC) was measured at 72 hours and at discharge. Results: Out of 48 eligible patients, 15 were excluded from the study due to lack of consent or available ultrasound images. We included 33 patients, of which 11 were female and 22 were male, with a median age of 57 (IQR 20). There were 19 with an initial rhythm of asystole or pulseless electrical activity (PEA), 9 with ventricular fibrillation arrests, and 5 with an unclear rhythm. At 1 hour, patients with CPC 1-2 had smaller ONSD compared to patients with CPC 3-5 (5.5mm vs 6.1mm, p=0.03). At 72 hour, patients with CPC score of 1-2 had an average reduction in ONSD of 1.6mm verses 0.29mm increase in patients with CPC 3-5. Despite small sample size, a trend towards higher ONSD were seen in patients with non-shockable vs shockable rhythm. Females were also consistently found to have smaller ONSD measurements in all time periods compared to males. Conclusions: This is the first study in the USA to perform analysis using ONSD measurements in cardiac arrest patients. Preliminary analysis of this on-going pilot revealed a greater improvement in ONSD diameters in patients with a favorable neurological outcome. OSND may have utility in prognostication of the post-arrest state.
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