This stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial will stagger implementation of a clinical decision support system (CDSS) across 13 KPNC emergency departments to assist emergency physicians and hospitalists in the comprehensive management of patients with atrial fibrillation/flutter. We will compare hospitalization rates,…
Whether patients with acute stroke and large vessel occlusion (LVO) benefit from prehospital identification and diversion by emergency medical services (EMS) to an endovascular stroke therapy (EST)-capable center is controversial. We sought to estimate the accuracy of field-based identification of…
Background Coronary risk stratification is recommended for emergency department patients with chest pain. Many protocols are designed as "rule-out" binary classification strategies, while others use graded-risk stratification. The comparative performance of competing approaches at varying levels of risk tolerance has…
To characterize the signs and symptoms of sepsis, compare them with those from simple infection and other emergent conditions and evaluate their association with hospital outcomes. A multicenter, retrospective cohort study of 408,377 patients hospitalized through the emergency department from…
This project aims to improve The Permanente Medical Group's capability for outpatient and population management of adults with COVID-19. It will identify the spatial, temporal, and racial distribution of coronavirus infections; characterize the clinical progression of coronavirus infection; and synthesize…
Coronary risk scores are commonly applied to emergency department patients with undifferentiated chest pain. Two prominent risk score-based protocols are the Emergency Department Assessment of Chest pain Score Accelerated Diagnostic Protocol (EDACS-ADP) and the History, ECG, Age, Risk factors, and…
Patient frailty increases the risk for surgical complications, which are common, costly, and deadly, especially for older Americans. To improve surgical care for older adults, we will investigate whether electronic measures of frailty can help reduce complications by identifying which…
Pediatric appendicitis remains a challenging diagnosis in the emergency department (ED). Available risk prediction algorithms may contribute to excessive ED imaging studies. Incorporation of physician gestalt assessment could help refine predictive tools and improve diagnostic imaging decisions. This study was…
To examine whether and how step-down unit admission after ICU discharge affects patient outcomes. Retrospective study using an instrumental variable approach to remove potential biases from unobserved differences in illness severity for patients admitted to the step-down unit after ICU…
To assess trends over time in red blood cell (RBC) transfusion practice among emergency department (ED) patients with gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding within an integrated healthcare system, inclusive of 21 EDs. Retrospective cohort of ED patients diagnosed with GI bleeding between…
OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease could safely receive noninvasive ventilation outside of the ICU.DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.SETTING: Twelve states with ICU utilization flag from the State Inpatient Database from 2014.PATIENTS: Patients greater than or equal…
Prospective enrollment of research subjects in the fast-paced emergency department (ED) is challenging. We sought to develop a software application to increase real-time clinical trial enrollment during an ED visit. The Prospective Intelligence System for Clinical Emergency Services (PISCES) scans…
The pediatric Appendicitis Risk Calculator (pARC) is a validated clinical tool for assessing a child's probability of appendicitis. Our objective was to assess the performance of the pARC in community emergency departments (EDs) and to compare its performance with that…
The clinical deterioration of patientsin general hospital wards is an important safety issue. Aggregate-weighted early warning systems (EWSs) may not detect risk until patients present with acute decline. We aimed to compare the prognostic test accuracy and clinical workloads generated…
Conducted with co-investigator Dustin G. Mark, MD, this study helps emergency physicians with estimates of individual patient risk for patients with chest pain. The research team will evaluate impacts on guideline-supported acute coronary syndrome evaluations.
Background: Treatment initiation and engagement rates for alcohol and other drug (AOD) use disorders differ depending on where the AOD use disorder was identified. Emergency department (ED) and primary care (PC) are 2 common settings where patients are identified; however,…
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Providing take-home naloxone (THN) to people who use opioids is an increasingly common strategy for reversing opioid overdose. However, implementation is hindered by doubts regarding the ability of people who use opioids to administer naloxone and respond…
Many low-risk patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) in the emergency department (ED) are eligible for outpatient care but are hospitalized nonetheless. One impediment to home discharge is the difficulty of identifying which patients can safely forgo hospitalization. To evaluate…
Intensive care unit (ICU) capacity strain refers to the potential limits placed on an ICU's ability to provide high-quality care for all patients who may need it at a given time. Few studies have investigated how fluctuations in ICU capacity…
The purpose of this project is to assess the variation and impact of oral anticoagulant prescribing in the emergency department in order to inform development of interventions to improve acute atrial fibrillation and flutter management. A longitudinal database will be…
Outpatient management of emergency department (ED) patients with acute pulmonary embolism is uncommon. We seek to evaluate the facility-level variation of outpatient pulmonary embolism management and to describe patient characteristics and outcomes associated with home discharge. The Management of Acute…
To estimate the impact of each of six types of acute organ dysfunction (hepatic, renal, coagulation, neurologic, cardiac, and respiratory) on long-term mortality after surviving sepsis hospitalization. Multicenter, retrospective study. Twenty-one hospitals within an integrated healthcare delivery system in Northern…
This study aims to employ machine learning methods to develop predictive models for adverse drug events, or ADEs, that result in patients using the emergency department and/or being hospitalized (non-nosocomial ADEs, NNADEs). Based on work with a pharmacist expert panel…
Emergency department (ED) patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) despite therapeutic anticoagulation at the time of diagnosis are uncommonly encountered and present a diagnostic and management challenge. Their characterization and outcomes are poorly described. We sought to describe the prevalence…
Many patients with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (AF/FL) who are high risk for ischemic stroke are not receiving evidence-based thromboprophylaxis. We examined anticoagulant prescribing within 30 days of receiving dysrhythmia care for non-valvular AF/FL in the emergency department (ED).…
Both the modified History, Electrocardiogram, Age, Risk factors and Troponin (HEART) score and the Emergency Department Assessment of Chest pain Score (EDACS) can identify patients with possible acute coronary syndrome (ACS) at low risk (
Changes in substance use patterns stemming from opioid misuse, ongoing drinking problems, and marijuana legalization may result in new populations of patients with substance use disorders (SUDs) using emergency department (ED) resources. This study examined ED admission trends in a…
Faster treatment with intravenous alteplase in acute ischemic stroke is associated with better outcomes. Starting in 2015, Kaiser Permanente Northern California redesigned its acute stroke workflow across all 21 Kaiser Permanente Northern California stroke centers to (1) follow a single…
Severe hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia ("severe dysglycemia") are serious complications of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Depression has been associated with severe dysglycemia in type 2 diabetes but has not been thoroughly examined specifically in T1D. We evaluated bidirectional associations between depression…
Although 80% of patients with heart failure seen in the emergency department (ED) are admitted, less is known about short-term outcomes and demand for services among discharged patients. We examined adult members of a large integrated delivery system who visited…
Hypoglycemia-related emergency department (ED) or hospital use among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) is clinically significant and possibly preventable. To develop and validate a tool to categorize risk of hypoglycemic-related utilization in patients with T2D. Using recursive partitioning with…
IMPORTANCE: The July Effect refers to adverse outcomes that occur as a result of turnover of the physician workforce in teaching hospitals during the month of June.OBJECTIVE: As a surrogate for physician turnover, we used a multivariable difference-in-difference approach to…
Severe hypoglycemia (SH) is one of the most prevalent diabetes complications and a critical public health concern; 25% of hospitalizations for adverse drug events is due to SH. Existing surveillance does not capture SH occurring in pre-emergency settings (e.g., treat…
To examine the association between patient calls to a provider-led call center and emergency department visits.
The Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) is a validated prognostic score to estimate the 30-day mortality of emergency department (ED) patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE). A simplified version (sPESI) was derived but has not been as well studied in…
Adoption of clinical decision support (CDS) tools by clinicians is often limited by workflow barriers. We sought to assess characteristics associated with clinician use of an electronic health record-embedded clinical decision support system (CDSS). In a prospective study on emergency…
We identify characteristics of patients with atrial fibrillation or flutter associated with favorable assessments of emergency department (ED) effectiveness and 30-day quality of life. As part of a prospective observational study of ED management and short-term outcomes of patients with…
Electronic health record systems with computerized physician order entry and condition-specific order sets are intended to standardize patient management and minimize errors of omission. However, the effect of these systems on disease-specific process measures and patient outcomes is not well…
Pulmonary oedema (PO) is a common manifestation of acute heart failure (AHF) and is associated with a high-acuity presentation and with poor in-hospital outcomes. The clinical picture of PO is dominated by signs of pulmonary congestion, and its pathogenesis has…
Studies of adults presenting to the emergency department (ED) with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) suggest that those who are low risk on the PE Severity Index (classes I and II) can be managed safely without hospitalization. However, the impact of…
Historically, emergency department (ED) patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) have been admitted for several days of inpatient care. Growing evidence suggests that selected ED patients with PE can be safely discharged home after a short length of stay. However, the…
The rate of iatrogenic pneumothorax associated with thoracic central venous catheterization in community emergency departments (EDs) is poorly described, although such information is vital to inform the procedure's risk/benefit analysis. We undertook this multicenter study to estimate the incidence of…
The Pulmonary Embolism (PE) Severity Index identifies emergency department (ED) patients with acute PE that can be safely managed without hospitalization. However, the Index comprises 11 weighted variables, complexity that can impede its integration into contextual workflow. We designed a…
Central venous catheterization (CVC) is thought to be relatively contraindicated in patients with thrombocytopenia or coagulopathy. We measured the 24-hour incidence of bleeding in septic emergency department (ED) patients undergoing CVC. This multicenter, retrospective cohort study included septic ED patients…
The objective was to assess clinician experience, training, and attitudes toward central venous catheterization (CVC) in adult emergency department (ED) patients in a health system promoting increased utilization of CVC for severely septic ED patients. The authors surveyed all emergency…
AIM: The present study aims to describe the epidemiology, baseline clinical characteristics, in-hospital management, and outcome of patients hospitalized for heart failure admitted directly or transferred to the ICU.METHODS AND RESULTS: The Romanian Acute Heart Failure Syndromes (RO-AHFS) registry prospectively…
Central venous catheterization (CVC) can be an important component of the management of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. CVC, however, is a time- and resource-intensive procedure associated with serious complications. The effects of the absence of shock or…
Patients with severe sepsis without shock or tissue hypoperfusion face substantial mortality; however, treatment guidelines are lacking. To evaluate the association between intravenous fluid resuscitation, lactate clearance, and mortality in patients with "intermediate" lactate values of 2 mmol/L or greater…
STUDY OBJECTIVE: Clinical variables can reliably exclude a diagnosis of nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage in patients with negative cranial computed tomography (CT) results. We externally validated 2 decision rules with 100% reported sensitivity for a diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage, among patients…
OBJECTIVES: The objective was to investigate clinician knowledge of and attitudes toward clinical decision support (CDS) and its incorporation into the electronic health record (EHR). METHODS: This was an electronic survey of emergency physicians (EPs) within an integrated health care…
OBJECTIVES: Appropriate use of cranial computed tomography (CT) scanning in patients with mild blunt head trauma and preinjury anticoagulant or antiplatelet use is unknown. The objectives of this study were: 1) to identify risk factors for immediate traumatic intracranial hemorrhage…
BACKGROUND: Emergency department (ED) ward admissions subsequently transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) within 24 hours have higher mortality than direct ICU admissions. DESIGN, SETTING, PATIENTS: Describe risk factors for unplanned ICU transfer within 24 hours of ward arrival…
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We examined the impact of primary stroke center (PSC) certification on emergency department (ED) use and outcomes within an integrated delivery system in which EDs underwent staggered certification. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of 30 461 patients…
STUDY OBJECTIVE: Patients receiving warfarin or clopidogrel are considered at increased risk for traumatic intracranial hemorrhage after blunt head trauma. The prevalence of immediate traumatic intracranial hemorrhage and the cumulative incidence of delayed traumatic intracranial hemorrhage in these patients, however,…
BACKGROUND: The appropriate role of neuroimaging to evaluate emergency department (ED) patients with dizziness is not established by guidelines or evidence. METHODS: We identified all adults with a triage complaint of dizziness who were evaluated at 20 EDs of a…
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between urgent neurology consultation and outcomes for patients with transient ischemic attack (TIA). METHODS: In a secondary analysis of data from 1707 emergency department patients with transient ischemic attack…
BACKGROUND: Differentiating between appropriate and inappropriate resource use represents a critical challenge in health services research. The New York University Emergency Department (NYU ED) visit severity algorithm attempts to classify visits to the ED based on diagnosis, but it has…
STUDY OBJECTIVES: We examine emergency physician knowledge of, attitudes about, and responses to patient cost-sharing in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: A convenience sample of emergency physicians from an integrated delivery system completed a questionnaire including self-report questions about knowledge…
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess the quality of care between male and female emergency department (ED) patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: A 2-year retrospective cohort study of 2215 patients with AMI presenting immediately to…
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of emergency department (ED) copayment levels on ED use and unfavorable clinical events. Data Source/Study Setting. Kaiser Permanente-Northern California (KPNC), a prepaid integrated delivery system. STUDY DESIGN: In a quasi-experimental longitudinal study with concurrent controls,…
BACKGROUND: Patients are increasingly paying for more of their medical care through cost-sharing, yet little is known about how patients change the ways that they seek care in response. OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess how patients change their care-seeking behavior…
STUDY OBJECTIVE: We assessed the independent relationship between age and the quality of medical care provided to patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with acute myocardial infarction. METHODS: We conducted a 2-year retrospective cohort study of 2,216 acute myocardial…
BACKGROUND: The use of cost-sharing to control healthcare expenditures is increasing, but there is scant information about patients' knowledge of cost-sharing or its influence on behavior. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate what patients know about their…
The utility of intravenous prochlorperazine (PCZ) in the treatment of nausea, vomiting, and headache may be limited by the akathisia that occurs frequently with the recommended 2-min infusion rate. We tested the hypothesis that decreasing the rate of PCZ infusion…
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