Emergency Room Consultations Research Articles

The potential to prevent unnecessary emergency department visits by timely diagnosis of migraine-A prospective observational study.

Successful acute migraine treatment potentially prevents emergency room (ER) consultations but requires that the diagnosis of migraine was given earlier. The aim of this study is to quantify the problem of missed migraine diagnosis prior to ER visits. Inclusion criterion for this single-center prospective study was the presentation at the ER for acute headache. Patients with acute migraine attacks were assessed for previous migraine attacks, and whether they were given a diagnosis of migraine in the past. Of 137 patients with migraine diagnosis at discharge, 108 (79%) had previous headache attacks fulfilling the criteria for migraine according to The International Classification of Headache Disorders 3rd edition (ICHD-3). Of those, 54 (50%) received the diagnosis for the first time. Half of the migraine patients (50%) presenting in the ER for headache could have been diagnosed earlier. This highlights the need for better detection and treatment of migraine by pre-hospital healthcare providers, as earlier diagnosis and specific acute treatment could have prevented the ER visit.

Urgences oncologiques

Around 40 % of patients with lung cancer are required to consult the emergency room during their follow-up. These are often patients at an advanced stage of their disease. These consultations lead in about 2/3 of cases to hospitalization, some of which in intensive care. Respiratory problems, fever, pain and digestive complaints are the classic reasons for emergency room visits. The advent of targeted therapies and immunotherapy has greatly diversified the reasons for presenting to emergency departments. If cancer or its treatment can be the cause of the emergency room consultation, around 30 % of these consultations have no link with the cancer.1877-1203/© 2024 SPLF. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The Diagnostic Accuracy of First-Year Ophthalmology Residents on Call: Considerations for Postgraduate Year 2 (PGY-2) Standardizations of Call Structure.

Background Ophthalmology is a unique specialty with limited exposure during medical school. To improve the transition to ophthalmology residency, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) announced in 2017 that all ophthalmology residency programs would move to a combined post-graduate year (PGY) 1 year with mandatory integration by 2023.Currently, there are no standardized guidelines from the American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) or the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to address ophthalmology resident competence prior to becoming the primary contact for inpatient and emergency room (ER) consultations as a PGY-2. Novice residents may not be equipped to accurately diagnose vision or life-threatening ocular conditions. A balance between resident autonomy and supervision is required for proper training without increasing patient morbidity and mortality. Objective This study's objective is to examine the diagnostic accuracy of PGY-2 ophthalmology non-integrated residents on call to standardize supervision requirements (through buddy-call) prior to initiating indirectly supervised calls. Methods All inpatient and ER ophthalmology consults for the first seven weeks of the year evaluated by PGY-2 (junior) residents were supervised and graded as "correct" or "incorrect" by PGY-4 (senior) residents. Results One hundred forty-eight consults were seen over 30 call days over a period of seven weeks (4.93 consults per call). The percentage of correct diagnoses increased with each successive week (R2= 0.9581; correlation = 0.979). The greatest percent increase of correctly diagnosed encounters was between weeks 2 and 3 (19.14%) correlating to call numbers 10-16and 45-68 patient encounters. The mean percent accuracy surpassed 70% during weeks 3-4, and improvement continued to week 7. High-acuity diagnoses were identified consistently 100% of the time from week 5 onward. Conclusion Our analysis indicated that diagnostic accuracy was greater than 70% between weeks 3 and 4 with high-acuity diagnostic accuracy reaching 100% at week 5. It can be postulated that optimal direct senior resident supervision is needed for at least 3-5 weeks before transitioning to indirectly supervised calls by PGY-2 residents. This standardization would allow junior residents to acquire sufficient clinical experience to accurately make a diagnosis and prevent patient morbidity. Further research nationally is necessary prior to creating a standardized call structure for PGY-2 residents especially with the newly mandatory integrated ophthalmology residency programs.

Consultations During COVID: Effects of a Pandemic on Neurosurgical Care

COVID-19 has impacted Neurosurgical care around the world. But reports describing patient admission trends during the pandemic have provided limited time frames and diagnoses. The purpose of this paper was to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on Neurosurgical care provided to our Emergency Department during the outbreak. Patient admission data were collected based on a list of 35 ICD-10 codes, which were placed into one of four categories: head and spine trauma ("Trauma"), head and spine infection ("Infection"), degenerative spine ("Degenerative") and subarachnoid hemorrhage / brain tumor ("Control"). Emergency room consultations to the Neurosurgery Department were collected from March 2018 to March 2022, representing 2 years before COVID and 2 years of pandemic. We hypothesized that Control cases would remain stable throughout the two time periods while Trauma, and Infection would decrease. Because of widespread clinic restrictions we postulated Degenerative (spine) cases presenting to the ER would increase. During the first two years of the COVID pandemic, Neurosurgical Trauma and Degenerative ER patients decreased compared to pre-pandemic levels, while Cranial and Spinal infections increased, and continued to do so during the pandemic period studied. Brain tumors and sub-arachnoid hemorrhages ('control' cases) did not change in a significant way throughout the four-year analysis. The COVID pandemic significantly altered the demographics of our Neurosurgical Emergency Room patient population and continues to do so.

Lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: A major change of hospital-diagnosed bacteremia epidemiology

ObjectivesWhen the COVID-19 pandemic reached France early in 2020, the enforced nationwide lockdown deeply altered lifestyle as well as hospital processes and modalities of care. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact during the lockdown of the first epidemic wave on the epidemiology of bacteremia in one French University Hospital. Patients and MethodsRetrospective cohort study including adult patients with positive blood culture between 23rd March to 24th May 2020. The clinical-microbiological characteristics were compared with those of the period from 25th March to 26th May 2019. The data were adjusted to the number of hospitalizations (h). ResultsIn 2020, 189 bacteremia were diagnosed from 1939 vials (9658 hospitalizations, 10911 emergency room consultations) compared to 143 from 1976 vials (14797 hospitalizations, 16493 emergency room consultations) recorded in 2019. The incidence of bacteremia increased up to 19.7 per 1000h in 2020 vs 9.7 in 2019 (p < 0.001). The main differences (2020 vs 2019) were: Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (2.4 vs 1.0/1000h, p = 0.012), polymicrobial bacteremia (2.2 vs 0.9/1000h p = 0.013) and Gram-negative bacteremia (8.9 vs 4.3/1000h, p < 0.01). Conversely, Streptococcus pneumoniae incidence decreased (0 vs 0.47/1000h, p = 0.047). The standardized incidence ratio calculation confirmed these results. ConclusionThe lockdown and the impact of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic on the health system resulted in increased hospital-diagnosed bacteremia and decreased pneumococcal bacteremia. Disruption and overload of ICUs, lockdown with preventive control measures, and decrease in human-to-human interaction may have been the main reasons.

Association of homelessness and skin conditions: aDanish population-based cohort study.

Research has linked homelessness with an increased risk of skin conditions. However, representative studies of diagnosis-specific information on skin conditions in people experiencing homelessness are lacking. To examine the association between homelessness and diagnosed skin conditions, prescribed medication and type of -consultation. This cohort study included data from the Danish nationwide health, social and administrative registers from 1 January 1999 to 31December 2018. All people of Danish origin living in Denmark and aged at least 15 years at some point during the study period were included. Homelessness, measured by homeless shelter contacts, was the exposure. The outcome was any diagnosis of a skin disorder and specific skin disorders recorded in the Danish National Patient Register. Information on diagnostic consultation type (i.e. dermatological, nondermatological and emergency room) and dermatological prescriptions was studied. We estimated adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR) (adjusted for sex, age and calendar year) and cumulative incidence. In total, 5 054 238 individuals (50.6% female) were included in the study population, accounting for 73 477 258 person-years at risk, with a start mean (SD) age of 39.4 (21.1) years. Of the total number of individuals, 759 991 (15.0%) received a skin diagnosis and 38 071 (0.7%) experienced homelessness. A 2.31-times [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.25-2.36] higher IRR of any diagnosed skin condition was associated with homelessness, higher for nondermatological and emergency room consultations. Homelessness was associated with a reduced IRR of a skin neoplasm diagnosis (aIRR 0.76, 95% CI 0.71-8.82) compared with no homelessness. By the end of follow-up, 2.8% (95% CI 2.5-3.0) of individuals experiencing homelessness had a skin neoplasm diagnosis vs. 5.1% (95% CI 4.9-5.3) of individuals not experiencing homelessness. Five or more shelter contacts during the first year from first contact was associated with the highest aIRR of any diagnosed skin condition (7.33, 95% CI 5.57-9.65) compared with no contacts. Individuals experiencing homelessness have high rates of most diagnosed skin conditions, but a lower occurrence of skin cancer diagnosis. Diagnostic and medical patterns for skin disorders differed clearly between people experiencing homelessness and individuals without these experiences. The time after first homeless shelter contact is an important window of opportunity for mitigating and preventing skin disorders.

Using the Social Robot NAO for Emotional Support to Children at a Pediatric Emergency Department: Randomized Clinical Trial.

BackgroundSocial robots (SRs) have been used for improving anxiety in children in stressful clinical situations, such as during painful procedures. However, no studies have yet been performed to assess their effect in children while waiting for emergency room consultations.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess the impact of SRs on managing stress in children waiting for an emergency room procedure through the assessment of salivary cortisol levels.MethodsThis was an open randomized clinical trial in children attending a pediatric emergency department. Children accessing the emergency room were randomized to 1 of 3 groups: (1) playing with a NAO SR, (2) playing with a study nurse, or (3) waiting with parents. The salivary cortisol levels of all children were measured through a swab. Salivary cortisol levels before and after the intervention were compared in the 3 groups. We calculated the effect size of our interventions through the Cohen d-based effect size correlation (r).ResultsA total of 109 children aged 3-10 years were enrolled in the study, and 94 (86.2%) had complete data for the analyses. Salivary cortisol levels significantly decreased more in the group exposed to robot interaction than in the other two groups (r=0.75). Cortisol levels decreased more in girls (r=0.92) than in boys (r=0.57).ConclusionsSRs are efficacious in decreasing stress in children accessing the emergency room and may be considered a tool for improving emotional perceptions of children and their families in such a critical setting.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04627909; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT04627909

The effect of emergency room consultations on emergency general surgery operations.

Hospitalizations in emergency general surgery (EGS) cases in the USA have increased by 28% since 2001. The costs of these cases are estimated to increase by 45% annually until 2060, reaching 41.20 billion dollars. According to the literature, the general surgery clinic team allocates an average of 5.5 hours a day for emergency room consultations. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of consultations from the emergency room in our country on the EGS approach and to create appropriate solution proposals with the data obtained from the regional hospitals. The source of the data in our study is the number of EGS cases presented by 10 regional hospitals at the Central Anatolia regional meetings of The Turkish Association of Trauma and Emergency Surgery between 2017 and 2020. MATLAB R2021b (The MathWorks, Inc., Natick, Massachusetts, USA) and SPSS (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 22.0, IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) programs were used for data analysis and graphics creation. The hospitalization/consultation rate was evaluated as the success of the doctors working at the emergency department in recognizing EGS cases; the average value was 20.15% across all hospitals. The surgery/emergency hospitalization rate, which shows rate of the hospitalized patients underwent surgery, is 59.17% when all centers are taken into account. The rate of surgery/admission in acute cholecystitis cases is 31.49% for all centers. It is seen that the hospitalization/consultation rate decreases with the increase in hospital workload. The rate of laparoscopic/total appendectomy is 22.78% across all centers. There is a correlation between acute appendicitis cases and EGS consultation numbers, but there is no correlation between laparoscopic appendectomy and consultation numbers. In addition, it is seen that medical follow-up is preferred in acute cholecystitis cases in centers where the consultation burden is increased; cholecystectomy is preferred at a higher rate in centers where the consultation burden is less. National EGS systems are needed and tried to be developed in order to improve the approach and outcomes of EGS patients worldwide. It is considered essential to establish a national EGS maintenance system that coordinates country resources and optimizes outcomes.

Dyspnea in the elderly: Diagnostic contribution of the differentiation index

Background Dyspnea is a common disabling symptom of cardiopulmonary diseases and a considerable reason of emergency room (ER) consultation and hospital admission. In elderly patients, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the cardiac and the respiratory origin due to critical presentation. The aim of this study was to assess diagnostic accuracy of the dyspnea differentiation index (DDI). Methods This study is a prospective single centre analysis including patients aged over 65 years consulting ER for dyspnea. Sixty-five patients were included over a period of six months. The etiology of the dyspnea was established according to the findings of the echocardiogram. Dyspnea differentiation index (DDI= PRFxSpo2/1000) was calculated for all the patients. Sensibility and specificity were assessed using the ROC curve. Results Mean included patients age was 75±8 years. Sex ratio was 0.85. Dyspnea had cardiac origin in 38.5% and non-cardiac origin in 61.5% of cases. Mean DDI was higher in the cardiac origin group (15.3vs 9.3, p=0.002). the predictive positive value was 71% and the predictive negative value was 86%. The optimal ROC curve cut-off showed DDI sensibility of 80% and specificity of 77.5%. Conclusions DDI is simple tool easy to calculate with satisfactory diagnostic accuracy that may guide the management of critical dyspnea in elderly before the routine investigation. Key words Dyspnea; Elderly; Emergency room; Echocardiography, Index.

Bronchial Asthma and Salivary Surfactant Protein D: Review Article

Background: Chronic bronchial inflammation underlies asthma, which is a complex disease with varied and largely reversible blockage of the respiratory route. Asthma is a major public health issue that affects people of all ages around the world. Many countries are seeing an increase in the prevalence of this disease, particularly among children. Among children, asthma is the most frequent long-term condition, accounting for more than half of all missed school days, emergency room consultations, and hospitalizations. Surfactant Protein D, a pattern-recognition molecule, dampens elevated levels of particular antibodies, alveolar macrophage accumulation, eosinophilia, and subepithelial fibrosis and mucous metaplasia, as well as airway hyper-reactivity in allergic asthma in vivo. Objective: In order to discover the connection between children's bronchial asthma and surfactant protein D. Conclusion: Salivary SP-D is a simple, low-cost, quick, and noninvasive way to collect saliva from children. Salivary SP-D levels may be linked to asthma exacerbation severity and peripheral airway resistance.

The impact of COVID-19 on adolescents with eating disorders: a cohort study

BackgroundThere is a noticeable lack of evidence regarding the impact of COVID-19 and the associated lockdown on young people with eating disorders. The goals of this study were 1) to examine characteristics of adolescents presenting for eating disorder (ED) assessment since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; 2) to compare adolescents presenting for ED assessment since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to those that presented for assessment 1 year previously; 3) to examine implications of the pandemic on the system of care.MethodsA retrospective chart review was completed on all patients assessed at a pediatric tertiary care ED program during the pandemic between April 1 and October 31, 2020, and on youth assessed during the same time frame 1 year previously. Data including body measurements and results of psychological measures was extracted from patients’ charts. Clinician reports were utilized for accounts of ED symptoms. Referrals to our program were also compared for the two time periods.ResultsOf the 48 youth assessed between April and October 2020, average age was 14.6 years and average percentage of treatment goal weight was 77.7%. 40% cited the pandemic as a trigger for their ED; of these youth, 78.9% were medically unstable compared to 55.2% of those whose ED was not triggered by the pandemic. When comparing the 2020 cohort to those assessed in 2019, youth who presented for assessment during the pandemic trended towards having lower percentage of goal weights and higher rates of self-reported impairment, and were significantly more likely to be medically unstable (p = 0.005) and to require hospitalization (p = 0.005). Higher rates of inpatient admissions, emergency room consultation requests and outpatient referrals deemed “urgent” were likewise associated with the pandemic period.ConclusionsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, youth assessed for an ED presented with high rates of medical instability and need for hospitalization. Caring for these youth may be more challenging during the pandemic, when access to services may be limited. Further research is required to better understand the impact of the pandemic on the clinical course and outcomes of EDs in adolescents.

EsVida scale development and validation to assess the requirement of emergency management in cases of infectious gastroenteritis

IntroductionInfectious gastroenteritis can result in unnecessary emergency room consultations. Instruments are needed to detect the risks for unfavorable progression. AimTo develop and validate a comprehensive severity scale for acute gastroenteritis in children. Materials and methodsData associated with complications (probable items) were determined through a MeSH search. The EsVida scale was developed with 4 theoretic domains: personal history (3 items), social problems (2 items), risks for severe gastroenteritis (4 items), and signs of fluid and electrolyte imbalance (4 items). The items were evaluated as present (one point) or absent (zero points) on a 0 to 13-point scale. To validate the instrument, an observational study was conducted at the emergency service on children from one to 13 years of age with acute gastroenteritis. The scale was re-developed utilizing the risks calculated by logistic regression analysis. ResultsNinety-seven pediatric patients were evaluated using the EsVida scale (theoretic development). Its initial version showed an area under the ROC curve of 0.69 (95% CI of 0.6 to 0.79). After risk adjustment, it was simplified to a total of 5 items, with a score of 0 to 42.5. The new scale produced an area under the ROC curve of 0.85 (95% CI of 0.75 to 0.90). At a cutoff value of 12 points, the scale had 69.8% sensitivity and 70.5% specificity. A score below 6 indicated that patients could be managed at home at no risk. ConclusionsThe modified EsVida scale could be used as an aid in deciding on at-home management in cases of acute infectious gastroenteritis.

‘Adequacy between medical prescription and intake of analgesics for acute low back and neck pain after presentation at the emergency department – do we prescribe too many tablets?’

ABSTRACT Objectives Acute low back and neck pain account for 3% to 6% of emergency room consultations. In Europe, analgesic prescriptions are issued in boxes. This study, therefore, aims to assess whether this type of packaging is adapted to the real needs of patients. Methods This is a prospective observational multicenter study. Out of a total of 101 eligible patients who consulted the emergency department with acute low back or neck pain of muscular origin, 60 patients were included for statistical analysis. Follow-up was conducted by phone 10 to 14 days after admission. Different parameters were evaluated: the recovery, the amount of remaining tablets, and the demographic characteristics of patients. Results Seventy-five percent of the evaluated patients were asymptomatic at follow-up and no longer taking the prescribed treatment. For all types of prescribed analgesics, a significant number of tablets remained in the drug boxes (P < 0.0001). After the resolution of symptoms, 90% of the studied patients reported a drug surplus. No significant difference was found in terms of patient demographic characteristics. The results were similar for both neck and low back pain subgroups. Conclusion This study suggests that in case of acute low back and neck pain, a significant number of patients who return home after an emergency department consultation have a surplus of analgesics after recovery. These drugs could induce misuse. Moreover, this surplus gives rise to economic and environmental questions. One solution could be to prescribe a number of tablets depending on patients’ pathology instead of entire boxes.

Public Health and Economic Benefits of Influenza Vaccination of the Population Aged 50 to 59 Years without Risk Factors for Influenza Complications in Mexico: A Cross-Sectional Epidemiological Study.

The Mexican influenza vaccination program does not include a recommendation for people aged 50–59 years without risk factors for influenza complications, and there are limited data regarding the cost-effectiveness of vaccinating this population. To explore the clinical and economic effects of including this population in the vaccination schedule, we performed a cross-sectional epidemiological study using records (2009–2018) from Mexico’s Influenza Surveillance System (SISVEFLU), death records (2010–2015) from the National Mortality Epidemiological and Statistical System, and discharge and hospitalization records (2010–2015) from the Automated Hospital Discharge System databases. A 1-year decision-analytic model was used to assess cost-effectiveness through a decision-tree based on data from SISVEFLU. The primary outcome was influenza cases avoided; with associated influenza-related events as secondary outcomes. Including the population aged 50–59 years without risk factors in Mexico’s influenza immunization program would have resulted in 199,500 fewer cases; 67,008 fewer outpatient consultations; 33,024 fewer emergency room consultations; 33,091 fewer hospitalizations; 12 fewer deaths. These reductions equate to a substantial public health benefit as well as an economic benefit; yielding net savings of 49.8 million US dollars over a typical influenza season. Expansion of the current Mexican vaccination schedule to include these people would be a cost-saving and dominant strategy.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on appendicitis treatment in Germany-a population-based analysis.

PurposeAcute appendicitis is one of the most common reasons for emergency medical consultation. While simple appendicitis can be treated with antibiotics or surgery, complex appendicitis including gangrene, abscess, and perforation requires appendectomy. During the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, an overall drop in emergency room consultations was observed. We therefore aimed to investigate the incidence and treatment strategies of acute appendicitis during that period.MethodsData of insurance holders with the ICD code for “acute appendicitis” or OPS procedure of appendectomy of a major health insurance company in Germany were analyzed retrospectively. Groups were built, containing of the means of March–June of 2017, 2018, and 2019, defined as “pre-COVID group” with the “COVID group,” defined as data from March to June of 2020. Data was analyzed by age, sex, comorbidities, length of hospital stay, diagnoses, and treatment. Data of the COVID group was analyzed for simultaneous COVID-19 infection.ResultsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic of early 2020, an overall reduction by 12.9% of patients presenting with acute appendicitis was noticeable. These results were mainly due to decreased rates of uncomplicated appendicitis, while complicated appendicitis was scarcely affected. Especially in the group of females < 40 years, a drastic reduction was visible. Rates of extended surgery did not change. Likewise, the complication rate like appendix stump leakage or need for re-operation did not differ. In March 2020, 4.8% of acute appendicitis patients had concomitant COVID-19 infection.ConclusionIn line with the overall drop of emergency room visits during the COVID-19 pandemic of spring 2020 in Germany, a significantly lowered number of patients with uncomplicated appendicitis were noticeable, whereas complicated appendicitis did not differ. Also, treatment and complication rate of acute appendicitis did not change. These findings might be a hint that acute appendicitis is not a progressing disease but caused by different entities for uncomplicated and complicated appendicitis and therefore another clue that uncomplicated appendicitis can be treated with antibiotics or observation. Nevertheless provided data does not cover outpatient treatment; therefore, no statement observation or antibiotics in outpatients can be made.

Effects of Covid-19 on walk-in and after hours ophthalmology presentations at a tertiary academic eye center

Purpose: The novel coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) has resulted in millions of acute infections and widespread lockdowns. Non-emergent medical care and elective surgical procedures experienced a sharp downturn as a result. The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of the pandemic lockdown on the volume of ophthalmologic visits at a tertiary care center. Methods: Retrospective review of 3647 patient encounters was conducted for periods February 15thJuly 31st during the years 2018, 2019, and 2020. Three sub-cohorts of data were analyzed: emergency room consultations, after-hours on-call visits, and daytime visits at a walk-in triage clinic. Encounters were subdivided into pre-lockdown, lockdown, and post-lockdown time periods. Group comparisons were performed with Poisson probability testing. Results: A total of 1322, 1349, and 976 ophthalmology visits were recorded from February 15th to July 31st for years 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. Total visits in 2020 were reduced by 27% when compared to the mean visits for 2018 and 2019, most notably in April (41%), March (34%), May (32%), and June (86%) [p<0.001]. The reduction in 2020 after-hours visits (96%, p<0.001) was significantly greater than that of emergency room consultations (9.4%, p=0.10) and triage center visits (7.7%, p<0.02). Conclusion: A substantial decrease in ophthalmic care was observed during both the 2020 pandemic lockdown, and while restrictions were eased. After-hours visits were more significantly impacted when compared to other clinical settings. The importance of maintaining ophthalmology walk-in clinics, telemedicine, and increasing patient education are key to optimizing eye health during a global pandemic.

Analysis of risk factors associated with recurrence of acute pericarditis in patients diagnosed in the emergency room

Abstract Background Around 5% of patients consulting to the emergency room (ER) for non-ischemic thoracic pain are diagnosed of acute pericarditis (AP). The good prognosis of this pathology is well known, with a mortality of 1% and a low incidence of serious complications, which has led the research to focus on recurrences. Female sex, corticoid treatment and treatment adherence are related with higher risk of recurrence. Colchicine has been associated with less recurrences. Purpose To analyse the factors associated with recurrence after the diagnosis of AP in the ER of a third-level hospital. Methods Retrospective review of ER consultations oriented as AP, prospectively documented during 10 years (2008–2018). In 2019, a follow up was done in order to identify the recurrences and to search for associated factors (univariate and multivariate analysis). Results 610 patients were diagnosed of AP, 175 (29%) recurrences were documented. Factors associated with an increased risk of recurrence were: previous AP, immunosuppression or history of autoimmune disease, fever or increased acute-phase reactants (CRP; ESR), hospitalization and corticoid treatment. Factors associated with less risk of recurrence were: age, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) treatment and idiopatic/viral etiology. No association with sex or colchicine treatment was identified. Multivariate analysis identified 3 factors that were independently associated with the risk of recurrence in a direct way: previous history of AP, [OR (IC95%): 2.09 (1.11–3.92)]; increased CRP [OR (IC95%): 1.09 (1.03–1.15)]; hospitalization [OR (IC95%): 2.65 (1.07–6.58)]. 2 factors were inversely associated with the risk of recurrence: age [OR (IC95%): 0.98 (0.96–0.99)]; NSAID treatment [OR (IC95%): 0.56 (0.32–0.97)]. Conclusions 29% of the patients were readmitted to the ER for an AP recurrence. Previous AP, increased CRP and the need of hospitalization were associated with a higher risk of recurrence. Age and NSAID treatment, on the other hand, were associated with less risk of recurrence. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Private grant(s) and/or Sponsorship. Main funding source(s): Ajuts per la Recerca Josep Font

Medical Emergencies During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In this study, we investigate the number of emergency room consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 in Germany compared to figures from the previous year. Case numbers from calendar weeks 1 through 22 of the two consecutive years 2019 and 2020 were obtained from 29 university hospitals and 7 non-university hospitals in Germany. Information was also obtained on the patients' age, sex, and urgency, along with the type of case (outpatient/inpatient), admitting ward, and a small number of tracer diagnoses (I21, myocardial infarction; J44, COPD; and I61, I63, I64, G45, stroke /TIA), as well as on the number of COVID-19 cases and of tests performed for SARS-CoV-2, as a measure of the number of cases in which COVID-19 was suspected or at least included in the differential diagnoses. A total of 1 022 007 emergency room consultations were analyzed, of which 546 940 took place in 2019 and 475 067 in 2020. The number of consultations with a positive test for the COVID-19 pathogen was 3122. The total number of emergency room consultations in the observation period was 13% lower in 2020 than in 2019, with a maximum drop by 38% coinciding with the highest number of COVID-19 cases (calendar week 14; 572 cases). After the initiation of interpersonal contact restrictions in 2020, there was a marked drop in COVID-19 case numbers, by a mean of -240 cases per week per emergency room (95% confidence interval [-284; -128]). There was a rise in case numbers thereafter, by a mean of 17 patients per week [14; 19], and the number of cases of myocardial infarction returned fully to the level seen in 2019. In Germany, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant drop in medical emergencies of all kinds presenting to the nation's emergency departments. A recovery effect began to be seen as early as calendar week 15, but the levels seen in 2019 were not yet reached overall by calendar week 22; only the prevalence of myocardial infarction had renormalized by then. The reasons for this require further investigation.

Association between abdominal pain and fecal impaction grade assessed through radiography in constipated patients at a pediatric emergency service.

Abdominal pain in children is a frequent cause of emergency room consultation. An important group of those patients presents with chronic constipation and fecal impaction. Plain abdominal x-ray is widely used for making a diagnosis and ruling out the need for surgical treatment. The present study examined the association between pain intensity and fecal impaction grade. An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted that compared 2 radiographic scales to determine the association between the grade of fecal impaction observed and abdominal pain intensity in patients that sought medical attention at an emergency service within a 7-month period. The analysis was carried out by 2 different observers, utilizing 2 different radiographic scales to confirm their reproducibility. The degree of interobserver agreement was measured using the Kappa coefficient and the association between abdominal pain and fecal impaction grade was measured through the Spearman correlation coefficient. There was a significant association between pain intensity and the radiographic grade of fecal impaction (P<.05) for the radiographic scale by segments and its interobserver agreement was high, compared with the scale by percentage. Radiographic scales may be useful in the evaluation and treatment of patients with abdominal pain and constipation. The segmental scale showed less interobserver variability, suggesting its proposal as an alternative in the evaluation and follow-up of patients with chronic constipation.

Health Care Costs Associated to Type of Feeding in the First Year of Life.

Background: Breastfeeding is associated with lower risk of infectious diseases, leading to fewer hospital admissions and pediatrician consultations. It is cost saving for the health care system, however, it is not usually estimated from actual cohorts but via simulation studies. Methods: A cohort of 970 children was followed-up for twelve months. Data on mother characteristics, pregnancy, delivery and neonate characteristics were obtained from medical records. The type of neonate feeding at discharge, 2, 4, 6, 9 and 12 months of life was reported by the mothers. Infectious diseases diagnosed in the first year of life, hospital admissions, primary care and emergency room consultations and drug treatments were obtained from neonate medical records. Health care costs were attributed using public prices and All Patients Refined–Diagnosis Related Groups (APR–DRG) classification. Results: Health care costs in the first year of life were higher in children artificially fed than in those breastfed (1339.5€, 95% confidence interval (CI): 903.0–1775.0 for artificially fed vs. 443.5€, 95% CI: 193.7–694.0 for breastfed). The breakdown of costs also shows differences in primary care consultations (295.7€ for formula fed children vs. 197.9€ for breastfed children), emergency room consultations (260.1€ for artificially fed children vs. 196.2€ for breastfed children) and hospital admissions (791.6€ for artificially fed children vs. 86.9€ for breastfed children). Conclusions: Children artificially fed brought about more health care costs related to infectious diseases than those exclusively breastfed or mixed breastfed. Excess costs were caused in hospital admissions, primary care consultations, emergency room consultations and drug consumption.