Pediatric emergency department utilisation during Ramadan: a retrospective cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of Ramadan on patient characteristics, diagnoses and metrics in the paediatric emergency department (PED). DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional study. SETTING: PED of a tertiary care centre in Lebanon. PATIENTS: All paediatric patients. EXPOSURE: Ramadan (June 2016 and 2017) versus the months before and after Ramadan (non-Ramadan). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patient and illness characteristics and PED metrics including peak patient load; presentation timings; length of stay; and times to order tests, receive samples and report results. RESULTS: We included 5711 patients with mean age of 6.1±5.3 years and 55.4% males. The number of daily visits was 28.3±6.5 during Ramadan versus 31.5±7.3 during non-Ramadan (p=0.004). The peak time of visits ranged from 18:00 to 22:00 during non-Ramadan versus from 22:00 to 02:00 during Ramadan. During Ramadan, there were significantly more gastrointestinal (GI) and trauma-related complaints (39.0% vs 35.4%, p=0.01 and 2.9% vs 1.8%, p=0.005). The Ramadan group had faster work efficiency measures such as times to order tests (21.1±21.3 vs 24.3±28.1 min, p<0.0001) and to collect samples (50.7±44.5 vs 54.8±42.6 min, p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Ramadan changes presentation patterns, with fewer daily visits and a later peak time of visits. Ramadan also affects illness presentation patterns with more GI and trauma cases. Fasting times during Ramadan did not affect staff work efficiency. These findings could help EDs structure their staffing to optimise resource allocation during Ramadan.

Fall related injuries in elderly patients in a tertiary care centre in Beirut, Lebanon.

CONTEXT: Falls cause significant morbidity and mortality, constituting 38.9% of trauma visits to the emergency department (ED) in Lebanon. Elderly have increased risk of falls due to co-morbidities. Injury-related deaths are most common in developing countries, and few studies have examined falls internationally. AIMS: Describe characteristics, injury patterns, and outcomes of elderly treated for fall injuries at a tertiary care center in Lebanon. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Retrospective observational chart review of elderly presenting after a fall to the ED. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Retrospective observational study of elderly (≥65 years) patients who presented to the ED at a tertiary care center in Lebanon with the chief complaint of "fall" over a 6-year period. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Descriptive analysis. RESULTS: Two hundred and thirty-five patients were included; mean age was 78.1 (±7.2) years with female predominance (60.5%). Falls occurred at home (99.2%) and from ground level (96.4%). Patients presented by private transport (85.8%). The initial impact was to the head in 31.2% of patients with 47.8% on antiplatelet/anticoagulation therapy. Imaging includes extremity X-ray (46.6%) and head/cervical spine computed tomography (39.5%). Dispositions included home (58.9%), regular floor (23.3%), operating room (7.9%), and intensive care unit (5.9%). Pelvic/hip repair was the most common surgical procedure. Most injuries were nonlife-threatening. Overall mortality was 2%. CONCLUSIONS: Falls have a high impact on the elderly population in Lebanon, with most occurring at home, resulting in pelvic/hip injuries and a mortality of 2%. There is a need to implement multifaceted fall prevention programs to mitigate such injuries and improve patient safety and outcomes.

Factors Associated with Survival After Emergency Department Thoracotomy for Adult Trauma Patients in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Emergency department thoracotomy (EDT) is done to control life threatening hemorrhage and injuries. Literature examining this topic is limited to relatively small studies from single trauma centers. OBJECTIVE: This study identifies factors associated with survival to hospital discharge of patients undergoing EDT using the largest U.S. national trauma database. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used the U.S. National Trauma Data Bank 2015. We conducted univariate and bivariate analyses followed by a multivariate analysis that adjusted for confounders to identify factors associated with survival. RESULTS: Two thousand four hundred eighty-six patients who underwent EDT were included. Most patients were 16 to 64 years of age (92.3%) with a male predominance (84.9%) and without any previous comorbidities (62.8%). Penetrating injury was most common (60.2%), mainly as a result of assault (51.0%) by firearm (45.1%). Overall survival to hospital discharge was 38.2%. After adjusting for confounders, factors associated with increased survival were cut/piece injuries, presenting with signs of life, Glasgow Coma Scale score ≥8, systolic blood pressure >90 mm Hg, and transportation to the ED through helicopter/fixed-wing ambulance or public/private vehicle (reference, ground ambulance). CONCLUSIONS: Factors associated with survival in patients undergoing EDT were identified. The clinical indication of presence of appropriate resources to continue and repair EDT was validated, along with the contraindications of lack of signs of life and presence of major nonsurvivable injuries. Future studies should focus on validation of all criteria of EDT, namely hemodynamic instability despite appropriate fluid resuscitation, duration of time of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and pulselessness, cardiac rhythm on arrival, and the presence of pericardial tamponade.

Significance of Clostridium difficile in community-acquired diarrhea in a tertiary care center in Lebanon.

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is becoming a cause of community-acquired diarrhea. The aim is to describe (CDI) as a cause of acute diarrhea in patients presenting from the community to the Emergency Department (ED) of a tertiary care center in Lebanon. A retrospective study conducted in the ED at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC). Adult patients presenting with the chief complaint of diarrhea and having positive CDI by stool laboratory testing (toxins A and B), during a three-year period were included. 125 patients with CDI were included. Average age was 61.43 (±20.42) with roughly equal sex prevalence. 30% (n = 36) of patients had neither antibiotic exposure nor recent hospitalization prior to current CDI. Mortality was 9.6% (n = 12), CDI was attributed as the cause in 16.7% (n = 2) and a contributing factor in 41.6% (n = 5). Recurrence within 3 months occurred in 9.6% (n = 11) in mainly those taking Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) and having multiple co-morbidities. There is a high rate of community acquired CDI in Lebanon. Review of patients' medications (PPIs and antibiotics) is crucial. More studies are needed to assess mortality associated with CDI and the outcome of coinfection with other enteric pathogens.

Association Between Trauma Center Designation Levels and Survival of Patients With Motor Vehicular Transport Injuries in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Motor vehicular transport (MVT) is a leading cause of injuries globally. Health care regionalization aims at improving patients' outcomes. OBJECTIVES: This study examines the association between trauma center designation levels in the United States and survival of patients with MVT-related injuries. METHODS: We used the National Trauma Data Bank 2015 dataset for this retrospective study. We conducted descriptive and bivariate analyses. This was followed by a multivariate analysis to assess the association between trauma center level and survival to hospital discharge. RESULTS: One hundred sixty-eight thousand five hundred twenty-four patients were included in this study. The mean age was 39.9 years (±19.5 years) with a male predominance (63.8%). Most patients were taken to level I (55.7%) and level II (35.9%) centers. The overall survival of patients with MVT injuries was 95.3%. Involved patients were occupant (64.8%), motorcyclist (17.3%), and pedestrian (12.7%). After adjusting for confounders, patients sustaining MVT injuries who were taken to level II and III trauma centers were less likely survive compared with those taken to level I centers (odds ratio = 0.89 [95% confidence interval 0.81-0.97] and odds ratio = 0.70 [95% confidence interval 0.59-0.82], respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we identified a survival benefit for patients with MVT injuries when treated at level I compared with level II and III centers. These findings provide additional evidence for the benefit of health care regionalization in the form of trauma center level designation.

Impact of trauma level designation on survival of patients arriving with no signs of life to US trauma centers.

BACKGROUND: Trauma level designation and verification are examples of healthcare regionalization aiming at improving patient outcomes. This study examines impact of Trauma Levels on survival of patients arriving with "no signs of life" to US trauma centers. METHODS: This retrospective study used the US National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) 2015 dataset. A descriptive followed by a bivariate analysis was done comparing variables by the trauma designation levels. A multivariate analysis assessed the effect of the trauma designation on survival to hospital discharge after controlling for potential confounding factors. RESULTS: 6160 patients without signs of life were included. The average age was 40.66 years (±19.96) with male predominance (77.3%). Most patients were transported using ground ambulance (83.5%) and were taken to Level I (57%) and Level II (32.4%) centers. Blunt injuries were the most common (56.9%). Motor Vehicle Collision (MVC) (38.5%) and firearm (33.8%) were the most common mechanisms of injury. Survival to hospital discharge among patients with no signs of life ranged from 13.7% at Level I to 27.9% at Level III. After adjusting for confounders, including Injury Severity Score (ISS), higher survival was noted at Level II trauma centers compared to Level I. CONCLUSIONS: Patients presenting without signs of life to Level II trauma centers had higher survival to hospital discharge compared to Level I and Level III centers. These findings can guide future prehospital triage criteria of trauma patients in organized Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems and highlight the need for more outcome research on trauma systems.

Impact of trauma designation levels on survival of drowning victims: An observational study from trauma centers in the United States.

Drowning causes significant morbidity and mortality. Healthcare regionalization aims at improving patient outcomes. This study examines the impact of trauma center level designation on survival of drowning victims.Retrospective cohort study utilizing the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) 2015. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted.The 212 patients were included. Mean age was 33.58 (±20.02) years with 69.3% (n = 147) males. Patients were mostly taken to Level I (n = 107, 50.5%) and II (n = 81, 32.8%) centers, requiring admission (43.5% (n = 96), 23.1% (n = 49) and 8.5% (n = 18) to Intensive Care, floor, and Operating Room, respectively). Overall hospital discharge survival was 83.5% (n = 177). After adjusting for confounders, there was no significant difference in survival of patients taken to Level I compared to Level II and III centers.This study did not identify a survival benefit for patients with drowning related injuries when taken to Level I compared to Level II or III Trauma centers. Further outcome studies are needed in organized trauma systems to improve field triage criteria for specific injury mechanisms.

Out of hospital cardiac arrest outcomes: Impact of weekdays vs weekends admission on survival to hospital discharge.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac arrests are a leading cause of mortality with survival of only 12%. In the United States, cardiac arrests were significantly more likely to occur on Saturdays. Hospitals experience a decrease in staffing on weekends. This study aims to assess the relationship between weekend vs weekday admission and outcomes of patients presenting with out of hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) in the United States. METHODS: This retrospective study utilized the 2014 US National Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) database. Patients who sustained out of hospital cardiac arrests were included using ICD-9-CM codes. Descriptive analysis was conducted, followed by bivariate analysis to compare the collected variables by admission day. Multivariate analysis was done to assess the impact of weekday vs weekend admission on survival of cardiac arrests patients after adjusting for confounders. RESULTS: A total of 145,774 patients with cardiac arrest were included in this study. Mean age was 65.9 years with male predominance of 61.8%. Almost 71% of cardiac arrests took place on a weekday. As an overall outcome, only 5.7% patients survived to hospital discharge. After adjusting for significant confounders, patients presenting on weekends were less likely to survive compared to those admitted on weekdays (OR = 0.833, 95% CI: 0.727-0.954). CONCLUSION: In this study, patients with OHCA admitted to the ED on weekends had slightly lower survival compared to those admitted on weekdays. Modifiable factors should be identified in future studies to reduce outcome discrepancies and improve survival in this patient population.