Characteristics of migrant workers admitted from the emergency department.

INTRODUCTION: Emergency department (ED) admissions for non-work-related injuries and illnesses in the migrant worker (MW) population in Singapore are not well studied. We aimed to examine ED triage acuity and bills associated with admissions among MW for non-trauma, workplace injury (WI) trauma, and non-workplace injury (NWI) trauma. METHODS: In this retrospective observational study, we included all work permit holders admitted to hospital via the ED of three public hospitals from 1 May 2016 to 31 October 2016. Data obtained from medical records included demographics, triage acuity and bill information. RESULTS: There were 1,750 unique patients accounting for 1,788 admissions. The median age was 33 (interquartile range 27-40) years, with a male predominance of 67%. Trauma accounted for 33% ( n = 595) of admissions, and of these, 73% ( n = 433) were due to WI. Admissions for NWI, as compared to WI, were more likely to present as high acuity P1 cases (43% vs 24%, P < 0.001), be conveyed by ambulance (49% vs 24%, P < 0.001) and result in trauma team activations (29% vs 7%, P < 0.001). More NWI admissions (22%, 36/162) exceeded the insurance claim limit under prevailing healthcare policies, as compared to WI admissions (3%, 13/433). CONCLUSION: Migrant workers are admitted to hospital for non-trauma conditions more frequently than for trauma. Non-workplace injury trauma may be severe. Non-trauma and NWI admissions can result in large bills that exceed mandatory insurance coverage. Recent changes to healthcare policy governing MW to allow copayment of large bills and better access to primary care are timely.

Headache in the Emergency Department: A Multicenter Observational Study from Singapore.

Background and Objectives: There is scarce data about the epidemiology, clinical features, investigations, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome in patients attending Singapore emergency departments (EDs) with nontraumatic headache. We sought to describe these characteristics of adult patients presenting to the ED with a primary complaint of headache. Materials and Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study on adult patients with nontraumatic headache over 4 consecutive weeks from 18 March 2019 to 14 April 2019 across four EDs in Singapore. Exclusion criteria were history of head trauma within 48 h of presentation, missing records, interhospital transfers, representation with the same headache as a recent previous visit and headache as an associated symptom. Results: During the study period, 579 patients (representing 1.8% of the total ED census) comprising 55.3% males and with a median age of 36 years presented to the four Singapore EDs with a primary complaint of nontraumatic headache. Paracetamol (41.5%), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (34.4%) and tramadol (31.5%) were the three commonest analgesics used either singly or in combination. Prochlorperazine (22.9%) and metoclopramide (17.4%) were frequent anti-emetic adjuncts. One-third of patients had computed tomography of the brain performed, which found abnormalities among 20.9% of them. ED diagnoses of primary headache conditions were made in 73.6% of patients. Conclusions: Primary headaches constituted most ED headache diagnoses. ED imaging of selected patients yielded a relatively high pick-up rate for significant intracranial abnormalities. Opioid use for symptomatic relief of headaches in the ED was found to be high, underscoring the need for improvement in headache analgesia relief practices in the ED.

Early predictors for the diagnosis of liver abscess in the emergency department.

Diagnosing pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) in the emergency department (ED) is challenging due to its non-specific clinical presentation. We aim to identify predictors that aid in diagnosis of PLA in ED patients. This retrospective chart review included patients diagnosed with PLA in a tertiary hospital between January 2008 and December 2012. We compared the demographics, clinical characteristics, investigations and outcomes between patients with PLA diagnosed and missed in the ED. During the study period, 155 patients were admitted via the ED with a cause of death or discharge diagnosis of PLA. Mean age was 58.1 (standard deviation [SD] 15.8) years, with male predominance of 69.7%. There were 79.4% of patients with diagnosis of PLA missed in the ED. Fulfillment of SIRS criteria was associated with increased odds of diagnosing PLA in the ED (adjusted OR 3.20, 95% CI 1.03-9.92), while a higher SpO2/FiO2 ratio was associated with decreased odds of a timely ED diagnosis (adjusted OR 0.993, 95% CI 0.988-0.998). Missed ED diagnosis of PLA did not result in significant differences in mortality or treatment failure (p = 0.939), and median length of stay (11 days [IQR 8-16] vs. 11 days [IQR 7-17], p = 0.48). Non-fulfillment of the SIRS criteria and a higher SpO2/FiO2 ratio at ED presentation were associated with higher likelihood of missed diagnosis. Despite that, a missed diagnosis of PLA in the ED did not appear to affect outcomes.