Implementation of Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) as a Universal Suicide Risk Screening tool in a High Volume Emergency Department.

OBJECTIVE: To examine clinical and demographic parameters with regards to efficacy, resource utilization, and clinician burden associated with implementation of universal suicide screening by Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) in a single high-volume emergency department. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study, performed via chart review, included 10,197 adult patients seen in the emergency department over two specific time frames (4935 pre- and 5262 post-implementation of the screening tool). All visits with psychiatry consultation underwent further chart review (172 pre- and 217 post-) to compare number, length of stay (LOS) and demographics for psychiatric evaluations pre- and post- use of C-SSRS screening. RESULTS: Both groups were predominantly male with previous psychiatric diagnoses. Within the post-screening group, individuals tended to be older with lower likelihood of previously diagnosed psychiatric illness. No significant differences were seen in gender, psychiatric diagnosis, or outpatient psychiatric treatment. Incidence of psychiatric evaluation was slightly higher post-screening (18%) without meeting statistical significance, with more patients discharged home in the post- cohort. LOS was slightly lower after implementation of C-SSRS, without reaching statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of universal screening showed increased demand for psychiatric evaluations, without meeting clinical significance in this limited analysis. Although there were slightly more psychiatric evaluations, more patients were discharged to home. LOS showed no statistical increase, even trending toward shorter duration for patients screened to be evaluated by psychiatry. Based on these results, efficient suicide screening may help identify at-risk individuals without overwhelming psychiatric resources or causing unnecessary increase in LOS. HighlightsRapid identification of suicide risk is important in an emergency department environment.Universal suicide screening has limitations, with concerns for emergency department resources.Use of C-SSRS for universal screening does not show significant burden to this department.

Diagnostic challenges in primary care: Identifying and avoiding cognitive bias.

These 4 cases demonstrate how cognitive bias can impede the diagnostic process.

Management of gastroesophageal reflux disease: Patient and physician communication challenges and shared decision making.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common upper esophageal condition and typical symptoms can include heartburn and sensation of regurgitation while atypical symptoms include chronic cough, asthma, hoarseness, dyspepsia and nausea. Typically, diagnosis is presumptive given the presence of typical and atypical symptoms and is an indication for empiric therapy. Treatment management can include lifestyle modifications and/or medication therapy with proton pump inhibitor (PPI) class being the preferred and most effective. Complete symptom resolution is not always achieved and long-term PPI therapy can put patients at risk for serious side effects and needless expense. The brain-gut connection and hypervigilance plays an important role in symptom resolution and treatment success, especially in the case of non-PPI responders. Hypervigilance is a combination of increased esophageal sensory sensitivity in combination with exaggerated threat perception surrounding esophageal symptoms. Hypervigilance requires a different approach to GERD managements, where continued PPI therapy and surgery are usually not recommended. Rather, helping physicians and patients understand the brain-gut connection can guide and improve care. Education and reassurance should be the main pillars or treatment. However, it is important not to suggest the symptoms are due to anxiety alone, this often leads to patient dissatisfaction. Patient dissatisfaction with treatment reveals the need for a more patient-centered approach to GERD management and better communication between patients and providers. Shared decision making (SDM) with the incorporation of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) promotes patient adherence and satisfaction. SDM is a joint discussion between clinician and patient in which a mutually shared solution is explored for GERD symptoms. For SDM to work the physician needs to capture patients' perceptions which may not be obtained in the standard interview. This can be done through the use of PROs which promote a dialogue with patients about their symptoms and treatment priorities in the context of the SDM patient encounter. SDM could potentially help in the management of patient expectations for GERD treatment, ultimately positively impacting their health-related quality of life.