Journals use social media to increase the awareness of their publications. Infographics show research findings in a concise and visually appealing manner, well suited for dissemination on social media platforms. We hypothesized that infographic abstracts promoted on social media would increase the dissemination and online readership of the parent research articles.

Twenty-four articles were chosen from the six issues of CJEM published between July 2016 and June 2017 and randomized to infographic or control groups. All articles were disseminated through the journal’s social media accounts (Twitter and Facebook). Control articles were promoted using a screen capture image of each article’s abstract on the journal’s social media accounts. Infographic articles were promoted similarly using a visual infographic. Infographics were also published and promoted on the CanadiEM.org’s website and social media channels. Abstract views, full-text views, and the change in Altmetric score were compared between groups using unpaired two-tailed t-tests.

There were no significant differences in the groups at baseline. Abstract views (mean, 95% CI) were higher in the infographics (379, 287-471) than the control group (176, 136-215, p<0.001). Mean change in Altmetric scores was higher in the infographics (26, 18-34) than in the control group (3, 2-4, p<0.0001). There was no difference in full-text views between the infographics (50, 0-101) and control groups (25, 18-32).

The promotion of CJEM articles using infographics on social media and the CanadiEM.org website increased Altmetric scores and abstract views. Infographics may have a role in increasing awareness of medical literature.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia presentation to the emergency department (ED) and frequently results in admission to the hospital. Although rarely life-threatening and not usually an emergent condition, AF places a large burden on our health-care system. The objective of this study was to describe the practices of ED physicians in the management of AF in a large urban Canadian city.

From January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010, patients with a primary diagnosis of AF were identified across 10 EDs in Toronto, Canada (N=2,609). Fifty patients were selected at random from each hospital for a detailed chart review (n=500).

Two hundred thirty-two patients (46%) received rate control, and 129 (26%) received rhythm control with the remainder (28%) receiving neither therapy. Sixty-seven percent of patients were discharged home. Most patients (79%) were symptomatic on arrival; however, only a minority of these (31%) received rhythm control. Factors that were associated with rhythm control included younger age, duration of palpitations ≤ 48 hours, a lower CHADS2 score, and the absence of left ventricular dysfunction.

Our data suggest a wide range of practice amongst ED physicians treating patients presenting to the ED with a primary diagnosis of AF. A randomized trial is needed to better understand the optimal management strategy in this patient population and setting.

Oral anticoagulation (OAC) reduces stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFL). However, OAC initiation rates in patients discharged directly from the emergency department (ED) are low. We aimed to address this care gap by implementing a quality improvement intervention.

The study was performed in four Canadian urban EDs between 2015 and 2016. Patients were included if they had an electrocardiogram (ECG) documenting AF/AFL in the ED, were directly discharged from the ED, and were alive after 90 days. Baseline rates of OAC initiation were determined prior to the intervention. Between June and December 2016, we implemented our intervention in two EDs (ED-intervention), with the remaining sites acting as controls (ED-control). The intervention included a reminder statement prompting OAC initiation according to guideline recommendations, manually added to ECGs with a preliminary interpretation of AF/AFL, along with a decision-support algorithm that included a referral sheet. The primary outcome was the rate of OAC initiation within 90 days of the ED visit.

Prior to the intervention, 37.2% OAC-naïve patients with ECG-documented AF/AFL were initiated on OAC. Following implementation of the intervention, the rate of OAC initiation increased from 38.6% to 47.5% (absolute increase of 8.5%; 95% CI, 0.3% to 16.7%, p=0.04) among the ED-intervention sites, whereas the rate remained unchanged in ED-control sites (35.3% to 35.9%, p=0.9).

Implementation of a quality improvement intervention consisting of a reminder and decision-support tool increased initiation of OAC in high-risk patients. This support package can be readily implemented in other jurisdictions to improve OAC rates for AF/AFL.

Limited evidence supports primary care paramedic (PCP) direct transport of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The goal of this study was to evaluate an urban-based PCP STEMI bypass guideline.

We reviewed consecutive Toronto Paramedic Services call reports between April 7, 2015, and May 31, 2016, regarding STEMI patients identified by PCPs. The primary outcome was patient assignment (stable versus unstable) according to guideline criteria. Secondary outcomes were the proportion of PCP-transported patients who had an indication for an advanced care intervention (ACI) or who received an ACI when PCPs rendezvoused with an advanced care paramedic (ACP). Lastly, we reviewed prehospital outcomes of cardiac arrest patients and calculated the difference in transport intervals between direct PCP bypass and a PCI-centre and predicted transport interval to the closest emergency department (ED).

Of 361 patients, 232 were PCP transports and 129 were ACP-rendezvous transports. There was a significant difference in the distribution of stable and unstable patients between PCPs and ACPs (p<0.001). For PCP patients, 21/232 (9.1%) had indications for an ACI, whereas 34/129 (26.4%) ACP patients received an ACI. Eleven patients experienced cardiac arrest; 10 were successfully resuscitated (5 of these by PCPs). The median difference between direct PCP bypass and a PCI-centre versus transport to the closest ED was 5.53 minutes (IQR=6.71).

We found a significant difference in the distribution of stable and unstable patients and fewer patients with indications for an ACI in PCP patients. This PCP STEMI bypass guideline appears feasible.

It remains unclear whether ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients transported by ambulance over long distances are at risk for clinical adverse events. We sought to determine the frequency of clinical adverse events in a rural population of STEMI patients and to evaluate the impact of transport time on the occurrence of these events in the presence of basic life support paramedics.

We performed a health records review of 880 consecutive STEMI patients transported to a percutaneous coronary intervention centre. Patients had continuous electrocardiogram and vital sign monitoring during transport. A classification of clinically important and minor adverse events was established based on a literature search and expert consensus. A multivariate ordinal logistic regression model was used to study the association between transport time (0-14, 15-29, ≥30 minutes) and the occurrence of overall clinical adverse events.

Clinically important and minor events were experienced by 18.5% and 12.2% of STEMI patients, respectively. The most frequent clinically important events observed were severe hypotension (6.1%) and ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation (5.1%). Transport time was not associated with a higher risk of experiencing clinical adverse events (p=0.19), but advanced age was associated with adverse events (p=0.03). No deaths were recorded during prehospital transport.

In our study of rural STEMI patients, clinical adverse events were common (30.7%). However, transport time was not associated with the occurrence of adverse clinical events in these patients.

The aim of this study was to determine what clinically important events occur in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients transported for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) via a primary care paramedic (PCP) crew, and what proportion of such events could only be treated by advanced care paramedic (ACP) protocols.

We conducted a health record review of STEMI transports by PCP-only crews and those transferred from PCP to ACP crews (ACP-intercept) from 2011 to 2015. A piloted data collection form was used to extract clinically important events, interventions during transport, and mortality.

We identified 214 STEMI bypass cases (118 PCP-only and 96 ACP-intercept). Characteristics were mean age 61.4 years; 44.4% inferior infarcts; mean response time 6 minutes, 19 seconds; total paramedic contact time 29 minutes, 40 seconds; and, in cases of ACP-intercept, 7 minutes, 46 seconds of PCP-only contact time. A clinically important event occurred in 127 (59.3%) of cases: SBP < 90 mm Hg (26.2%), HR < 60 (30.4%), HR > 100 (20.6%), arrhythmias 7.5%, altered mental status 6.5%, airway intervention 2.3%. Two patients (0.9%) arrested, both survived. Of the events identified, 42.5% could be addressed differently by ACP protocols. The majority related to fluid boluses for hypotension (34.6%). In the ACP-intercept group, ACPs acted on 51.6% of events. There were six (2.8%) in-hospital deaths.

Although clinically important events are common in STEMI bypass patients, a smaller proportion of events would be addressed differently by ACP compared with PCP protocols. The majority of clinically important events were transient and of limited clinical significance. PCP-only crews can safely transport STEMI patients directly to primary PCI.

Studies suggest that addressing the needs of the older population in rural areas may substantially reduce their low-urgency use of emergency medical services (LUEMS). It may ultimately also help improve the efficiency in our health system. There is, however, a dearth of evidence substantiating geographic patterns in LUEMS by different age cohorts. This exploratory study was aimed to clarify the understanding of emergency medical services (EMS) use in Nova Scotia through a geographic analysis.

Records with Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale of 4 and 5 were considered as LUEMS. We assessed the distribution of LUEMS incidence rates (proportion of LUEMS out of all EMS uses) by age and rurality, using descriptive statistics and Geographic Information Systems mapping.

Nearly half of all EMS transports were individuals of 65+ years of age; 35% of those were LUEMS. The rates increased along with the level of rurality, and the older cohort had the highest incidence rates in non-metro communities. High rates were seen primarily in some rural communities farthest away from the capital/tertiary care centre.

High LUEMS incidence rates are rural phenomena but not specific to the older population. However, the absolute number of LUEMS by the older cohort is significant, and elder-specific interventions in rural regions could still lead to effective cost savings. Further investigation of other factors, such as distance to the emergency department, availability of public transportation, and socioeconomic conditions of EMS users, is needed.

Over 80% of children experience compromise in functioning following a fracture. Digital media may improve caregiver knowledge of managing fracture pain at home.

To determine whether an educational video was superior to an interactive web-based module (WBM) and verbal instructions, the standard of care (SOC).

This randomized trial included caregivers of children 0-17 years presenting to the emergency department (ED) with non-operative fractures. Primary outcome was the gain score (pre-post intervention) on a 21-item questionnaire testing knowledge surrounding pain recognition and management for children with fractures. Secondary outcomes included survey of caregiver confidence in managing pain (five-item Likert scale), number of days with difficulty sleeping, before return to a normal diet, and work/school missed.

We analyzed 311 participants (WBM 99; video 108; SOC 104) with a mean (SD) child age of 9.6 (4.2) years, of which 125/311 (40.2%) were female. The video (delta=2.3, 95% CI: 1.3, 3.3; p<0.001) and WBM (delta=1.6; 95% CI: 0.5, 2.6; p=0.002) groups had significantly greater gain scores than the SOC group. The mean video gain score was not significantly greater than WBM (delta=0.7; 95% CI: -0.3, 1.8; p=0.25). There were no significant differences in caregiver confidence (p=0.4), number of absent school days (p=0.43), nights with difficulty sleeping (p=0.94), days before return to a normal diet (p=0.07), or workdays missed (p=0.95).

A web-based module and online video are superior to verbal instructions for improving caregiver knowledge on management of children’s fracture pain without improvement in functional outcomes

The suboptimal provision of analgesia to children in the emergency department (ED) is well-described. A yet unexplored barrier is caregiver or child refusal of analgesia. We sought to evaluate the frequency of caregiver/child acceptance of analgesia offered in the ED.

We conducted a two-centre cross-sectional study of 743 caregivers of children 4–17 years presenting to the pediatric ED with an acutely painful condition using a survey and medical record review. The primary outcome was the proportion of children/caregiver pairs who accepted analgesia in the ED.

The median (IQR) age of children was 11 (7) years, and 339/743 (45.6%) were female. The overall survey response rate was 73% (743/1018). In the 24 hours preceding ED arrival, the median (IQR) maximal pain score rated by children and caregivers was 8/10 (4) and 5/10 (2), respectively, and 30.4% (226/743) of caregivers offered analgesia. In the ED, children reported a median (IQR) pain score of 8/10 (2) and 54.9% (408/743) were offered analgesia. When offered in the ED, analgesia was accepted by 91% (373/408). Overall, 55.7% (414/743) of children received some form of analgesia.

Most caregivers/children accept analgesia when offered by ED personnel, suggesting refusal is not a major barrier to optimal management of children’s pain and highlighting the importance of ED personnel in encouraging adequate analgesia. A large proportion of children in pain are not offered analgesia by caregivers or ED personnel. Educational strategies for recognizing and treating pain should be directed at children, caregivers, and ED personnel.

Delirium is very frequent in older patients presenting to the emergency department (ED), but is often undetected. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of the French version of the 4 A’s Test (4AT-F) for the detection of delirium and cognitive impairment in older patients.

The study was conducted in four Canadian ED. Participants (n= 320) were independent or semi-independent patients (able to perform ≥5 activities of daily living) aged 65 and older and had an 8-hour exposure to the ED environment. The Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-m), the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) as well as the 4AT-F were administered to patients at the initial interview. The CAM and 4AT-F were then administered twice a day during the patients’ ED or hospital stay. The 4AT-F’s sensitivity and specificity were compared to those of the CAM (for delirium), and to that of the TICS (for cognitive impairment).

Our results suggest that the 4AT-F has a sensitivity of 84% (95% CI: [76, 93]) and a specificity of 74% (95% CI: [70, 78]) for delirium, as well as a sensitivity of 49% (95% CI: [34, 64]) and a specificity of 87% (95% CI: [82, 92]) for cognitive impairment.

The 4AT-F is a fast and reliable screening tool for delirium and cognitive impairment in ED. Due to its quick administration time, it allows a systematic screening of patients at risk of delirium, without significantly increasing the workload of the ED staff.

The primary objective was to identify risk factors independently associated with acute in-hospital delirium within 72 hours of emergency department (ED) arrival for patients diagnosed with a hip fracture.

This was a retrospective chart review of patients ages 65 years and older presenting to one of two academic EDs with a discharge diagnosis of a hip fracture from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2015. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine variables independently associated with the development of acute in-hospital delirium within 72 hours of ED arrival.

Of the 668 included patients, 181 (27.1%) developed delirium within 72 hours of ED arrival. History of neurodegenerative disease or dementia (odds ratio [OR]: 5.7, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.9, 8.4), age > 75 (OR: 2.8, 95% CI: 1.4, 5.6), and absence of analgesia (no opioid or nerve block) in the ED (OR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.3, 3.2) were independently associated with the development of acute in-hospital delirium; 525 (78.6%) patients received opioid analgesia in the ED. The most common analgesics used in the ED were intravenous (IV) morphine (35.8%), IV hydromorphone (35.2%), or dual therapy with both IV hydromorphone and IV morphine (2.2%). Femoral nerve blocks were initiated for 36 (5.4%) patients and successfully completed in 35 (5.2%) patients in the ED.

Advanced age and signs of dementia or neurodegenerative disease are predictors of 72-hour delirium that can be screened for during triage. Improved pain control in the ED may reduce the risk of acute in-hospital delirium.

To collect and synthesize the literature describing the use of real-time video-based technologies to provide support in the care of patients presenting to emergency departments.

Six electronic databases were searched, including Medline, CINAHL, Embase, the Cochrane Database, DARE, and PubMed for all publications since the earliest date available in each database to February 2016.

Selected articles were full text articles addressing the use of telemedicine to support patient care in pre-hospital or emergency department settings. The search yielded 2976 articles for review with 11 studies eligible for inclusion after application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A scoping review of the selected articles was performed to better understand the different systems in place around the world and the current state of evidence supporting telemedicine use in the emergency department.

Telemedicine support for emergency department physicians is an application with significant potential but is still lacking evidence supporting improved patient outcomes. Advances in technology, combined with more attractive price-points have resulted in widespread interest and implementation around the world. Applications of this technology that are currently being studied include support for minor treatment centres, patient transfer decision-making, management of acutely ill patients and scheduled teleconsultations.

Delays in transfer of admitted patients boarded in the emergency department (ED) to an inpatient bed is a major driver of ED overcrowding. We sought to identify explanatory factors behind ED boarding as well as the impact of boarding on total inpatient length of stay (IP LOS) and inpatient mortality.

We conducted a retrospective single-centre observational study during the period between January 1 and December 31, 2015 at a very high volume community hospital. All patients admitted from the ED to Medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery, and Critical Care were identified. The mean ED LOS and boarding time as well as patient-specific and institutional factors that were independently associated with prolonged ED LOS (≥24 hours) and prolonged boarding time (≥12 hours) were identified. Mean inpatient length of stay (IP LOS) and the odds of inpatient mortality were calculated for those patients with prolonged ED wait times.

There were 13,872 unique admissions during the study period. Patients admitted to the Medicine service exhibited significantly higher ED wait times than other services. Within Medicine patients, there was a statistically significant greater odds of prolonged ED wait times for patients who were older, had a greater comorbidity burden, and required more specialized inpatient care. Medicine patients with prolonged boarding times also experienced a mean of 0.9 days longer IP LOS even after adjusting for confounders.

Within our cohort, older, sicker patients and those patients requiring more resource-intensive inpatient care had the longest ED wait times. These prolonged wait times are associated with significantly increased IP LOS.

What is the prevalence of Salter-Harris type I distal fibula fractures in children with lateral ankle injuries?

Boutis K, Plint A, Stimec J, et al. Radiograph-negative lateral ankle injuries in children occult growth plate fracture or sprain? JAMA Pediatr 2016;170(1):e154114.