OBJECTIVES

Clinical pathways (CPs) ensure adherence to heart failure (HF) management guidelines. To optimize quality care in a low resource setting, an evidence-based care pathway for the management of acute HF was implemented at the emergency department (ED) of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), the designated national tertiary hospital and referral center. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of adults with acute HF admitted at the ED and evaluate the quality of care they received, measured using physician adherence to the hospital’s acute heart failure CP.

METHODS

This was a retrospective, descriptive cohort study. We reviewed the inpatient charts of all adult patients with acute HF admitted to the ED of the PGH and referred to the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine between December 1, 2022 and May 31, 2023. Quality of care was assessed based on adherence to quality indicators adapted from routine and conditional order sets detailed in the pathway. Descriptive statistics was utilized to describe patient characteristics, quality of care, and outcomes.

RESULTS

Two hundred thirty-six (236) patients were included, with a mean age of 51.8 years. Majority were male (53.4%); hypertension (61.4%) and ischemic heart disease (53.8%) were the most common comorbidities, and infection the most common precipitant of decompensation (60.6%). There were optimal adherence rates to routine orders, which included referrals to Internal Medicine and Cardiology, baseline vital signs monitoring, fluid intake and output monitoring, chest radiograph, complete blood count, blood urea nitrogen, sodium, potassium, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, arterial blood gas, urinalysis, and N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide. Conditional orders, such as oxygen support, focused echocardiography, thyroid - stimulating hormone, and the use of vasopressors, diuretics, and venous thromboembolism prophylactic agents, were optimally performed when warranted. However, we noted suboptimal adherence to certain resource-intensive conditional orders, such as hourly monitoring of urine output (61.4%), hooking to cardiac monitor (53.8%), and performance of 12-lead ECG within 10 minutes (56.8%). Further, only 43.9% of patients were referred to the intensive care unit. Troponin I, calcium, magnesium, and albumin were ordered in excess.

CONCLUSION

Overall adherence rate of physicians to the hospital’s Acute Heart Failure Pathway was satisfactory. Work is needed to improve adherence to hourly urine output monitoring, consistent hooking to cardiac monitor, and timely performance of 12-lead ECG – an effort that begins with expanding in-hospital diagnostic equipment and human resource supply. We recommend continuous pathway implementation with periodic evaluation and stakeholder feedback to further improve quality of care.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged: 45-64 Yrs Old ; Adult ; Albumins ; Blood ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; Calcium ; Cardiology ; Chart ; Charts ; Cohort Studies ; Critical Care ; Critical Pathways ; Diagnostic Equipment ; Disease ; Diuretics ; Echocardiography ; Electrocardiography ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Equipment And Supplies ; Evaluation Studies As Topic ; Feedback ; Heart ; Heart Diseases ; Heart Failure ; Hormones ; Hospitals ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Indicators And Reagents ; Infection ; Infections ; Inpatients ; Intensive Care Units ; Internal Medicine ; Lead ; Magnesium ; Male ; Medicine ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; Natriuretic Peptides ; Nitrogen ; Overall ; Oxygen ; Partial Thromboplastin Time ; Patients ; Peptides ; Philippines ; Physicians ; Potassium ; Prothrombin ; Prothrombin Time ; Quality Of Health Care ; Referral And Consultation ; Sodium ; Statistics ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Thorax ; Thromboembolism ; Thromboplastin ; Thyroid Gland ; Time ; Troponin ; Troponin I ; Universities ; Urea ; Urinalysis ; Urine ; Venous Thromboembolism ; Vital Signs ; Work ; Workforce

Heatstroke, a life-threatening illness, poses a significant risk to human health, particularly in high-temperature and high-humidity environments. Timely and effective on-site management is critical for improving patient survival and prognosis. Rapid recognition, rapid assessment, and rapid cooling are the cornerstones of pre-hospital care. However, the absence of a standardized protocol for pre-hospital management of heatstroke has impeded the efficacy of treatment. This consensus, initiated by the Expert Group on Heatstroke Prevention of the People's Liberation Army, signifies a collaborative endeavor involving emergency medical personnel, nurses, and administrators from pre-hospital care, emergency departments, and intensive care units in both military and civilian domains. By systematically reviewing evidence-based medicine and clinical expertise in heatstroke prevention, on-site and in-transit care, as well as early treatment in emergency settings, the group has formulated the Expert consensus on pre-hospital emergency management of heatstroke (2024) after extensive discussions and iterative recommendations, which serve as a scientific and standardized framework for pre-hospital heatstroke emergency care. The consensus underscores the pivotal role of enhancing public awareness regarding heatstroke prevention and augmenting the rates of rapid recognition and rapid cooling for effective on-site heatstroke management. In high-risk industries, regions, or seasons for heatstroke, developing scientifically sound plans and conducting practical training can provide effective safety measures. Emergency personnel should undergo specialized training and assessments in knowledge and skills, ambulances should be equipped with effective cooling devices, and hospitals must maintain comprehensive emergency response capabilities. It is recommended to establish a regional heatstroke treatment network to optimize the allocation of emergency resources and streamline processes, thereby improving treatment outcomes and response times.
Heat Stroke/prevention & control* ; Humans ; Emergency Medical Services ; Consensus

OBJECTIVE: To explore the implementation effect of hour-1 bundle for sepsis patients based on crisis resource management (CRM) system. METHODS: A historical control study was conducted. The hour-1 bundle for sepsis based on CRM was used to train 24 nurses in the emergency department from October 2022 to March 2023. Clinical data of sepsis patients admitted to the emergency department of the First People's Hospital of Zunyi from April 2022 to September 2023 were collected. The patients were divided into three groups based on different stages of CRM system construction: control group (before construction, from April to September in 2022), improvement group (during construction, from October 2022 to March 2023) and observation group (after construction, from April to September in 2023). The baseline data, implementation rate of hour-1 bundle [including blood culture, antibiotic usage, blood lactic acid (Lac) detection, fluid resuscitation, hypertensors usage], identification and diagnosis time, and prognosis parameters [including correction rate of hypoxemia, intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy rate, and 28-day survival rate]. Sepsis cognition survey and non-technical skill (NTS) evaluation of nurses in emergency department were conducted before and after training. RESULTS: Finally 43 cases were enrolled in the control group, improvement group and observation group, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in baseline data including the gender, age, primary site, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, mechanical ventilation ratio among the three groups with comparability. With the gradual improvement of the CRM system, the implementation rate of 1-hour bundle was gradually increased, and the implementation rate in the control group, improvement group and observation group were 65.12% (28/43), 74.42% (32/43) and 88.37% (38/43), respectively, with statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). It was mainly reflected in the completion rate of blood culture, antibiotic usage rate, Lac detection rate and hypertensors usage rate within 1 hour, which were significantly higher in the observation group than those in the control group [completion rate of blood culture: 90.70% (39/43) vs. 62.79% (27/43), antibiotic usage rate: 88.37% (38/43) vs. 60.47% (26/43), Lac detection rate: 93.02% (40/43) vs. 72.09% (31/43), hypertensors usage rate: 88.37% (38/43) vs. 60.47% (26/43), all P < 0.05]. The fluid resuscitation rates within 1 hour in the three groups were all over 90%, with no statistically significant difference among the three groups. The recognition and diagnosis time in the observation group was significantly shorter than that in the control group and the improvement group (hours: 0.41±0.15 vs. 0.61±0.21, 0.51±0.18, both P < 0.05), the correction rate of hypoxemia and 28-day survival rate were significantly higher than those in the control group [correction rate of hypoxemia: 95.35% (41/43) vs. 74.42% (32/43), 28-day survival rate: 83.72% (36/43) vs. 60.47% (26/43), both P < 0.05], and ICU occupancy rate was significantly lower than that in the control group [72.09% (31/43) vs. 93.02% (40/43), P < 0.05]. After training in the CRM system, the score of the sepsis awareness survey questionnaire for emergency department nurses was significantly increased as compared with before training (60.42±5.29 vs. 44.17±9.21, P < 0.01), and NTS also showed significant improvement. CONCLUSION CRM plays a significant role in promoting the implementation of sepsis hour-1 bundle, which can improve the implementation rate of hour-1 bundle and NTS of medical staff, effectively improve patients' hypoxemia, reduce patients' ICU occupancy rate and 28-day risk of death.
Humans ; Sepsis/therapy* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Patient Care Bundles ; Intensive Care Units ; Female ; Male ; Middle Aged

With the gradual development and popularization of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in China, some prefecture-level medical institutions in China have carried out and formed their own pre-hospital extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) model. Although the development levels of various prefecture-level cities are uneven and the start times vary, at present, the prefecture-level hospitals in China generally go through the development process of ECMO-in-hospital ECPR-pre-hospital ECPR-professional medical recovery center. Among them, in-hospital ECPR has the advantages of timely resuscitation, guaranteed quality of resuscitation, and fast activation speed of the ECPR team, and currently has a high success rate, with a low proportion of patients with neurological complications. However, pre-hospital ECPR is more challenging, requiring the coordination between pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency forces, multidisciplinary cooperation, and the quality of resuscitation before ECPR cannot be fully guaranteed, the long duration of patient's low perfusion, and other factors make the survival rate of patients without neurological damage obviously lower than that of in-hospital ECPR. China has a large population base, and comprehensive domestic and foreign data show that there should be no less than several million cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest under the age of 60 every year, so there is much to be done to improve the survival rate of pre-hospital ECPR. Pre-hospital ECPR is a project of concentrated resources and technology, which has high requirements for the multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment capabilities of medical institutions. The optimization of the implementation process of in-hospital and pre-hospital ECPR teams, the advancement of the timing of ECPR intervention, the selection of patients, the support and construction of multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment capabilities after ECPR, and the management of related complications and risk factors are closely related to the prognosis of ECPR patients. The recoverability of the brain and heart is currently the key factor restricting the further improvement of the survival rate of patients after ECPR. Considering that the recovery of neurological function mainly depends on the duration of the early low perfusion, the in-hospital treatment after the implementation of ECPR is mainly the low-temperature brain protection strategy, the effect of which is still controversial, so the recovery of cardiac function is the key that seriously restricts the survival of patients after ECPR in addition to neurological prognosis. The recoverability of the heart after ECPR can be implemented from multiple angles: the research on pathophysiological issues such as the matching of the heart itself after the implementation of ECPR, and the matching between the heart and ECMO, and the proposal of corresponding countermeasures will help to improve the survival rate of patients after ECPR. The large population and the potential salvageable population make the development of ECPR technology in China's tertiary hospitals urgent and necessary, with challenges and opportunities coexisting.
Humans ; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation/methods* ; China ; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation/methods* ; Emergency Medical Services ; Risk Factors ; Prognosis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the predictive value of early lactate/albumin ratio (LAR) combined with quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) for the 28-day prognosis of patients with sepsis caused by emergency community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). METHODS: The clinical data of patients with sepsis caused by CAP admitted to the department of emergency of Beijing Haidian Hospital from June 2021 to August 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, including gender, age, comorbidities, lactic acid (Lac), serum albumin (Alb), LAR, procalcitonin (PCT) within 1 hour, and 28-day prognosis. Patients were divided into two groups based on 28-day prognosis, and risk factors affecting patients' prognosis were analyzed using univariate and multivariate Cox regression methods. Patients were divided into two groups according to the best cut-off value of LAR, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to analyze the 28-day cumulative survival of patients in each group. Time-dependent receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) were plotted to analyze the predictive value of sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II), and qSOFA+LAR score on the prognosis of patients with sepsis caused by CAP at 28 days. The area under the curve (AUC) was calculated and compared. RESULTS: A total of 116 patients with sepsis caused by CAP were included, of whom 80 survived at 28 days and 36 died, 28-day mortality of 31.0%. There were no statistically significant differences in age, gender, comorbidities, pH, platelet count, and fibrinogen between the survival and death groups, and there were significantly differences in blood urea nitrogen (BUN), white blood cell count (WBC), hemoglobin, Lac, Alb, PCT, D-dimer, LAR, as well as qSOFA score, SOFA score, and APACHE II score. Univariate Cox regression analyses showed that BUN, WBC, pH, Lac, Alb, PCT, LAR, qSOFA score, SOFA score, and APACHE II score were associated with mortality outcome. Multifactorial Cox regression analysis of the above variables showed that BUN, WBC, PCT, and APACHE II score were independent risk factors for 28-day death in the emergency department in patients with sepsis caused by CAP [hazard ratio (HR) were 1.081, 0.892, 1.034, and 1.135, respectively, all P < 0.05]. The best cut-off value of early LAR for predicting the 28-day prognosis of sepsis patients was 0.088, the Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that the 28-day cumulative survival rate of sepsis patients in the LAR ≤ 0.088 group was significantly higher than that in the LAR > 0.088 group [82.9% (63/76) vs. 42.5% (17/40), Log-Rank test: χ² = 22.51, P < 0.001]. The qSOFA+LAR score was calculated based on the LAR cut-off value and qSOFA score, and ROC curve analysis showed that the AUCs of SOFA score, APACHE II score, and qSOFA+LAR score for predicting 28-day death of patients with sepsis caued by CAP were 0.741, 0.774, and 0.709, respectively, with the AUC of qSOFA+LAR score slightly lower than those of SOFA score and APACHE II score, but there were no significantly differences. When the best cut-off value of qSOFA+LAR score was 1, the sensitivity was 63.9% and the specificity was 80.0%. CONCLUSION The qSOFA+LAR score has predictive value for the 28-day prognosis of patients with sepsis caused by CAP in the emergency department, its predictive value is comparable to the SOFA score and the APACHE II score, and it is more convenient for early use in the emergency department.
Emergency Service, Hospital/statistics & numerical data* ; Sepsis/etiology* ; Prognosis ; Community-Acquired Pneumonia/mortality* ; Organ Dysfunction Scores ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Lactic Acid/blood* ; Serum Albumin, Human/analysis* ; Biomarkers/blood* ; Retrospective Studies ; Hospital Mortality ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; APACHE ; Procalcitonin/blood* ; ROC Curve ; Area Under Curve ; Humans

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of early antimicrobial therapy on the prognosis of patients with suspected sepsis in emergency and outpatient settings. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted. Patients with suspected sepsis admitted to the emergency department of Taizhou Hospital, Zhejiang Province, from May 1, 2022, to July 31, 2023, were enrolled. Participants were divided into an early group (0-1 hour) and a delayed group (> 1 hour) according to duration from admission to antimicrobial administration. General information, initial vital signs, laboratory parameters within 24 hours after admission, disease severity scores, vasoactive drug usage, and clinical outcomes of the patient were collected. Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to analyze 28-day survival. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to identify independent risk factors for prognosis of the patients with suspected sepsis in emergency and outpatient settings. Sensitivity analyses were conducted through subgroup analyses. RESULTS: A total of 143 patients with suspected sepsis were enrolled in the analysis, with 66 patients in the early group and 77 in the delayed group. No statistically significant differences were observed in baseline characteristics (age, gender, vital signs, laboratory parameters, disease severity scores) or clinical outcomes [vasoactive drug usage rate, mechanical ventilation duration, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, total hospitalization duration] between the two groups. The 28-day mortality, multidrug resistance rate and sepsis confirmation rate did not differ significantly between the early group and delay group [28-day mortality: 18.2% (12/66) vs. 20.8% (16/77), multidrug resistance rate: 3.0% (2/66) vs. 2.6% (2/77), sepsis confirmation rate: 87.9% (58/66) vs. 88.3% (68/77), all P > 0.05]. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed no difference in 28-day cumulative survival between the two groups (Log-Rank test: χ² = 2.528, P = 0.112). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression identified vasoactive drug usage [hazard ration (HR) = 2.465, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.019-5.961, P = 0.045] and endotracheal intubation (HR = 5.516, 95%CI was 2.195-13.858, P < 0.001) as independent risk factors for 28-day death of the patients with suspected sepsis in emergency and outpatient settings. Further exploration of the impact of early antimicrobial therapy on 28-day death in different subgroups of the patients with suspected sepsis in emergency and outpatient settings was conducted through subgroup analysis. The results showed that in the patients with different ages (< 60 years old: HR = 1.214, 95%CI was 0.535-2.751, P = 0.643; ≥ 60 years old: HR = 2.085, 95%CI was 0.233-18.668, P = 0.511), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores (< 6: HR = 1.411, 95%CI was 0.482-4.128, P = 0.530; ≥ 6: HR = 0.869, 95%CI was 0.292-2.587, P = 0.801), shock indexes (< 1: HR = 1.095, 95%CI was 0.390-3.077, P = 0.863; ≥ 1: HR = 1.364, 95%CI was 0.458-4.059, P = 0.577) and whether diagnosed with sepsis or not (yes: HR = 0.943, 95%CI was 0.059-15.091, P = 0.967; no: HR = 1.207, 95%CI was 0.554-2.628, P = 0.636) subgroups, early usage of antibiotics had not shown any advantage in improving prognosis compared with delayed usage. CONCLUSION Early antimicrobial therapy does not improve the prognosis of patients with suspected sepsis in emergency and outpatient settings.
Humans ; Sepsis/drug therapy* ; Prospective Studies ; Prognosis ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Outpatients ; Female ; Male ; Anti-Infective Agents/therapeutic use* ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status of pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency medical information connectivity in China and provide evidence for optimizing the emergency medical system. METHODS: A multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted using a multi-level convenience sampling method to select provincial-level administrative regions and their corresponding capital cities, prefectural cities, and county-level emergency medical institutions. The questionnaire included basic information about respondents, the institutions, the current status of pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency information connectivity, and the satisfaction with the connectivity. The questionnaire has undergone reliability testing and split-half reliability testing, supplemented by semi-structured interviews. Data collection was carried out from January to May 2024, with one responsible person from each institution completing the questionnaire. Multiple Logistic regression analysis to investigated the relevant factors of pre-hospital and in-hospital information connectivity. RESULTS: A total of 225 questionnaires were distributed, and 199 valid responses were collected, with a response rate of 88.4%. Participants were from 199 emergency medical institutions across 13 provincial-level administrative regions. Of the institutions, 112 (56.3%) could achieve pre-hospital and in-hospital information connectivity. The proportion of pre-hospital to in-hospital information connection between emergency institutions in different provinces varies (χ² = 39.398, P < 0.001), with Beijing and Zhejiang having the highest proportion of information connection (both at 100%), and Hainan having the lowest (11.8%). The proportion of information integration in county-level emergency institution was lower than that of provincial and municipal level emergency institutions [40.4% (19/47) vs. 61.7% (29/47), 61.0% (64/105), χ² = 6.304, P = 0.043]. Provinces with high per capita disposable income have a higher proportion of information connectivity than provinces with low per capita disposable income [77.3% (34/44) vs. 50.3% (78/155), χ² = 10.122, P = 0.001]. The information connection ratio of independent pre-hospital emergency centers was higher than that of hospital emergency departments/hospital records [74.6% (47/63) vs. 47.8% (65/136), χ² = 12.581, P < 0.001]. The proportion of information integration in advanced provinces with digital development was higher than that in other provinces [77.6% (38/49) vs. 49.3% (74/150), χ² = 11.849, P = 0.001]. Logistic regression analysis showed that the per capita disposable income of residents in the province was an independent risk factor for the information connection between pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency institutions [odds ratio (OR) = 3.21, 95% confidence interval was 1.56-6.62, P < 0.01]. 72.3% institutions used the information connection mode for less than 5 years. Telephone and WeChat were the main communication methods (83.0%), and 17.0% of emergency institutions use dedicated APP for communication. 52.7% of respondents were very or relatively satisfied with the information integration before and after the hospital. The main deficiencies in current information integration were insufficient, untimely, inaccurate communication and delayed feedback between pre-hospital and in-hospital information. Optimizing top-level design and improving network quality are the directions for improving the integration of pre-hospital and in-hospital information in the future. CONCLUSIONS Pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency information connectivity in some provinces in China remains underdeveloped, with significant regional and institutional disparities. Future efforts should focus on integrating digital technologies and strengthening grassroots-level connectivity systems.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; China ; Humans ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Emergency Medical Services ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Hospital Information Systems

OBJECTIVE: Blood culture remains the gold standard for diagnosing bloodstream infections. Clinical laboratories must ensure the quality of blood culture processes from receipt to obtaining definitive results. We examined laboratory analytical indicators associated with positive blood culture results. METHODS: Blood cultures collected from Peking Union Medical College Hospital between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2022, were retrospectively analyzed. The mode of transportation (piping logistics delivery vs. staff), source of blood cultures (outpatient/emergency department vs. inpatient department), rotation of personnel, and time of reception (8:00-19:59 vs. 20:00-07:59) were compared between blood culture-positive and -negative results. RESULTS: Between 2020 and 2022, the total positive rate of blood culture was 8.07%. The positive rate of blood cultures in the outpatient/emergency department was significantly higher than that in the inpatient department (12.46% vs. 5.83%; P < 0.0001). The time-to-detection of blood cultures was significantly affected by the delivery mode and personnel rotation. The blood culture positive rate of the total pre-analytical time within 1 h was significantly higher than that within 1-2 h or > 2 h ( P < 0.0170). CONCLUSION Laboratory analytical indicators such as patient source, transportation mode, and personnel rotation significantly impacted the positive detection rate or time of blood culture.
Blood Culture/statistics & numerical data* ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Emergency Service, Hospital/statistics & numerical data*

INTRODUCTION: Paediatric patients admitted to the inpatient units from the emergency department (ED) are increasing, but the mean length of stay has fallen significantly. We aimed to determine the reasons behind paediatric one-day admissions in Singapore and to assess their necessity. METHODS: A retrospective study involving paediatric patients who were admitted from a general ED of an adult tertiary hospital to a paediatric tertiary hospital between 1 August 2018 and 30 April 2020. One-day admission was defined as an inpatient stay of less than 24 h from the time of admission to discharge. An unnecessary admission was defined as one with no diagnostic test ordered, intravenous medication administered, therapeutic procedure performed or specialty review made in the inpatient unit. Data were captured in a standardised form and analysed. RESULTS: There were 13,944 paediatric attendances - 1,160 (8.3%) paediatric patients were admitted. Among these, 481 (41.4%) were one-day admissions. Upper respiratory tract infection (62, 12.9%), gastroenteritis (60, 12.5%) and head injury (52, 10.8%) were the three most common conditions. The three most common reasons for ED admissions were inpatient treatment (203, 42.2%), inpatient monitoring (185, 38.5%) and inpatient diagnostic investigations (32, 12.3%). Ninety-six (20.0%) one-day admissions were unnecessary. CONCLUSION Paediatric one-day admissions present an opportunity to develop and implement interventions targeted at the healthcare system, the ED, the paediatric patient and their caregiver, in order to safely slow down and perhaps reverse the trend of increased hospital admissions.
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Singapore ; Child ; Emergency Service, Hospital/statistics & numerical data* ; Patient Admission/statistics & numerical data* ; Female ; Male ; Child, Preschool ; Length of Stay/statistics & numerical data* ; Infant ; Adolescent ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data* ; Infant, Newborn ; Gastroenteritis/therapy* ; Respiratory Tract Infections

INTRODUCTION: Foreign body (FB) ingestion is a common paediatric emergency. While guidelines exist for urgent intervention, less is known of the natural progress of FBs passing through the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). We reviewed these FB transit times in an outpatient cohort. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed on all children (≤18 years) treated for radiopaque FB ingestion at two major tertiary paediatric centres from 2015 to 2016. Demographic data, FB types, outcomes and hospital visits (emergency department [ED] and outpatient) were recorded. All cases discharged from the ED with outpatient follow-up were included. We excluded those who were not given follow-up appointments and those admitted to inpatient wards. We categorised the outcomes into confirmed passage (ascertained via abdominal X-ray or reported direct stool visualisation by patients/caregivers) and assumed passage (if patients did not attend follow-up appointments). RESULTS: Of the 2,122 ED visits for FB ingestion, 350 patients who were given outpatient follow-up appointments were reviewed (median age 4.35 years [range: 0.5-14.7], 196 [56%] male). The largest proportion (16%) was aged 1-2 years. Coins were the most common ingested FB, followed by toys. High-risk FB (magnets or batteries) formed 9% of cases ( n =33). The 50 th centile for FB retention was 8, 4 and 7 days for coins, batteries and other radiopaque FBs, respectively; all confirmed passages occurred at 37, 7 and 23 days, respectively. Overall, 197 (68%) patients defaulted on their last given follow-up. CONCLUSION This study provides insight into the transit times of FB ingested by children, which helps medical professionals to decide on the optimal time for follow-up visits and provide appropriate counsel to caregivers.
Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Eating ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Foreign Bodies/diagnostic imaging* ; Gastrointestinal Tract/diagnostic imaging* ; Gastrointestinal Transit ; Retrospective Studies ; Singapore ; Tertiary Care Centers