• Wansiri Chaisirin, Preechaya Wongkrajang, Tenzin Thoesam, Nattakarn Praphruetkit, Tanyaporn Nakornchai, Sattha Riyapan, Onlak Ruangsomboon, Sathima Laiwejpithaya, Kavisara Rattanathummawat, Rungrudee Pavichai, and Tipa Chakorn.
• Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Department of Emergency Medicine, Bangkok, Thailand.
• West J Emerg Med. 2020 Feb 25; 21 (2): 404-410.

IntroductionShortening emergency department (ED) visit time can reduce ED crowding, morbidity and mortality, and improve patient satisfaction. Point-of-care testing (POCT) has the potential to decrease laboratory turnaround time, possibly leading to shorter time to decision-making and ED length of stay (LOS). We aimed to determine whether the implementation of POCT could reduce time to decision-making and ED LOS.MethodsWe conducted a randomized control trial at the Urgency Room of Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. Patients triaged as level 3 or 4 were randomized to either the POCT or central laboratory testing (CLT) group. Primary outcomes were time to decision-making and ED LOS, which we compared using Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test.ResultsWe enrolled a total of 248 patients: 124 in the POCT and 124 in the CLT group. The median time from arrival to decision was significantly shorter in the POCT group (106.5 minutes (interquartile [IQR] 78.3-140) vs 204.5 minutes (IQR 165-244), p <0.001). The median ED LOS of the POCT group was also shorter (240 minutes (IQR 161.3-410) vs 395.5 minutes (IQR 278.5-641.3), p <0.001).ConclusionUsing a point-of-care testing system could decrease time to decision-making and ED LOS, which could in turn reduce ED crowding.

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