• J Emerg Med · Sep 1999

    Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial

    Effect of point of care testing on length of stay in an adult emergency department.

    • R P Murray, M Leroux, E Sabga, W Palatnick, and L Ludwig.
    • Department of Community Health Sciences, Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
    • J Emerg Med. 1999 Sep 1;17(5):811-4.

    AbstractDevices are now available that are practical for point of care testing (PCT) in hospital settings. Previous studies in clinical settings, however, have failed to demonstrate a reduction in patients' length of stay (LOS) associated with the use of PCT. This randomized controlled study compared PCT with central laboratory testing in a hospital Emergency Department to assess the difference in patients' LOS. Patients randomized to PCT (n = 93) had a median stay of 3 h, 28 min (interquartile range [IR] 2:28 to 5:30), while those allocated to the central laboratory (n = 87) had a median stay of 4 h, 22 min (IR 3:04 to 5:47). The median stay associated with PCT was significantly shorter. Among patients who were destined to be discharged home, there was also a significantly shorter stay, but not among those who were destined to be admitted. It was concluded that the use of PCT can achieve significant time savings in an Emergency Department.

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