• M F McDermott, D G Murphy, R J Zalenski, R J Rydman, M McCarren, D Marder, B Jovanovic, K Kaur, R R Roberts, M Isola, E Mensah, R Rajendran, and L Kampe.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Cook County Hospital, Chicago, IL, USA.
• Arch Intern Med. 1997 Oct 13;157(18):2055-62.

BackgroundEmergency diagnostic and treatment units (EDTUs) may provide an alternative to hospitalization for patients with reversible diseases, such as asthma, who fail to adequately respond to emergency department therapy.ObjectiveTo evaluate the medical and cost-effectiveness, patient satisfaction, and quality of life of patients receiving EDTU care for acute asthma compared with inpatient care.MethodsA prospective, randomized clinical trial performed at 2 urban public hospitals enrolled patients with acute asthma (age range, 18-55 years) not meeting discharge criteria after 3 hours of emergency department therapy. Patients were treated with inhaled adrenergic agonists and steroids in an EDTU for up to 9 hours after randomization or with routine therapy in a hospital ward. Patients were followed up for 8 weeks.Main Outcome MeasuresDischarge rate from the EDTU, length of stay, relapse rates, days missed from work or school, days incapacitated during waking hours, symptom-free days and nights, nocturnal awakenings, direct medical costs, patients satisfaction, and patient quality of life.ResultsThe study consisted of 222 patients with asthma. Sixty-five patients (59%) treated in an EDTU were discharged home; the remainder were admitted to the hospital. There were no differences during the follow-up period in relapse rates (P = .74) or in any other morbidities between the EDTU and inpatient groups. There were significant differences in the length of stay, patient satisfaction, and quality of life favoring EDTU care. The mean (+/-SD) cost per patient in the EDTU group was $1202.79 +/- $1343.96, compared with $2247.32 +/- $1110.18 for the control group (P < .001).ConclusionsTreatment of selected patients with asthma in an EDTU results in the safe discharge of most such patients. This study suggests that quality gains and cost-effective measures can be achieved by the use of such units.

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