European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Observational Study
Analysis of a data-fusion system for continuous vital sign monitoring in an emergency department.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the ability of a data-fusion patient status index (PSI) to detect patient deterioration in the emergency department (ED) in comparison with track-and-trigger (T&T). ⋯ Electronic data capture offers opportunities for increased detection of deteriorating patients in a busy clinical environment compared with paper charts. Sample size in this study is insufficient to determine which electronic method (eT&T or PSI) offers superior detection of the need for escalation.
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Diversion of suspected traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients to trauma centres may improve outcomes by expediting access to specialist neurosurgical care. This study aimed to determine the accuracy of the Head Injury Straight to Neurosurgery (HITSNS) triage rule for identifying patients with significant TBI. A diagnostic cohort study was performed using data from the HITSNS trial, the Trauma Audit and Research Network registry and the North East Ambulance service database. ⋯ A total of 3628 patients were included in the complete case analyses. The HITSNS triage tool demonstrated a sensitivity of 28.3% (95% confidence interval 21.8-35.4) and a specificity of 94.4% (95% confidence interval 93.6-95.2). The low sensitivity of the HITSNS triage rule suggests that a considerable proportion of patients with significant TBI may not be triaged directly to trauma centres, and further research is needed to improve the accuracy of bypass protocols.