Evidence map›Paper›PMID 20458367›Full record

ArticleDeutsches Arzteblatt international2010

Numerical parameters and quality indicators in a medical emergency department.

Harald Dormann, Katharina Diesch, Thomas Ganslandt, Eckhardt G Hahn

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Observational
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  6. Medication Appropriateness in Prehospital Care.Emergency medicine international · 2019
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  7. Emergency medicine for 25 Years in Iceland - history of the specialty in a nutshell.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2018
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  8. Article
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  11. [Position paper for a reform of medical emergency care in German emergency departments].Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2015
    Article
  12. Article
  13. [Interdisciplinary emergency room - key to success?].Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2014
    Review
  14. [Value of emergency echocardiography using the example of acute aortic dissection].Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2014
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Observational
  17. Article
  18. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Harald DormannKlinikum Fürth, Zentrale Notaufnahme, Lehrkrankenhaus der Universität Erlangen Nürnberg. harald.dormann@klinikum-fuerth.de
Katharina Diesch
Thomas Ganslandt
Eckhardt G Hahn

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDespite calls for improved quality and efficiency in medical emergency departments, there exist hardly any quality indicators, and no methods of calculating efficiency have been published to date. The present study illustrates a means of presenting numerical parameters of a medical emergency department and of identifying potential quality indicators.

methodOver a period of 12 months, all patient contacts of the medical emergency department in the University hospital of Erlangen were analyzed with respect to patient flow, diagnoses, and treatment units. The diagnostic agreement (DA) parameter was calculated from a systematic comparison of admitting and discharge diagnoses, and diagnostic efficiency (DE) was defined and calculated as the quotient of DA x100 divided by the length of stay in the emergency department.

resultsAmong the 6683 patients treated, 64.6% underwent further in-hospital care. The diagnostic spectrum of the outpatients differed markedly from that of the inpatients. Patients with diseases of the heart, gastrointestinal tract, and lungs were usually admitted to the hospital for further treatment. Patient contacts had a characteristic circadian and weekly rhythmic pattern. For the overall patient collective, the DA was 71%. The mean length of stay in the emergency department was 116 minutes, and the DE was therefore 0.61/min. The DA was highest (92%) among patients with atrial flutter or fibrillation, while the DE was highest (0.85/min) among patients with acute myocardial infarction. 14% of the patients required further treatment in intensive care.

conclusionNumerical parameters and quality indicators for a hospital emergency department can be presented in transparent fashion. DA and DE can be used as parameters for diagnosis-related and intradepartmental quality assessment.

Indexed as

Evaluation Studies as TopicQuality of Health CareEmergency Service, HospitalGermanyQuality Indicators, Health CareUnited States

Identifiers

PMID20458367
PMCPMC2864440

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.