ArticleJournal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open2021
Effect of language interpretation modality on throughput and mortality for critical care patients: A retrospective observational study.
Article in Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Accuracy and Disparities in Pediatric Emergency Triage: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.Hospital pediatrics · 2026Article
- Associations between interpreter dependency and rehabilitation outcomes and care processes following acquired brain injury: a Swedish registry-based cohort study.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2026Article
- Virtual and in-person interpretation: a qualitative study from the perspective of professional medical interpreters.Family practice · 2026Article
- Patient and Caregiver Perspectives on Language Access in Two St. Louis Emergency Departments.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2026Article
- Post-intensive Care Syndrome (PICS): an American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Critical Care Committee Consensus Guideline - Defining, Recognizing, and Managing PICS Associated Physical Impairment, Cognitive Dysfunction, and Thromboinflammatory Dysregulation.Trauma surgery & acute care open · 2026Article
- Moving beyond the empty cell: The threat of decontextualized healthcare data.PLOS digital health · 2026Review
- Increased Time to Provider for Patients With a Non-English Language Preference: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2025Article
- Lived experiences of palliative care physicians on the impacts of language and cultural discordance on end-of-life care across Ontario, Canada: a qualitative study using the intersectionality-based policy framework.International journal for equity in health · 2024Article
- Strategies Used by Healthcare Systems to Communicate with Hospitalized Patients and Families with Limited English Proficiency During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Review.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2023Review
- Non-English primary language and disparities in stroke outcomes after mechanical thrombectomy: a single institution study.Frontiers in stroke · 2023Article
- Effect of language interpretation modality on throughput and mortality for critical care patients: A retrospective observational study.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2021Article
- Effect of Virtual Versus In Person Interpreting on Diabetes Outcomes in Non-English Language Preference Patients: A Pilot Study.Journal of primary care & community healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveLimited data exist describing possible delays in patient transfer from the emergency department (ED) as a result of language barriers and the effects of interpretation services. We described the differences in ED length of stay (LOS) before intensive care unit (ICU) arrival and mortality based on availability of telephone or in-person interpretation services.
methodsUsing an ICU database from an urban academic tertiary care hospital, ED patients entering the ICU were divided into groups based on primary language and available interpretation services (in-person vs telephone). Non-parametric tests were used to compare ED LOS and mortality between groups.
resultsAmong 22,422 included encounters, English was recorded as the primary language for 51% of patients (11,427), and 9% of patients (2042) had a primary language other than English. Language was not documented for 40% of patients (8953). Among encounters with patients with non-English primary languages, in-person interpretation was available for 63% (1278) and telephone interpretation was available for 37% (764). In the English-language group, median ED LOS was 292 minutes (interquartile range [IQR], 205-412) compared with 309 minutes (IQR, 214-453) for patients speaking languages with in-person interpretation available and 327 minutes (IQR, 225-463) for patients speaking languages with telephone interpretation available. Mortality was higher among patients with telephone (15%) or in-person (11%) interpretation available compared with patients who primarily spoke English (9%).
conclusionsPatients with primary languages other than English who were critically ill spent a median of 17 to 35 more minutes in the ED before ICU arrival and experienced higher mortality rates compared with patients who spoke English as a primary language.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.