Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38405371›Full record

ArticleJournal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open2024

Emergency department visits in the United States by adults with a complaint of diarrhea (2016-2021).

Mahmoud Azqul, Douglas Krakower, Sahir Kalim, Roland C Merchant

Erratum issuedAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Emergency department visits in the United States by adults with a complaint of diarrhea (2016-2021).Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2024
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Mahmoud AzqulMaster of Medical Sciences in Clinical Investigation program Harvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.
Douglas KrakowerBeth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases Harvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.
Sahir KalimMassachusetts General Hospital, Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology Harvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA.
Roland C MerchantDepartment of Emergency Medicine Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York New York USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7571-1294

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: For adults with a complaint of diarrhea presenting to United States emergency departments (EDs) from 2016 to 2021, we examined the: (1) occurrence and temporal trends in these ED visits, (2) frequency with which services were provided (laboratory testing, radiologic imaging, and intravenous fluids (IV fluids) administration) and patients were admitted; and (3) factors associated with service provision and admission. Methods: Data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (2016-2021) were analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression modeling was employed to examine factors associated with service provision and admission, according to patient demographic characteristics, healthcare insurance status, and associated clinical symptoms; ED geographic location; and type of ED medical staff who evaluated the patient. Results: From 2016 to 2017, there were 3.3-3.7 million ED visits/year by adults with a complaint of diarrhea (3.1% [95% CI 2.9-3.3] of all adult US ED visits). Services were provided and patients were admitted per these frequencies: complete blood count (80%; 95% CI 76-83); blood culture (8%; 95% CI 6-9); metabolic panel (94%; 95% CI 86-97); ultrasound (8%; 95% CI 7-10); abdominal/pelvic CT (33%; 95% CI 29-35); IV fluids (63%; 95% CI 50-66); and admission (16%; 95% CI 14-18). Factors associated with receipt of these services and admission included other presenting symptoms (abdominal pain, vomiting, and nausea), ED geographic location, ED medical staff member evaluating the patient, race, Hispanic ethnicity, and type of health insurance. Conclusion: For adult patients presenting to US EDs with a complaint of diarrhea, US EDs highly utilized selected laboratory tests and radiologic imaging. Differences in utilization raise concerns about equitable healthcare delivery and call for further investigation into the underlying reasons, as well as the development and adoption of standardized care pathways.

Indexed as

clinical laboratory servicesdiagnostic imagingdiarrheaemergency serviceNational Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey

Identifiers

PMID38405371
PMCPMC10884525

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.