Coordination and care pathway of elderly for unscheduled care

Depuis 20 ans, on observe une augmentation constante du nombre de recours aux urgences et l'apparition de problématiques liées à l'engorgement des urgences. Parmi ces passages, les personnes âgées occupent une place importante, notamment du fait de la multiplication des maladies chroniques ainsi que de l'accroissement de la vulnérabilité sociale avec l'âge. Une fois admises aux urgences, les personnes âgées ont des taux d'hospitalisation plus élevés que les sujets jeunes. Dans un premier travail, à partir des données de l'enquête nationale sur les structures d'urgences, nous avons montré que l'âge avancé est un facteur de risque d'hospitalisation, à partir des urgences, dans un service jugé comme inapproprié (au regard du motif d'hospitalisation et des besoins de santé).Dans un deuxième travail, à partir des données de l'entrepôt de données de l'APHP, nous avons montré que les admissions directes en gériatrie aiguë sont associées à une diminution de la durée de séjour ainsi qu'à une probabilité plus faible de transfert en SSR. Nous n'avons pas retrouvé d'association significative avec le risque de réadmission aux urgences dans le mois suivants l'hospitalisation.Dans un troisième travail, en retenant comme critère d'efficacité la réadmission aux urgences dans le mois suivant la sortie d'hospitalisation, nous avons mené une étude cout-efficacité de l'admission directe en gériatrie, comparativement à une admission via les urgences et nous la courbe d'acceptabilité a montré que l'admission directe peut être considérée comme une intervention coût-efficace à un seuil de -2409 € par passage aux urgences évité.Si le bénéfice clinique pour les patients était déjà un argument fort pour recommander ce type de parcours, l'argument économique apparait ici comme une aide supplémentaire à l'arbitrage fait par les décideurs publics.For the past 20 years, there has been an increase in the number of emergency department visits and problems related to overcrowding. Elderly people play a key role in this trend, due in particular to the increasing number of chronic illnesses and the growing social vulnerability of the elderly. Once admitted to the emergency department, the elderly have higher hospitalization rates than younger subjects.In a first study, based on the French emergency survey, we showed that advanced age was a risk factor for hospitalization, from the emergency department, in an inappropriate ward (with regard to the reason for hospitalization and health needs). In a second study, conducted using data from the Greater Paris University Hospitals (APHP) health data warehouse, we showed that direct admissions to acute geriatric units were associated with a shorter length of stay and a lower probability of post-acute care transfer. We found no significant association with the risk of readmission to the emergency department in the month following hospitalization.In a third study, we conducted a cost-effectiveness study of direct admission in acute geriatric unit, compared with admission after an emergency department visit. The acceptability curve showed that direct admission can be considered a cost-effective intervention at a threshold of €-2409 per emergency department visit avoided.While the clinical benefit for patients was already a strong argument for recommending this type of organization, the economic argument appears here as an additional aid to the arbitration made by public decision-makers

French residents are inadequately trained in the prevention of complications related to air travel

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The French Emergency National Survey: A description of emergency departments and patients in France

for the French Society of Emergency Medicine Evaluation and Quality CommitteeInternational audienceIntroductionSome major changes have occurred in emergency department (ED) organization since the early 2000s, such as the establishment of triage nurses and short-track systems. The objectives of this study were to describe the characteristics of French EDs organization and users, based on a nationwide cross-sectional survey.MethodsThe French Emergency Survey was a nationwide cross-sectional survey. All patients presenting to all EDs during a 24-hr period of June 2013 were included. Data collection concerned ED characteristics as well as patient characteristics.ResultsAmong the 736 EDs in France, 734 were surveyed. Triage nurses and short-track systems were respectively implemented in 73% and 41% of general EDs. The median proportion of patients aged > 75 years was 14% and median hospitalisation rate was 20%. During the study period, 48,711 patients presented to one of the 734 EDs surveyed. Among them, 7% reported having no supplementary health or universal coverage (for people with lower incomes). Overall, 50% of adult patients had been seen by the triage nurse in less than 5 minutes, 74% had a time to first medical contact shorter than one hour and 55% had an ED length of stay shorter than 3 hours.ConclusionThe French Emergency Survey is the first study to provide data on almost all EDs in France. It underlines how ED organization has been redesigned to face the increase in the annual census. French EDs appear to have a particular role for vulnerable people: age-related vulnerability and socio-economic vulnerability with an over-representation of patients without complementary health coverage

Factors associated with inappropriate use of emergency departments: findings from a cross-sectional national study in France

International audienceBackground: Inappropriate visits to emergency departments (EDs) could represent from 20% to 40% of all visits. Inappropriate use is a burden on healthcare costs and increases the risk of ED overcrowding. The aim of this study was to explore socioeconomic and geographical determinants of inappropriate ED use in France.Method: The French Emergency Survey was a nationwide cross-sectional survey conducted on June 11 2013, simultaneously in all EDs in France and covered characteristics of patients, EDs and counties. The survey included 48 711 patient questionnaires and 734 ED questionnaires. We focused on adult patients (≥15 years old). The appropriateness of the ED visit was assessed by three measures: caring physician appreciation of appropriateness (numeric scale), caring physician appreciation of whether or not the patient could have been managed by a general practitioner and ED resource utilisation. Descriptive statistics and multilevel logistic regression were used to examine determinants of inappropriate ED use, estimating adjusted ORs and 95% CIs.Results: Among the 29 407 patients in our sample, depending on the measuring method, 13.5% to 27.4% ED visits were considered inappropriate. Regardless of the measure method used, likelihood of inappropriate use decreased with older age and distance from home to the ED >10 km. Not having a private supplementary health insurance, having universal supplementary health coverage and symptoms being several days old increased the likelihood of inappropriate use. Likelihood of inappropriate use was not associated with county medical density.Conclusion: Inappropriate ED use appeared associated with socioeconomic vulnerability (such as not having supplementary health coverage or having universal coverage) but not with geographical characteristics. It makes us question the appropriateness of the concept of inappropriate ED use as it does not consider the distress experienced by the patient, and segments of society seem to have few other choices to access healthcare than the ED

Alcohol consumption among French physicians: A cross-sectional study

International audienceBackground: Data regarding French physicians' alcohol behaviours are scarce and most studies address this issue within the population of either medical students or residents. We aim to describe and assess the prevalence of hazardous alcohol consumption among French physicians.Methods: A regional, cross-sectional, survey was conducted in 2018 using an online questionnaire among Parisian general practitioners and hospital doctors. Hazardous alcohol consumption was defined by an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score ≥ 8. Data were analysed in 2020.Results: Five hundred fifteen physicians completed the survey: 108 general practitioners and 407 hospital physicians. The median age was 40 years [32-55] and 59 % were women. They considered their physical and mental health as average or bad in 10 % and 8% of cases, respectively. The prevalence of hazardous alcohol consumption was 12.6 %. Among the 65 physicians with hazardous alcohol consumption, 27 (41.5 %) did not considered it as risky and four (6.2 %) mentioned a potentially negative impact on patients' care. Factors independently associated with hazardous alcohol consumption were illegal drugs consumption (OR 4.62 [2.05-10.37]) and fixed term contract for hospital doctors (OR 2.69 [1.14-6.36]).Conclusions: The prevalence of hazardous alcohol consumption among French physicians was 12.6 %. Illegal substance users and fix-termed contract hospital doctors were more likely to have risky alcohol consumption. A large-scale national study would confirm the factors associated with hazardous alcohol consumption and could explore the efficacy of preventive measures to insure the safety and health of physicians and their patients

Impact of the beta-lacta test on the management of urinary tract infections at the emergency department

Introduction: Rapid detection of extended-spectrum β-lactamases is essential. In this study, we evaluated the potential impact of β-lacta test on both the times to appropriate antibiotic therapy and to the implementation of patient isolation measures.Patients and methods: We included prospectively all the patients admitted to the emergency department for clinical suspicion of urinary tract infection. Compared with physician's decision, we analysed the potential impact of β-lacta test on the initial antibiotic therapy and on the implementation of hygiene measures. This study has been registered under number NCT02897609.Results: We included 203 patients, 43% with acute pyelonephritis and 21% with acute prostatitis. The β-lacta test had a 95.2% sensitivity and a 99.5% specificity to detect extended-spectrum β-lactamases. Taking the β-lacta test results into account would have decreased significantly both the times to appropriate therapy and to isolation measures from 54 to 2.7 h and from 55.2 to 2.6 h, respectively.Conclusion: The β-lacta test could reduce significantly the times to appropriate therapy and implementation of isolations measure

The Association Between Age and Admission to an Inappropriate Ward: A Cross-Sectional Survey in France

Half of elderly patient hospitalizations are preceded by an emergency department (ED) visit. Hospitalization in inappropriate wards (IWs), which is more frequent in case of ED overcrowding and high hospital occupancy, leads to increased morbidity. Elderly individuals are the most exposed to these negative health care outcomes. Based on a nationwide cross-sectional survey involving all EDs in France, the aim of this study was to explore whether age was associated with admission to an IW after visiting an ED. Among the 4384 patients admitted in a medical ward, 4065 were admitted in the same hospital where the ED was located, among which 17.7% were admitted to an IW. Older age was associated with an increased likelihood of being admitted to an IW (OR = 1.39; 95% CI = 1.02-1.90 for patients aged 85 years and older and OR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.02-1.91 for patients aged 75-84 years, compared with those under 45 years). ED visits during peak periods and cardio-pulmonary presenting complaint were also associated with an increased likelihood of admission to an IW. Despite their higher vulnerability, elderly patients are more likely to be admitted to an IW than younger patients. This result reinforces the need for special attention to be given to the hospitalization of this fragile population

Characteristics of all emergency department.

<p>Characteristics of all emergency department.</p

Type of chief complaint of user older than 15 years.

<p>Type of chief complaint of user older than 15 years.</p