Syndromic surveillance and heat wave morbidity: a pilot study based on emergency departments in France

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The health impacts of heat waves are serious and have prompted the development of heat wave response plans. Even when they are efficient, these plans are developed to limit the health effects of heat waves. This study was designed to determine relevant indicators related to health effects of heat waves and to evaluate the ability of a syndromic surveillance system to monitor variations in the activity of emergency departments over time. The study uses data collected during the summer 2006 when a new heat wave occurred in France.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data recorded from 49 emergency departments since July 2004, were transmitted daily via the Internet to the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance. Items collected on patients included diagnosis (ICD10 codes), outcome, and age. Statistical t-tests were used to compare, for several health conditions, the daily averages of patients within different age groups and periods (whether 'on alert' or 'off alert').</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A limited number of adverse health conditions occurred more frequently during hot period: dehydration, hyperthermia, malaise, hyponatremia, renal colic, and renal failure. Over all health conditions, the total number of patients per day remained equal between the 'on alert' and 'off alert' periods (4,557.7/day vs. 4,511.2/day), but the number of elderly patients increased significantly during the 'on alert' period relative to the 'off alert' period (476.7/day vs. 446.2/day p < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results show the interest to monitor specific indicators during hot periods and to focus surveillance efforts on the elderly. Syndromic surveillance allowed the collection of data in real time and the subsequent optimization of the response by public health agencies. This method of surveillance should therefore be considered as an essential part of efforts to prevent the health effects of heat waves.</p

EVALUATION D'UNE UNITE POST-PORTE INTEGREE DANS UN S.A.U.

PARIS7-Villemin (751102101) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF

Délais de prise en charge des sujets âgés dans un service d'accueil des urgences

ST QUENTIN EN YVELINES-BU (782972101) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF

Assessment of a syndromic surveillance system based on morbidity data: results from the Oscour network during a heat wave.

Syndromic surveillance systems have been developed in recent years and are now increasingly used by stakeholders to quickly answer questions and make important decisions. It is therefore essential to evaluate the quality and utility of such systems. This study was designed to assess a syndromic surveillance system based on emergency departments' (ED) morbidity rates related to the health effects of heat waves. This study uses data collected during the 2006 heat wave in France.Data recorded from 15 EDs in the Ile-de-France (Paris and surrounding area) from June to August, 2006, were transmitted daily via the Internet to the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance. Items collected included diagnosis (ICD10), outcome, and age. Several aspects of the system have been evaluated (data quality, cost, flexibility, stability, and performance). Periods of heat wave are considered the most suitable time to evaluate the system.Data quality did not vary significantly during the period. Age, gender and outcome were completed in a comprehensive manner. Diagnoses were missing or uninformative for 37.5% of patients. Stability was recorded as being 99.49% for the period overall. The average cost per day over the study period was estimated to be euro287. Diagnoses of hyperthermia, malaise, dehydration, hyponatremia were correlated with increased temperatures. Malaise was most sensitive in younger and elderly adults but also the less specific. However, overall syndrome groups were more sensitive with comparable specificity than individual diagnoses.This system satisfactorily detected the health impact of hot days (observed values were higher than expected on more than 90% of days on which a heat alert was issued). Our findings should reassure stakeholders about the reliability of health impact assessments during or following such an event. These evaluations are essential to establish the validity of the results of syndromic surveillance systems

Factors associated with the length of stay of patients discharged from emergency department in France

International audienceObjectives: The length of stay in the emergency department (ED) has been proposed as an indicator of performance in many countries. We conducted a survey of length of stay in two large areas in France and tested the hypothesis that patient and ED-related variables may influence it.Patients and methods: During 2007, we examined lengths of stay in ambulatory patients, that is, excluding admitted patients. The following variables were considered: (a) at the patient level, age, sex, the day and month of the visit, and the French clinical classification of emergency patients (CCEP) class; (b) at the ED level, annual ED total number of visits, mean age, the proportions of patients less than 15 and more than 75 years, and the proportions of admitted and clinically stable patients with CCEP class 1 and 2. A multilevel hierarchical analysis was carried out.Results: We analyzed 988 591 visits in 53 EDs. The ED-specific median length of stay was 98 (IQR: 62–137) min and the ED-specific median proportion of patients with length of stay of more than 4 h was 15 (5–24) %. There was a strong correlation between the ED-specific median length of stay and the ED-specific proportion of patients with a length of stay of more than 4 h (R=0.96, P<0.001). Using a multilevel analysis, only three variables were associated significantly with the length of stay: the age and the CCEP class of the patient, and the ED census.Conclusion: We observed that the length of stay in the ED needs to be stratified by case mix and the total number of visits of the ED

The analysis of the geographical distribution of emergency departments' frequent users: a tool to prioritize public health policies?

International audienceBackground: The individual factors associated to Frequent Users (FUs) in Emergency Departments are well known. However, the characteristics of their geographical distribution and how territorial specificities are associated and intertwined with ED use are limited. Investigating healthcare use and territorial factors would help targeting local health policies. We aim at describing the geographical distribution of ED's FUs within the Paris region. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of all ED visits in the Paris region in 2015. Data were collected from the universal health insurance's claims database. Frequent Users (FUs) were defined as having visited ≥3 times any ED of the region over the period. We assessed the FUs rate in each geographical unit (GU) and assessed correlations between FUs rate and socio-demographics and economic characteristics of GUs. We also performed a multidimensional analysis and a principal component analysis to identify a typology of territories to describe and target the FUs phenomenon. Results: FUs accounted for 278,687 (11.7%) of the 2,382,802 patients who visited the ED, living in 232 GUs. In the region, median FUs rate in each GU was 11.0% [interquartile range: 9.5-12.5]. High FUs rate was correlated to the territorial markers of social deprivation. Three different categories of GU were identified with different profiles of healthcare providers densities. Conclusion: FUs rate varies between territories and is correlated to territorial markers of social deprivation. Targeted public policies should focus on disadvantaged territories