Informing the Alfred Registry for Emergency Care Project: An analysis of presenting complaint documentation in an emergency department. (20th April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: White, Matthew; O'Reilly, Gerard M; Mitchell, Rob D; Noonan, Michael; Hiller, Ryan; Mitra, Biswadev; Paton, Andrew; Pristupa, Kathryn; Luckhoff, Carl; Smit, De Villiers; Cameron, Peter A
• Is Part Of: Emergency medicine Australasia. Volume 34:Number 4(2022)
• Page Start: 620
• Page End: 622
• Publication Date: 2022-04-20
• Subjects: emergency -- registry -- presenting complaint -- quality -- health information; Emergency medicine -- Periodicals; Emergency medicine -- Australasia -- Periodicals; 616.025
• DOI: 10.1111/1742-6723.13984
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1742-6731

Abstract

Abstract: Objective: To assess the feasibility of an ED presenting complaint (PC) tool that categorised all ED PCs into 10 categories. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 1445 consecutive patient encounters was conducted. The primary outcome was the frequency of use of the 10 PC categories. Results: Of the 1203 patient encounters meeting inclusion criteria, the PC tool was completed by clinicians in 574 (47.7%). When completed, the tool's 10 options were selected for most presentations (72.3%). Conclusion: The PC tool captured the majority of presenting complaints in 10 categories. External validation is recommended.