The Alvarado Score Should Be Used To Reduce Emergency Department Length of Stay and Radiation Exposure in Select Patients with Abdominal Pain

BACKGROUND Abdominal pain is a common reason patients seek treatment in emergency departments (ED), and computed tomography (CT) is frequently used for diagnosis; however, length of stay in the ED and risks of radiation remain a concern. The hypothesis of this study was the Alvarado Score (AS) could be used to reduce CT scans and decrease ED length of stay (LOS) for patients with suspected acute appendicitis (AA). METHODS A retrospective review of patients who underwent CT to rule out AA from January 1st, 2015, to December 31st, 2015 was performed. Patient demographics, past medical history, ED documentation, operative interventions, complications, and LOS were all collected. AS was calculated from the medical record. Time to CT completion was calculated from times the patient was seen by ED staff, CT order, and CT report. RESULTS 492 patients (68.1% female, median age 33) met inclusion criteria. Most CT scans (70%) did not have findings consistent with AA. Median AS for AA on CT scan was 7, compared to 3 for negative CT (p

from Emergency Medicine via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2tx3Jgp