Edwards, Kristin H., Edwards, Mark T., Franklin, Richard C., Khanna, Sankalp, Kuhnert, Petra M., and Jones, Rhondda (2023) Air ambulance retrievals of patients with suspected appendicitis and acute abdominal pain: The patients’ journeys, referral pathways and appendectomy outcomes using linked data in Central Queensland, Australia. Australasian Emergency Care, 26 (1). pp. 13-23.

PDF (Publisher Accepted Version) - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only

Abstract

Introduction: Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of acute abdominal pain presentations to the ED and common air ambulance transfer. Aims: describe how linked data can be used to explore patients’ journeys, referral pathways and request-to-activation responsiveness of patients’ appendectomy outcomes (minor vs major complexity).

Methods: Data sources were linked: aeromedical, hospital and death. Request-to-activation intervals showed strong right-tailed skewness. Quantile regression examined whether the longest request-to-activation intervals were associated with appendicitis complexity in patients who underwent an appendectomy.

Results: There were 684 patients in three referral pathways based on hospital capability levels. In total, 5.6 % patients were discharged from ED. 83.3 % of all rural origins entered via the ED. 3.8 % of appendicitis patients were triaged to tertiary hospitals. Appendectomy patients with major complexity outcomes were less likely to have longer request-to-activation wait times & had longer lengths of stay than patients with minor complexity outcomes.

Conclusions: Linked data highlighted four aspects of a functioning referral system: appendectomy outcomes of major complexity were less likely to have longer request-to-activation intervals compared to minor (sicker patients were identified); few were discharged from EDs (validated transfer); few were triaged to tertiary hospitals (appropriate level for need), and no deaths relating to appendectomy.

Item ID:	75927
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2588-994X
Keywords:	Linked data; Air ambulance; Acute appendicitis; Acute abdominal pain; Referral pathways
Related URLs:	https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/83027/
Copyright Information:	© 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of College of Emergency Nursing Australasia
Date Deposited:	04 Sep 2022 23:48
FoR Codes:	42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4203 Health services and systems > 420321 Rural and remote health services @ 100%
SEO Codes:	20 HEALTH > 2001 Clinical health > 200105 Treatment of human diseases and conditions @ 100%
Downloads:	Total: 3
	More Statistics