Table 1
Demographic characteristics of the included patients.
| ADULT INPATIENTS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | MALE | FEMALE | p-VALUE | ||
| Number (%) | 2938 (100%) | 1496 (50.9%) | 1442 (49.1%) | 0.3282 | |
| Age | Median (CI 95%) [min–max] | 69 (68–70) [18–102] | 68 (67–69) [18–100] | 70 (69–71) [18–102] | <0.05 |
| Length of Stay | Median (CI 95%) [min–max] | 6 (6–6) [3–212] | 6 (6–6) [3–197] | 6 (5–6) [3–212] | >0.05 |
| Department | Medicine/Surgery/ Intensive Care/Other | 1308/1364/165/101 (44.5%/46.4%/5.6%/3.5%) | |||
Figure 1
Flowchart summarizing the selection of triggered charts and control group.
LOS: Length of Stay; TTUL: Trigger tool Upper Limb Venous Doppler Ultrasound; TTLL: Trigger Tool Lower Limb Venous Doppler Ultrasound; TTCR: Trigger Tool Chest Radiograph.
Table 2
Rate of detection of adverse events and demographic characteristics of patients in the study and control groups.
| TRIGGER TOOL | DEMOGRAPHIC CHRACTERISTICS | STUDY GROUP (TRIGGERED FILES) | CONTROL GROUP | p-VALUE ** | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | AE+ | AE– | P* | TOTAL | AE+ | AE– | |||
| Doppler ultrasound of the upper limb | No. Of Cases (No. Of patients) | 24 (23) | 6 AEULVT (5) | 18 (18) | 25 (25) | 0 | 25 (25) | P = 0.0096 | |
| Median Age (CI 95%) [min–max] | 75.5 (68–79) [36–96] | 77 (55.4–85) [55–86] | 70 (65–79) [36–96] | P = 0.7872 | 72 (67–77) [54–90] | NA | 72 (67–77) [54–90] | P = 0.984 | |
| Sex (M/F) | 15/9 | 4/2 | 11/7 | P = 1 | 14/11 | NA | 14/11 | P = 1 | |
| Department (Medicine/Surgery/ICU/Other) | 16/6/2/0 | 6/0/0/0 | 10/6/2/0 | 12/9/4/0 | NA | 12/9/4/0 | |||
| Median LOS (CI 95%) [min–max] | 15.5 (10–35) [3–187] | 52.5 (7.7–187) [5–187] | 12 (9–27) [3–185] | P = 0.1031 | 27 (11–30) [5–212] | NA | 27 (11–30) [5–212] | P = 0.8415 | |
| Days before AE: Median (CI 95%) [min–max] | NA | 23.5 (6.7–100.7) [4–117] | NA | NA | NA | NA | |||
| Doppler ultrasound of the lower limb | No. Of Cases (No. Of patients) | 33 (33) | 4 AELLVT (4) | 29 (29) | 34 (34) | 0 | 34 (34) | P = 0.0267 | |
| Median Age (CI 95%) [min–max] | 70 (63.8–78.2) [20–90] | 53.5 (NC) [30–90] | 72 (64.5–79.5) [20–88] | NC | 73 (67–77) [25–90] | NA | 73 (67–77) [25–90] | P = 0.395 | |
| Sex (M/F) | 16/17 | 1/3 | 15/14 | 0.6012 | 18/16 | NA | 18/16 | P = 0.8086 | |
| Median LOS (CI 95%) [min–max] | 10 (7–20) [3–197] | 25.5 (NC) [8/89] | 9 (6–20) [3–197] | NC | 20 (12–29) [5–212] | NA | 20 (12–29) [5–212] | P = 0.0784 | |
| Department (Medicine/Surgery/ICU/Other) | 16/13/3/1 | 2/1/1/0 | 14/12/2/1 | 19/10/4/1 | NA | 19/10/4/1 | |||
| Days before AE: Median (CI 95%) [min–max] | NA | 5.5 (NA) [5–15] | NA | NA | NA | NA | |||
| Repeated chest radiographs | No. Of Cases (No. Of patients | 17 (14) | 6 AERC (6) | 11 (11) | 20 (20) | 0 | 20 | P = 0.0053 | |
| Median Age (CI 95%) [min–max] | 73.5 (57–80) [30–87] | 72 (40–87) [40–87] | 77 (57–84) [30–87] | 1 | 76.5 (67.3–83.7) [25–87] | NA | 76.5 (67.3–83.7) [25–87] | P = 0.5287 | |
| Sex (M/F) | 8/6 | 2/4 | 8/3 | 0.1618 | 13/7 | NA | 13/7 | P = 0.7282 | |
| Median LOS (CI 95%) [min–max] | 18.5 (14–25) [5–70] | 23 (18–70) [1–70] | 16 (12–27) [5–70] | 0.1585 | 20 (14.5–29.7) [6–87] | NA | 20 (14.5–29.7) [6–87] | P = 0.4965 | |
| Department (Medicine/Surgery/ICU/Other) | 1/4/9/0 | 1/1/4/0 | 0/4/7/0 | 9/7/3/1 | NA | 9/7/3/1 | |||
| Days before AE: Median (CI 95%) [min–max] | NA | 13.5 (6–17) [6–17] | NA | NA | NA | NA | |||
[i] AE+: Occurrence of an Adverse Event (AE).
AE–: Absence of an AE.
AEULVT: Adverse Event of an Upper limb venous thrombosis.
AELLVT: Adverse Event of a Lower limb venous thrombosis.
AERC: Adverse Event of a Respiratory complication.
CI: Confidence Interval; ICU: Intensive Care Unit; LOS: Length of Stay.