Annals of Emergency Medicine
Volume 56, Issue 2 , Pages 135-141 , August 2010

The Effect of Removal of Point-of-Care Fecal Occult Blood Testing on Performance of Digital Rectal Examinations in the Emergency Department

  • Nathan J. Cleveland, MD, MS

      Affiliations

    • Denver Health Medical Center, Residency in Emergency Medicine, Denver, CO
    • ,
  • Michael Yaron, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, and Colorado Emergency Medicine Research Center, Aurora, CO
    • ,
  • Adit A. Ginde, MD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, and Colorado Emergency Medicine Research Center, Aurora, CO
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress for correspondence: Adit A. Ginde, MD, MPH, 12401 E 17th Ave, Campus Box B-215, Aurora, CO 80045; 720-848-6777, fax 720-848-7374

Received 22 October 2009 ,Revised 10 December 2009 ,Accepted 16 December 2009.

  • Image Result

    Included and excluded study subjects in the preintervention and postintervention periods. The figure shows the number of patients triaged in the preintervention and postintervention periods, respectiv

    Included and excluded study subjects in the preintervention and postintervention periods. The figure shows the number of patients triaged in the preintervention and postintervention periods, respectively, along with a description of excluded subjects. PRE, Preintervention; POST, postintervention; CC, chief complaint; <18 y.o., patients younger than 18 years; AMA, left against medical advice; TXFR, transferred; LBVC, left before visit complete; TrOB, triaged to obstetrics floor.

  • Image Result
    ED patients with documented digital rectal examination before and after removal of point-of-care fecal occult blood testing. The figure shows the rates of digital rectal examinations each month during

    ED patients with documented digital rectal examination before and after removal of point-of-care fecal occult blood testing. The figure shows the rates of digital rectal examinations each month during the entire study period. Intervention-sensitive chief complaints are represented by grey squares; intervention-insensitive chief complaints are represented by grey triangles; all chief complaints combined are represented by black diamonds with associated 95% CI bars.

 Supervising editor: Steven M. Green, MD

 Author contributions: NJC and AAG conceived the study, designed the trial, and obtained institutional review board approval. NJC and MY performed electronic chart abstraction and data collection. AAG provided statistical advice and the primary data analysis. NJC authored the article, and all authors contributed substantially to its revision. NJC takes responsibility for the paper as a whole.

 Funding and support: By Annals policy, all authors are required to disclose any and all commercial, financial, and other relationships in any way related to the subject of this article that might create any potential conflict of interest. The authors have stated that no such relationships exist. See the Manuscript Submission Agreement in this issue for examples of specific conflicts covered by this statement.

 Publication date: Available online January 8, 2010.

 Reprints not available from the authors.

 Please see page 136 for the Editor's Capsule Summary of this article.

PII: S0196-0644(09)01842-3

doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2009.12.021

Annals of Emergency Medicine
Volume 56, Issue 2 , Pages 135-141 , August 2010

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