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Patient priorities with traumatic lacerations.
A J Singer1, C Mach, H C Thode
1Department of Emergency Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA. asinger@epo.som.sunysb.edu
The American Journal of Emergency Medicine
|October 24, 2000
Summary
Patients prioritize normal function, avoiding infection, and cosmetic outcomes for laceration repair. Pain relief and appearance are key, while factors like cost and visit length are less important to those seeking care.
Area of Science:
- Emergency Medicine
- Patient-Reported Outcomes
- Wound Management
Background:
- Clinical trial outcomes should align with patient priorities.
- Understanding patient preferences in laceration management is crucial for effective care and research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and rank the aspects of laceration management most valued by patients.
- To inform the design of clinical trials by incorporating patient-centered outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A prospective observational survey was conducted in two university emergency departments.
- 724 patients and visitors completed a 25-item survey assessing the importance of various laceration repair aspects using a Likert scale.
- Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and confidence intervals.
Main Results:
- The most important aspects of laceration care for patients were normal function (28%), avoiding infection (20%), cosmetic outcome (17%), and least painful repair (17%).
- Avoiding wound infection (mean 4.58) and normal function (4.54) were rated highest on the Likert scale.
- Cosmetic outcome was particularly important for patients with facial lacerations.
- Cost, length of stay, missed work/school, and practitioner compassion were rated as less important.
Conclusions:
- Patients prioritize medical outcomes (function, infection avoidance, cosmesis, pain) over logistical factors (cost, wait times, inconvenience) in laceration management.
- Incorporating patient-reported outcomes, especially cosmetic results for facial injuries, is essential for designing relevant laceration repair studies.