Rapid influenza diagnostic test at triage can decrease emergency department length of stay.

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Infectious Disease Diagnostics

Background:

• Rapid influenza diagnostic tests (RIDTs) are sometimes used at triage in Japan to potentially reduce emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS).
• The effectiveness of performing RIDTs at triage for shortening ED LOS remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the utility of performing rapid influenza diagnostic tests at triage in shortening emergency department length of stay.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of medical records for patients discharged from the ED during influenza seasons (December 2013-March 2019).
• Included walk-in patients aged ≥15 years who underwent triage and received RIDTs, with no admission.
• Compared ED LOS between a triage group (RIDTs at triage) and an after-examination group (RIDTs after physician assessment) using propensity score matching.

Main Results:

• 2,768 eligible patients were identified; 2,554 were enrolled, with 329 matched pairs in the triage and after-examination groups.
• Median ED LOS was significantly shorter in the triage group (81 min) compared to the after-examination group (106 min) after matching.
• The median difference in ED LOS was 24 minutes.

Conclusions:

• Performing rapid influenza diagnostic tests at triage is associated with a shorter emergency department length of stay during the influenza season.
• This strategy may improve patient throughput in emergency departments during peak influenza periods.