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Hepatitis C Virus Screening and Emergency Department Length of Stay

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  • Douglas A E White
  • Erik S Anderson
  • Sarah K Pfeil
  • Laura J Deering
  • Tamara Todorovic
  • Tarak K Trivedi

Abstract

Background: Recent studies demonstrate high rates of previously undiagnosed hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among patients screened in urban emergency departments (ED). Experts caution, however, that public health interventions, such as screening for infectious diseases, must not interfere with the primary mission of EDs to provide timely acute care. Increases in ED length of stay (LOS) have been associated with decreased quality of ED care. Objective: In this study, we assess the influence of an integrated HCV screening protocol on ED LOS. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study analyzing timestamp data for all discharged patients over a 1-year period. The primary outcome compared the median LOS in minutes between patients who completed HCV screening and those who did not. Further analysis compared LOS for HCV screening by whether or not complete blood count (CBC) testing was conducted. Results: Of 69,639 visits, 2,864 (4%) had HCV screening tests completed and 272 (9.5%) were antibody positive. The median LOS for visits that included HCV screening was greater than visits that did not include screening (151 versus 119 minutes, P

Suggested Citation

  • Douglas A E White & Erik S Anderson & Sarah K Pfeil & Laura J Deering & Tamara Todorovic & Tarak K Trivedi, 2016. "Hepatitis C Virus Screening and Emergency Department Length of Stay," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(10), pages 1-10, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0164831
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164831
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