Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
This is a randomized trial to determine the effectiveness of a clinical decision support tool on image ordering for patients with suspected nephrolithiasis. Patients who present with acute unilateral flank or abdominal pain in whom emergency department providers suspect nephrolithiasis will receive either the clinical decision support tool or no tool (usual care).
CT scan is overused for patients who present to the ED with suspected nephrolithiasis (acute flank or abdominal pain). The investigators have developed a clinical decision support (CDS) tool to identify those patients in whom ultrasound is appropriate. The CDS tool is based on the Study of Ultrasonography vs. Computed Tomography for Suspected Nephrolithiasis in the Emergency Department.
The goal of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a clinical decision support (CDS) tool to improve advanced imaging for suspected nephrolithiasis in the ED. The investigators hypothesize those randomized to receiving the CDS tool will receive CT less often (and less radiation) compared to those receiving control. Also, the investigators hypothesize those randomized to receiving CDS will have a similar ED length of stay and rate of unexpected ED return as those receiving control.
Study design: Randomized trial of a CDS tool embedded in the electronic health record for patients with suspected nephrolithiasis. The study will be conducted at UCSF Department of Emergency Medicine.
Study subjects: The investigators will enroll adult patients who present to the UCSF ED who present with "suspected nephrolithiasis", which is defined as those with symptoms of nephrolithiasis for whom an ED provider orders a CT scan for suspected nephrolithiasis. Symptoms of nephrolithiasis include acute unilateral flank and/or abdominal pain, typically described as severe and colicky. The pain is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and urinary symptoms, such as hematuria. The CT imaging studies emergency physicians typically order for suspected nephrolithiasis include CT scan without contrast; however a substantial minority of patients receive CT scan with contrast, and CT scan with and without contrast for acute flank pain, suspected nephrolithiasis.
Sampling, recruiting and retaining subjects: The investigators will enroll consecutive patients who present to the ED with the selection criteria. Those with suspected nephrolithiasis but have an exclusion criteria will be recorded and compared to those who were enrolled. Eligible patients will be randomized to either receiving CDS recommendations or no CDS recommendations. Subjects will not receive informed consent, and will not be contacted by staff.
Intervention: The intervention is the CDS tool, which consists of 4 components:
The CDS tool will be placed or integrated into EPIC, at the point of order entry. The tool will be triggered by an order for CT to identify or rule out kidney stone.
Co-primary outcomes: Proportion of study arm who receive CT, and radiation dose. Proportion of study arm who receive CT is defined as #CT scans ordered/#patients in study arm. Radiation dose will be reported as median radiation dose in mSv. The secondary outcomes will include proportion of patients with an unscheduled return due to missed diagnosis, cost, ED length of stay.
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical Decision Support | Active Comparator | Participants in this arm will receive the study intervention, the clinical decision support. |
|
| Usual care | No Intervention | Participants in this arm will not receive the the clinical decision support tool. |
| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultrasound-first Clinical Decision Support tool | Behavioral | Intervention: The intervention is the CDS tool, which consists of 4 components:
Appropriateness criteria for ultrasound:
|
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| CT use | Whether the patient received CT scan | During the index emergency department visit |
| Radiation Dose | Radiation dose in millisieverts | During the index emergency department visit |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Return Visit | Return visits to ED with hospitalization | Within 1 week of the ED index visit |
| ED Length of Stay | ED Length of Stay | During the index emergency department visit |
Not provided
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
- Previous enrollment into the study
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Ralph C Wang, MD, MAS | University of California, San Francisco | Principal Investigator |
| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California, San Francisco | San Francisco | California | 94122 | United States |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35986979 | Derived | Wang RC, Fahimi J, Dillon D, Shyy W, Mongan J, McCulloch C, Smith-Bindman R. Effect of an ultrasound-first clinical decision tool in emergency department patients with suspected nephrolithiasis: A randomized trial. Am J Emerg Med. 2022 Oct;60:164-170. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2022.08.015. Epub 2022 Aug 10. |
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D053040 | Nephrolithiasis |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D007674 | Kidney Diseases |
| D014570 | Urologic Diseases |
| D052776 | Female Urogenital Diseases |
| D005261 | Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications |
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Patients, investigators, and outcome assessors will be blinded to study arm.
|
| Cost | Total cost | During the index emergency department visit |
| D000091642 | Urogenital Diseases |
| D052878 | Urolithiasis |
| D052801 | Male Urogenital Diseases |