[Emergency department X-rays requested by physicians or nurses].
BACKGROUND
Triage nurse requested x-rays reduce waiting-time in the emergency department. Does triage nurse requested x-rays in the emergency department save time for patients with a defined group of low-energy injuries without compromising treatment quality or patient satisfaction?


METHODS
Analysis of data from a randomized study including a defined group of low-energy injuries in patients at the emergency department requiring x-ray investigation.


RESULTS
A total of 58 patients were included in the intervention group and 48 in the control group. For 50% of the patients, waiting-time from admittance to x-ray request was reduced from 17 to 9 minutes when x-rays were requested by a nurse vs. a physician, and for 75% waiting-time was reduced from 35 to 14 minutes. Time reduction was also found in time from admittance to the patient returned from x-ray examination. Waiting-time was reduced from 56 to 32 minutes, and for 75% of the patients the waiting-time was reduced from 90 to 66 minutes when x-ray was requested by a nurse vs. a physician. Positive X-ray findings were more frequent when the examination was requested by a nurse than by a physician (risk difference: 27.13). The study showed that unnecessary x-ray examinations were equally distributed between the nurses and the physicians. All patients were satisfied with the intervention.


CONCLUSIONS
Waiting-time was reduced for a well-defined type of low-energy injury requiring x-ray examination at the emergency department when referred to x-ray by a triage nurse. The intervention did not compromise the quality of the treatment or the patients' satisfaction with the intervention.
Pedersen
Gitte Boier
GB
Regionshospitalet Horsens. gp@ofir.dk
Storm
Jens Ole
JO
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000592:standards; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000592:standards; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010820:Physicians / Q000592:standards; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D011859:Radiography; D013997:Time Factors; D014218:Triage / Q000592:standards; D000078329:Workforce; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy