Relief of chest pain in the Emergency Department (RELIEF)

Many patients who present to the Emergency Department with painful conditions have extensive delays to receive pain relief. This may result in unnecessary discomfort for patients and can also mean that patients have an extended length of stay. This study focusses on improving the pain relief given to patients who present to the Emergency Department with chest pain. The study has multiple aims. The first is to identify how long patients presenting to emergency department with chest pain wait to receive adequate pain relief. The second is to document how delays to pain relief impact on the patient and on the healthcare system (in terms of greater hospital admissions, longer length of stay and the types of cardiac testing that can be performed). The third aim is to see whether a novel education campaign highlighting the importance of providing pain relief as soon as possible after the patient presents to the Emergency Department can reduce the length of time before a patient is provided pain relief. This campaign will particularly focus on the nursing staff and will empower them to advocate for rapid pain relief. It is anticipated that this campaign will reduce the time taken to provide pain relief to patients. It is also hoped to reduce hospital length of stay and hospital admissions. This study is important for improving patient comfort and improving patient and health service outcomes.

Trials in Emergency for Advancing Management of Sepsis: TEAM SEPSIS

Severe infection (sepsis) takes the lives of over 2000 Queenslanders every year. Despite this toll and intense global research, few advances and innovations have improved sepsis management for decades. The TEAM SEPSIS project comprises three studies to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with sepsis in the Emergency Department (ED).

ICARUS-MD is a randomised controlled trial assigning patients to receive or not receive albumin in addition to standard sepsis care. Albumin will be commenced in the early phase of emergency treatment and continued each day for ten days. Albumin has the potential to improve outcomes if started early in the ED - ICARUS-MD may provide much needed evidence.

ARTEMIS is an observational study in a subset of ICARUS-MD patients with blood samples taken across several time points to determine the effect of albumin on the function of the critical lining of small blood vessels – the endothelial glycocalyx.

BETTER aims to improve the investigation of septic patients in ED by validating a novel test for bacteraemia in patients at highest risk for this condition. The study will use patients from the ICARUS-MD cohort as well as other emergency patients with low white cell count and suspected infection. Earlier diagnosis of bacteraemia enables directed therapy, improves patient outcomes, and conserves our most powerful antibiotics for patients who need them.

This programme of collaborative research involving ED and infectious diseases clinicians promises to advance knowledge of the best approach to diagnosis and treatment for emergency patients at highest risk from sepsis.

Endovascular Clot Retrieval Pathway for Acute Ischaemic Stroke: Outcomes After-Hours in an Australian Metropolitan ED

Stroke is a leading cause of death and one of the most common causes of disability in Australia. For ischaemic strokes occurring secondary to a large vessel occlusion (LVO), mechanical thrombectomy is an effective intervention, with the outcome largely dependent on time to thrombectomy.

This study will analyse the assessment, management, and clinical outcomes of patients presenting to the ED with acute stroke, with a particular focus of those undergoing mechanical thrombectomy. Researchers aim to determine variability of workflow and decision-making processes that may occur after-hours. Based on current literature, variability may have a corresponding deleterious effect on patient outcomes.

By reviewing workflow processes and identifying relevant time barriers in a Queensland Comprehensive Stroke Centre, researchers aim to inform the future design and implementation of “Code Stroke” clinical pathways in Queensland.

Subculture: Investigating the frequency and outcomes of subsequent blood cultures

Blood cultures are tests performed to identify whether patients have pathogens in their blood, such as bacteria and fungi. Emergency clinicians frequently order blood cultures to prescribe appropriate antibiotics for patients. Blood cultures are particularly important to rapidly identify and treat severe infection.

For test accuracy, the best time to collect blood cultures is before a patient has received an antibiotic. However, patients with severe infections may have multiple sets of blood cultures taken over several days. It is unknown whether taking multiple blood cultures improves patient care.

This study will investigate how many patients have repeat blood cultures and whether subsequent blood cultures yield the same result. If found to be redundant, it may be possible to avoid unnecessary blood tests, improve patient comfort, decrease costs to the health service, and reduce practitioner workloads.

From Big Data to the Bedside: answering big questions in emergency department pain care using artificial intelligence and patient-reported outcomes

One of the main reasons that acute pain is not well treated in the emergency department (ED) setting is that pain is difficult to measure. While patient-reported outcome measures (PROMS) are commonly used to help guide treatment of pain in settings such as chronic pain care, cancer care and migraine care, there are no similar tools available for patients with acute pain in the ED. Further hampering efforts to provide better ED pain care is poor overall understanding of the numbers and types of patients that experience pain.

Since it is a symptom rather than a diagnosis, information about pain is not systematically collected and is often obscured within free-text clinical notes. The lack of readily-available data makes it difficult to determine who exactly has experienced pain, and to design research studies to evaluate new and existing treatments.

Researchers aim to validate a PROM for pain care in the ED by administering to 400 patients who present with pain to one of two large hospital EDs. The aim is to find out the incidence and characteristics of patients who present with pain to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital ED, by using novel machine- and deep-learning techniques to process free-text information from clinical notes. This study will provide new knowledge and techniques that are essential for clinician-researchers to design and conduct studies that will ultimately improve pain care in the ED.

How long can a clinician wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) safely work in a high-risk isolation area during one continuous shift?

Patients with COVID-19 symptoms are isolated and treated in a high-risk zone (HRZ) within the emergency department. Entry is restricted to essential staff wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).

HRZ doctors and nurses typically work 5-10 hour shifts, during which meal and toilet breaks must be taken outside the HRZ. Doffing (taking off PPE) and repeated donning (putting on PPE) are discouraged to conserve PPE. Doctors and nurses often work continuously with minimum breaks because they must doff before exiting and don before entering the HRZ. PPE traps body heat generated by physical activity, adding to mental and physical fatigue, and potential breaches in infection control precautions.

This study will investigate the length-of-time doctors or nurses can safely work in HRZ in one continuous shift.

Relief of chest pain in the emergency department (RELIEF)

Many emergency department (ED) patients with painful conditions have extensive delays to receive pain relief, which may result in unnecessary discomfort and an extended length of stay.

This study will focus on how long patients who present to the ED with chest pain wait for adequate pain relief. This study is important for improving patient comfort and health service outcomes.

Intervention with concentrated albumin for resuscitation of undifferentiated sepsis (ICARUS): a randomised controlled trial

Global estimates suggest that approximately 5 million people die from infection each year. Research into improved management and treatment for patients with infection is essential for reducing mortality.

Patients presenting to the emergency department with severe infections are treated with fluids in the vein to maintain optimal blood volume, to keep the heart working properly and tissues well oxygenated. Fluids administered to patients include crystalloids (water-based fluids that include salts and other water-soluble molecules), and albumin (a fluid manufactured from human plasma). Crystalloids are most commonly used by emergency physicians in standard care however initial evidence indicates that albumin may result in better outcomes for patients with severe infections, but further quality trials are required for validation.

In this study, researchers will randomise emergency department patients with severe infection to receive either albumin or crystalloids. The aim of the study is to provide emergency doctors with important information about how to best treat patients with infections to improve blood pressure, prevent organ failure, reduce the need for intensive care and potentially reduce the number of deaths.

Modelling emergency department patient flow under normal operating conditions and in a pandemic

Patient flow in emergency departments (ED) is impeded when the number of patients exceed physical and/or staffing capacity. This is often referred to as crowding, and is common problem for EDs across the country, adversely impacting patients, staff and the healthcare system.

While many strategies have been reported and trialled to mitigate the consequences of crowding and address its causes, there is no one solution that fits all EDs.

Researchers propose to develop and test a computer model to mimic the ED, simulating patient flow to provide forecasts that can inform policy makers. This is especially important in periods of anticipated high demand for emergency services such as in the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Emergency doctors will team-up with academic researchers to model patient flow in the emergency department to consider operational changes and provide knowledge to guide decision-making for improvement strategies that will lead to faster, more effective patient care, better outcomes and more effective, economical choices.

This innovative collaboration between doctors and university researchers aims to solve real-life system-level problems affecting patient care. The research will generate practical outcomes that improve clinical practice at a system level so that we can better care for our patients.

Can mobile robotic telepresence help clinicians safely deliver care to ED patients?

COVID-19 has impacted healthcare provision in Australian emergency departments (EDs). Infection control precautions, including isolation of patients with respiratory symptoms and methodical use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), are of paramount importance to reduce the risk of transmission within the healthcare setting.

Patients presenting to Australian EDs with epidemiological or clinical features suggesting risk of COVID-19 illness are isolated into a physically separate, high risk-zone (HRZ) within the ED. Entry into HRZ is restricted to essential staff wearing appropriate personal PPE. Consequently, interactions between patients and clinicians, particularly allied health, are limited.

Mobile robotic telepresence (MRT) has the potential to maintain quality of care while facilitating contactless communication between patients and staff in the HRZ and the external multidisciplinary team. MRT is a wifi-enabled wheeled devices with audio-video capabilities controlled remotely by a clinician. This study aims to determine the feasibility of using MRT to support clinical care in the HRZ of the ED.