Improving Asthma Referrals Following Emergency Department Evaluation

December 7, 2023 updated by: Amy Delaroche, Wayne State University
Asthma is the most common chronic condition among children and many children seek emergency department (ED) care. A key aspect of ED asthma management at the time of discharge is appropriate outpatient referral. Part of the challenge for ED providers is determining which patients require intensive outpatient support as ED providers often do not have the time or familiarity with the asthma guidelines to appropriately stratify asthma severity. Thus, the aim of this study is to determine whether the proportion of children referred to outpatient asthma care can be improved by incorporating a previously validated tool [the Pediatric Asthma Control and Communication Instrument for the Emergency Department (PACCI- ED)] into ED clinical care.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Emergency department (ED) physicians play an important role in the management of pediatric asthma through acute intervention, family education, and appropriate referral to outpatient resources. However, time constraints in the ED limit physicians' ability to appropriately stratify both asthma severity and outpatient referrals. The Pediatric Asthma Control and Communication Instrument for the Emergency Department (PACCI-ED) improves ED providers assessment of asthma control and disease burden. We hypothesize that implementation of the PACCI-ED at the point of care may help to facilitate appropriate referrals to outpatient asthma care.

ED providers will be randomized to the control or intervention group. Providers in the intervention group will receive the results of the parent-completed PACCI-ED accompanied by a one page summary of referral recommendations aligned with asthma guidelines and based upon asthma severity. Providers in the control group will not receive this information and will provide 'usual care'. All providers will complete a brief demographic questionnaire. School-aged children with a history of asthma presenting to the ED for an asthma exacerbation and discharged home who consent to participate will be assigned to the control or the intervention group based upon the ED provider caring for the patient during their ED encounter. Parents will complete a brief demographic questionnaire, the PACCI-ED, and answer two short qualitative audio-recorded questions about barriers to asthma care during their ED visit. Following the ED visit, additional data will be abstracted from the electronic medical record including outpatient referrals placed at the time of ED discharge and follow-up with the referrals within a one-month time-frame.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

76

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Amy M DeLaroche, MBBS
  • Phone Number: (313) 745-5260
  • Email: ADeLaroc@dmc.org

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

    • Michigan
      • Detroit, Michigan, United States, 48201
        • Children's Hospital of Michigan

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

5 years to 11 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Presenting to Children's Hospital of Michigan (CHM), Detroit, Emergency Department (ED) for an acute asthma exacerbation
  • History of asthma as reported by parents

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Transfer from outside ED for a higher level of care
  • Admitted to the hospital following pediatric ED evaluation
  • Significant co-morbidity (pulmonary, cardiac, or other systemic disease)
  • Hemodynamic instability
  • Non-English speaking
  • Previously enrolled in this study
  • Patients without their primary caregiver at ED presentation
  • Not under the care of CHM ED provider who has consented to be a part of the study

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Intervention Group
ED Providers randomized to the Intervention Group will be able to view the results of the parent-completed questionnaire, the Pediatric Asthma Control and Communication Instrument for the Emergency Department (PACCI-ED), and outpatient referral recommendations aligned with asthma severity.
Results of parent completed PACCI-ED and referral recommendations
No Intervention: Control Group
ED providers randomized to the Control Group will neither receive the results of the parent-completed PACCI-ED or specific recommendations for outpatient referrals. Patients randomized to the control group will receive usual care.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proportion of referrals
Time Frame: Eight months
Proportion of referrals for outpatient asthma care placed in the electronic medical record.
Eight months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proportion of subspecialty referrals
Time Frame: Eight months
Proportion of subspecialty referrals for outpatient asthma care (e.g. allergy/immunology, pulmonology) placed in the electronic medical record.
Eight months
Patient and provider characteristics
Time Frame: Eight months
Patient (e.g. age, asthma history) and provider (e.g. training, years in practice) self-reported demographics.
Eight months
Completed outpatient clinic visits following a referral
Time Frame: 30 days following the ED visit
Number of patients attending the outpatient clinic visit within 30 days of the referral requested in the electronic medical record at the time of the ED visit.
30 days following the ED visit

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Amy M DeLaroche, MBBS, Detroit Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

November 15, 2021

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 30, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

April 30, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 22, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 5, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

October 11, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

December 8, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 7, 2023

Last Verified

December 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB-19-09-1259

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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