Lisa Chiu
Impact of Point of Care Pregnancy Tests on Emergency Department/Length of Stay

Research

Impact of Point of Care Pregnancy Tests on Emergency Department/Length of Stay

Hypothesis

Completion of medical evaluation is delayed in women of childbearing years due to turnaround time for pregnancy testing prior to radiological studies being done in the Emergency Department (ED). We hypothesize that point of care (POC) pregnancy testing will shorten turnaround time and decrease the overall ED length of stay.

Methodology

Primary data collection was done through retrospective medical record review. Participants were chosen based on age and gender. Two sets of participants were collected through ED daily census records. The first included patients seen through the week of June 1, 2009, prior to the start of POC testing (n=25). The second set included patients seen after the initiation of POC testing on July 8, 2009 (n=25).

Outcomes

The average turnaround time for clinical laboratory urine pregnancy testing was 37.2 minutes, versus three minutes for POC testing. This 34-minute difference correlates with a shorter length of stay in the ED. It is suggested that POC pregnancy tests continue to be used. Other types of POC testing such as CRP, HBA1C, Homocystein and HIV salivary assay test kits also could be used to shorten ED length of stay.