Point-of-Care Ultrasound Educational Initiative for Insect Bites

NCT ID: NCT03619746

Last Updated: 2020-10-28

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

TERMINATED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

71 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2018-08-10

Study Completion Date

2020-06-30

Brief Summary

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This pre-post study, designed to decrease unnecessary antibiotic prescribing, will use a prospective cohort of patients presenting to the Pediatric Emergency Department (PED). Patients with local skin findings that the clinician believes are primarily due to an insect bite or sting will be approached for the study.

The intervention will occur at the physician level. Midway through the study, physicians will receive an educational intervention describing how to differentiate cellulitis from allergic reaction using point-of-care bedside ultrasound.

The main outcome observed will be whether or not the patient receives a prescription for antibiotics at the index visit.

Detailed Description

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Thousands of children each year develop soft tissue swelling after an insect bite or sting and present shortly after to emergency departments (ED) across the United States. These wounds are particularly pruritic and can become self-inoculated with skin flora resulting in cellulitis. Clinicians who suspect cellulitis will typically prescribe oral antibiotics to treat this condition. Cellulitis, however, can be confused with a local allergic reaction to the insect bite because the physical examination findings are nearly identical. As such, the reliability of clinical examination in the diagnosis of pediatric skin and soft tissue infections is poor. Consequently, many patients with local allergic reactions are treated unnecessarily with antibiotics.

Patients who take antibiotics may experience unintended and unpleasant side effects such as diarrhea and allergic reactions. Moreover, unnecessary antibiotic prescribing is an important factor in the development of antibiotic-resistant infections which are estimated to affect 2 million patients and result in 23 thousand deaths each year in the United States. The medical community has thus sought innovative approaches to reducing unnecessary antibiotic use.

The goal of this study is to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions for children with insect bites that are not infected. This quality improvement initiative will focus on children with insect bites presenting to the Pediatric Emergency Department at Jacobi Medical Center (Bronx, NY). The pre-intervention phase will consist of patients enrolled prior to the physicians receiving a Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Educational Intervention. The post-intervention phase will consist of patients enrolled after the physicians have received a POCUS Educational Intervention. In both phases, the physician will be able to care for the patient however he or she believes is appropriate.

The POCUS Education Intervention will supplement the baseline knowledge of the Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician with regards to performing a soft-tissue examination using POCUS. A POCUS expert will train all clinicians how to properly perform a soft tissue examination using POCUS to differentiate between cellulitis and local reactions due to angioedema/allergic reaction. The education will include a formal lecture and practical clinical examination. The proportion of patients receiving antibiotics will be compared before and after the Educational Initiative had started. All patients will be contacted 3 to 5 days after their initial emergency department visit to determine if the patient's condition worsened, if the patient needed to return to a healthcare provider, and if the patient had taken any antibiotics.

Conditions

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Cellulitis Insect Bites Insect Stings

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NON_RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

SEQUENTIAL

Pre-Post Study Design with Non-Pharmacologic Intervention

Patient in first arm of study will be treated by physicians who have not yet received educational training. Patients in the second arm of the study will be treated by physicians who went through the educational training.
Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

All participants in the study (i.e., patients and physicians) will be aware of what arm of the study they are in.

Study Groups

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Pre-Intervention

Current practice (unchanged). This arm of patients will cared for by physicians who have NOT received the POCUS Educational Intervention.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Post-Intervention

This arm of patients will cared for by physicians who have received the POCUS Educational Intervention.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

POCUS Educational Intervention

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Midway through the study, all Pediatric Emergency Attendings and Fellows at Jacobi Medical Center will receive an educational session that describes how to properly perform a soft tissue examination using point-of-care ultrasound to differentiate between cellulitis and local allergic reaction.

Interventions

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POCUS Educational Intervention

Midway through the study, all Pediatric Emergency Attendings and Fellows at Jacobi Medical Center will receive an educational session that describes how to properly perform a soft tissue examination using point-of-care ultrasound to differentiate between cellulitis and local allergic reaction.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

\- Erythema or swelling surrounding an insect bite or sting for greater than 12 hours

Exclusion Criteria

* Patients with skin findings consistent with an abscess (ie. active drainage, fluctuance)
* Patients who are relatively immunocompromised (e.g., patients with AIDS, diabetes mellitus, cancer)
* Recent use of antibiotics within 1 week prior to symptoms
* Pregnant
* Altered mental status
* Unable to provide a phone number for follow-up
Minimum Eligible Age

3 Months

Maximum Eligible Age

20 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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James Meltzer

Associate Professor, Pediatrics

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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James A Meltzer, MD, MS

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Jacobi Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Locations

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Jacobi Medical Center

The Bronx, New York, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Solomon SL, Oliver KB. Antibiotic resistance threats in the United States: stepping back from the brink. Am Fam Physician. 2014 Jun 15;89(12):938-41. No abstract available.

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Sivitz AB, Lam SH, Ramirez-Schrempp D, Valente JH, Nagdev AD. Effect of bedside ultrasound on management of pediatric soft-tissue infection. J Emerg Med. 2010 Nov;39(5):637-43. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2009.05.013. Epub 2009 Aug 8.

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Tayal VS, Hasan N, Norton HJ, Tomaszewski CA. The effect of soft-tissue ultrasound on the management of cellulitis in the emergency department. Acad Emerg Med. 2006 Apr;13(4):384-8. doi: 10.1197/j.aem.2005.11.074. Epub 2006 Mar 10.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Subramaniam S, Bober J, Chao J, Zehtabchi S. Point-of-care Ultrasound for Diagnosis of Abscess in Skin and Soft Tissue Infections. Acad Emerg Med. 2016 Nov;23(11):1298-1306. doi: 10.1111/acem.13049. Epub 2016 Nov 1.

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25154956 (View on PubMed)

American College of Emergency Physicians. Emergency ultrasound guidelines. Ann Emerg Med. 2009 Apr;53(4):550-70. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2008.12.013. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Marin JR, Bilker W, Lautenbach E, Alpern ER. Reliability of clinical examinations for pediatric skin and soft-tissue infections. Pediatrics. 2010 Nov;126(5):925-30. doi: 10.1542/peds.2010-1039. Epub 2010 Oct 25.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20974788 (View on PubMed)

Marin JR, Dean AJ, Bilker WB, Panebianco NL, Brown NJ, Alpern ER. Emergency ultrasound-assisted examination of skin and soft tissue infections in the pediatric emergency department. Acad Emerg Med. 2013 Jun;20(6):545-53. doi: 10.1111/acem.12148.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23758300 (View on PubMed)

Greenlund LJS, Merry SP, Thacher TD, Ward WJ. Primary Care Management of Skin Abscesses Guided by Ultrasound. Am J Med. 2017 May;130(5):e191-e193. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2016.11.040. Epub 2016 Dec 22.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Adams CM, Neuman MI, Levy JA. Point-of-Care Ultrasonography for the Diagnosis of Pediatric Soft Tissue Infection. J Pediatr. 2016 Feb;169:122-7.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2015.10.026. Epub 2015 Nov 10.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 26563535 (View on PubMed)

Iverson K, Haritos D, Thomas R, Kannikeswaran N. The effect of bedside ultrasound on diagnosis and management of soft tissue infections in a pediatric ED. Am J Emerg Med. 2012 Oct;30(8):1347-51. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2011.09.020. Epub 2011 Nov 17.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22100468 (View on PubMed)

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Vieira RL, Hsu D, Nagler J, Chen L, Gallagher R, Levy JA; American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatric emergency medicine fellow training in ultrasound: consensus educational guidelines. Acad Emerg Med. 2013 Mar;20(3):300-6. doi: 10.1111/acem.12087.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Pallin DJ, Camargo CA Jr, Schuur JD. Skin infections and antibiotic stewardship: analysis of emergency department prescribing practices, 2007-2010. West J Emerg Med. 2014 May;15(3):282-9. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2013.8.18040. Epub 2014 Jan 6.

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Haynes D, Lasarev M, Keller J. Systemic antibiotic use for nonbacterial dermatological conditions among referring providers. Int J Dermatol. 2018 May;57(5):566-571. doi: 10.1111/ijd.13962. Epub 2018 Mar 9.

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Fleming-Dutra KE, Hersh AL, Shapiro DJ, Bartoces M, Enns EA, File TM Jr, Finkelstein JA, Gerber JS, Hyun DY, Linder JA, Lynfield R, Margolis DJ, May LS, Merenstein D, Metlay JP, Newland JG, Piccirillo JF, Roberts RM, Sanchez GV, Suda KJ, Thomas A, Woo TM, Zetts RM, Hicks LA. Prevalence of Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescriptions Among US Ambulatory Care Visits, 2010-2011. JAMA. 2016 May 3;315(17):1864-73. doi: 10.1001/jama.2016.4151.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27139059 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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2018-9176

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id