Background: The approach to managing and admitting patients with syncope in an emergency setting lacks standardization. Our study aims to investigate how regional variation in management of emergency department (ED) patients presenting with syncope impacts outcomes and resource utilization in this patient population. Methods: We used the 2006 to 2014 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample to [...]

Background: In the United States, the relative incidence of diverticulitis has continued to rise and represents a significant portion of gastrointestinal related hospitalizations [1]. Management and treatment can include both medical and surgical options. Of recent, considerable attention has been given to try to decrease healthcare utilization [2]. We sought out to determine the annual [...]

Background: Asthma, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia are common pediatric inpatient diagnoses. Viral testing (VT) is not routinely necessary for these diagnoses as it often does not impact management. Our study objectives for each diagnosis are to; 1) describe trends in VT over the last 5 years including seasonal variation (respiratory season- Oct-March versus non-respiratory season- April-Sept), [...]

Background: While multiple organizations have recommended reducing unnecessary and repetitive lab tests in hospitalized patients, this has not resulted in a widespread change in behavior. There is agreement that unwarranted labs increase costs, but data around specific lab costs have not been readily available. At baseline, there were 125,586 labs ordered by the UNC Rex [...]

Background: Preventable ED visits account for 20-50% of ED visits. (1, 2) Though student-run free clinics (SRFCs) could play an important role in decreasing unnecessary utilization, current ED utilization in SRFCs and risk factors have not been described. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients receiving care at a student-run free clinic. We captured [...]