Effect of point of care testing on length of stay in an adult emergency department

Devices are now available that are practical for point of care testing (PCT ) in hospital settings. Previous studies in clinical settings, however, hav e failed to demonstrate a reduction in patients' length of stay (LOS) assoc iated with the use of PCT, This randomized controlled study compared PCT wi th central laboratory testing in a hospital Emergency Department to assess the difference in patients' LOS. Patients randomized to PCT (n = 93) had a median stay of 3 h, 28 min (interquartile range [IR] 2:28 to 5:30), while t hose allocated to the central laboratory (n = 87) had a median stay of 4 h, 22 min (IR 3:04 to 5:47), The median stay associated with PCT was signific antly shorter. Among patients who were destined to be discharged home, ther e was also a significantly shorter stay, but not among those who were desti ned to be admitted. It was concluded that the use of PCT can achieve signif icant time savings in an Emergency Department. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science In c.