Adverse events following an emergency department visit.

Background: Many studies demonstrate a high rate of treatment-related adverse outcomes or adverse events. No studies have prospectively evaluated adverse events in patients discharged home from the emergency department (ED).

Objective: To describe the types of adverse events in patients discharged home from an ED.

Appropriateness of diagnostic strategies for evaluating suspected venous thromboembolism.

It was the objective of this study to determine the proportion of patients who undergo an appropriate diagnostic work-up following a D-dimer test performed to evaluate suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) or deep vein thrombosis (DVT). We performed a retrospective cohort study at a tertiary care hospital. We included patients if they underwent D-dimer testing between 2002 and 2005, if the D-dimer was performed for evaluation of VTE, and if the D-dimer test was successful.

Accuracy of coding for possible warfarin complications in hospital discharge abstracts.

Background: Hospital discharge abstracts could be used to identify complications of warfarin if coding for bleeding and thromboembolic events are accurate.

Objectives: To measure the accuracy of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9CM) codes for bleeding and thromboembolic diagnoses.

Setting: University affiliated, tertiary care hospital in Ottawa, Canada.