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Figure
Patient flow.
Abstract
Objective
The aim of the study was to investigate racial/ethnic differences in emergency care for patients with joint dislocation.
Methods
We performed a secondary analysis of the dislocation component of the National Emergency Department Safety Study. Using a principal diagnosis of dislocation, we identified emergency department (ED) visits for joint dislocations in 53 urban EDs across 19 US states between 2003 and 2005. Quality of care was evaluated based on 9 guideline-concordant care measures.
Results
Of the 1945 patients included in this analysis, 1124 (58%) were white; 561 (29%), black, and 260 (13%), Hispanic. One-third of the 53 EDs cared for 51% of minority patients. After multivariable adjustment, black patients were less likely to receive any analgesic treatment (odds ratio [OR], 0.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.51-0.90) or opioid treatment (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.41-0.997), waited longer to receive analgesia (mean difference in time to analgesic treatment, 32 minutes; 95% CI, 16-52 minutes), and were less likely to receive reassessments of pain (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.34-0.70) compared with white patients. There were no ethnic disparities in most of the care measures between Hispanic and white patients. There were no disparities in initial pain assessment, pre- and postprocedural neurovascular assessment, procedural monitoring, or success of joint reduction across the racial/ethnic groups.
Conclusions
Black patients presenting to the ED with joint dislocations received lower quality of care in some, but not all, areas compared with white patients. Future interventions should target these areas to eliminate racial disparities in dislocation care.
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☆This study was supported by grant R01 HS013099 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Rockville, MD).
☆☆Conflict of interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
