Randomized Clinical Trial of the Impact of a Respiratory Complaints Assessment Checklist on Resources Utilization and Clinical Outcomes in an Acute Evaluation Outpatient Clinic

Brief Summary

Detailed Description

This is a randomized clinical trial that evaluates the impact of using an internet-based checklist for systematic assessment of patients reporting respiratory complaints with the conventional assessment, without using the checklist. Study setting: emergency department related acute evaluation outpatient clinic Inclusion criteria: 18 years of age or older; patients presenting to the ED reporting cough or dyspnea; Exclusion criteria: acute respiratory failure; SpO2 \< 92%; any signs of hemodynamic or respiratory instability; possible concurrent diagnosis requiring immediate assessment (e.g..: acute coronary syndrome or stroke; ) Primary outcome: need of reassessment in the ED or hospitalization within 1 month of index evaluation (intervention). Secondary outcomes: number of complete blood counts ordered in the index evaluation; number of other diagnostic tests ordered in the index evaluation; Randomization: block 1:1; stratified by gender and age (\>50 years old). Masking will be appllied to: patients; outcome assessors; data analysts;

Primary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes

• Number of diagnostic tests ordered in the index evaluation(1 month)
• Hospital admission(1 month)
• Antibiotics prescription(1 month)
• Major events(1 month)