Clinical Trial: Effect of Teledermatology on Length of Hospital Admission, Length of Stay, 30 Day Readmission Rate, and Antibiotic Use in Patients Presenting With Cellulitis vs Pseudocellulitis in an Academic ED Setting

Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: The Effect of Teledermatology on Length of Hospital Admission, Length of Stay, 30 Day Readmission Rate, and Antibiotic Use in Patients Presenting With Cellulitis vs Pseudo

Brief Summary: The effect of teledermatology on length of hospital admission, length of stay, 30 day readmission rate, and antibiotic use in patients presenting with cellulitis vs pseudocellulitis in an academic emergency department setting.

Detailed Summary: The Investigator hope to determine if the implementation of teledermatology in the emergency department (ED) at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is beneficial in diagnosing cases of cellulitis and pseudocellulitis conditions. Prior studies have indicated that misdiagnosis may occur in up to 28% of patients in the ED with these conditions. Additionally, dermatological consults have been shown to change diagnosis or management of these conditions in more than 60% of the patients examined. Without the use of teledermatology, however, a dermatological consult would be prohibitively expensive and take time to obtain. The investigator proposes that by utilizing teledermatology in emergency rooms, the investigator can make faster, yet just as accurate, dermatological diagnoses in patients presenting with cellulitis-like symptoms. Subsequently, by reducing the number of misdiagnoses, unnecessary use of antibiotics and hospitalizations will also decrease, lowering health care costs and simultaneously providing patients with faster treatment of the actual dermatologic condition.
Sponsor: Ohio State University

Current Primary Outcome: Admission to the hospital [ Time Frame: 30 days ]

To determine the benefit of teledermatology to differentiate cellulitis from pseudocellulitis in emergency departments through the analysis of time spent in the emergency department (ED), admission to the inpatient hospital, antibiotic use, time to improvement, We anticipate a high rate of pseudocellulitis, and this aim will determine if there is a difference in patient admissions among those who receive a dermatologic assessment


Original Primary Outcome: Same as current

Current Secondary Outcome:

  • Length of stay in the hospital [ Time Frame: 30 days post admission ]
    Will assess time spent in the hospital for those that were admitted
  • 30 day readmission rate [ Time Frame: 30 days post admission ]
    Will assess hospitalization/emergency department readmission in the following 30 days
  • Antibiotic use [ Time Frame: 30 days post admission ]
    Will assess the frequency of antibiotic use between groups


Original Secondary Outcome: Same as current

Information By: Ohio State University

Dates:
Date Received: June 4, 2016
Date Started: January 2016
Date Completion: December 2017
Last Updated: January 26, 2017
Last Verified: January 2017