Waiting on the Urine: The Impact of Delayed Urine Collection on Length of Stay in the Emergency Department
UAs take longer to collect than CBCs. Ordering a UA in addition to a CBC significantly increased order-to-collection time and LOS. Each additional minute of collection delay contributed 16% more to LOS in this group, and with higher collection time outlier cases for UAs, this can lead to a worsening bottleneck. Understanding these effects may help EDs prioritize UA collection and target interventions in which there may be the highest impact on flow.
Authors
- Lakshman Balaji (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7189-4775)
- Bryan A. Stenson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2212-164X)
- Peter S. Antkowiak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6857-8277)
- Anne V. Grossestreuer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7316-5576)
- León D. Sánchez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8807-0913)
- David Arastehmanesh
- David Chiu
Institutions
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
- Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital (US)
- Montefiore Health System (US)
- MemorialCare Health System (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open
- Published
- 2025-08-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acepjo.2025.100236
- Primary Topic
- Emergency and Acute Care Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00