Background: The use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) has been associated with the development of bradykinin-mediated angioedema. With ever-widening indications for ACEI in diseases including hypertension, congestive heart failure and diabetic nephropathy, a concomitant increase in ACEI-Angioedema (ACEI-A) has been reported. At present there is no validated severity scoring or discharge criteria for ACEI-A. We sought to develop and validate an investigator rating scale with corresponding discharge criteria using clinicians experienced in treating ACEI-A.
Methods: In-depth, 60-min qualitative telephone interviews were conducted with 12 US-based emergency physicians. Beforehand, clinicians were sent four case studies describing patients experiencing different severities of angioedema attacks. Clinicians were initially asked open-ended questions about their experience of patients' symptoms, treatment and discharge decisions. Clinicians then rated each patient case study and discussed patient diagnoses, ratings of symptom severity and discharge evaluation. The ratings were used to assess inter-rater reliability of the scale using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) using IBM SPSS analysis Version 19 software.
Results: The findings provide support focusing on four key symptoms of airway compromise scored on a 0-4 scale: 1) Difficulty Breathing, 2) Difficulty Swallowing, 3) Voice Changes and 4) Tongue Swelling and the corresponding discharge criteria of a score of 0 or 'No symptoms' for Difficulty Breathing and Difficulty Swallowing and a score of 0 or 1 indicating mild or absence of symptoms for Voice Change and Tongue Swelling. Eleven clinicians agreed the absence of standardized discharge criteria supported the use of this scale. All physicians concurred with the recommended discharge criteria. The clinician ratings provided evidence of strong inter-rater reliability for the rating scale (ICC > 0.80).
Conclusion: The investigator rating scale and discharge criteria are clinically valid, relevant and reliable. Moreover, both address the current unmet need for standardized ED discharge criteria.
Keywords: ACEI-Angioedema (ACEI-A); Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI); Discharge criteria; Rating scale; Severity scoring.