Improving Anaphylaxis Care: The Impact of a Clinical Pathway

Abstract

J Lee, B Rodio, J Lavelle. Pediatrics. 2018;141(5):e20171616 To evaluate the clinical impact of a revised anaphylaxis clinical pathway with reductions in emergency department (ED) observation time, increased provider education on anaphylaxis, and patient accessibility to epinephrine auto-injectors. The study population included pediatric ED patients at an urban, tertiary university-affiliated children’s hospital, before and after changes to a clinical anaphylaxis pathway. This was a multidisciplinary quality improvement initiative, performed at an urban, tertiary university-affiliated children’s hospital ED to update the anaphylaxis clinical pathway. ED observation time was reduced from 8 to 4 hours, with the goal to reduce anaphylaxis-related admissions. Provider education on anaphylaxis and prompt epinephrine use was improved, and all patients were discharged from the ED with an epinephrine auto-injector. Data were analyzed 18 months before and after the pathway …