Pre-intervention Group Research Articles

Evaluation of a clinical protocol for the management of fever in labor among pregnant women at term: A quality-improvement study.

To assess the impact of a quality-improvement initiative designed to increase diagnostic accuracy and adequate management of clinical chorioamnionitis (CC) at a tertiary center. Chorioamnionitis occurs in 1%-13% of term pregnancies and increases maternal and neonatal peripartum complications; often over-diagnosed, it leads to unnecessary investigations and treatments. This was an interrupted time-series study. In September 2017 two interventions were implemented: (1) staff training and (2) standardized clinical protocol for the management of fever in labor. All singleton term pregnancies were included. CC cases were reviewed in the pre-intervention (2015-2016, n= 179) and post-intervention (2017-2018, n= 142) groups. CC criteria based on the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines, antibiotics, maternal and neonatal outcomes, and pathology were compared. A cost-consequence analysis was performed. Incidence of CC decreased from 8.2 to 5.6 per 10 person-year (P< 0.001). This was associated with a significant increase in diagnostic accuracy from 15.7% to 73.2% (P< 0.001). Weight-adjusted tobramycin dosage improved from 8.8% to 69.1% (P< 0.001). Maternal length of hospitalization and readmissions decreased significantly, without affecting neonatal sepsis rate. Interventions decreased yearly hospital costs associated with CC by 23.4%. Standardizing the management of fever in labor significantly increased the diagnostic accuracy of CC and decreased the misuse of antibiotics in term pregnancies. CC costs decreased by 23.4%.

A randomized controlled trial of a coping-focused family resilience intervention program for breast cancer patients: Study protocol.

BackgroundBreast cancer patients and their families are under various pressures in the process of disease diagnosis and treatment, which seriously threaten their physical and mental health. Findings from existing research suggest that good family resilience can help breast cancer families better adapt and cope with adversity and challenges. However, there are only a few intervention studies on family resilience and no intervention studies on resilience among the families of breast cancer patients. Therefore, this study aims to explore appropriate measures to improve the resilience level of breast cancer families and help them better cope with the disease.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study protocol is to demonstrate a coping-focused family resilience intervention to increase the level of resilience in the families of breast cancer patients and help them better cope with adversity.MethodsThe trial will recruit 80 breast cancer families and randomly assign them to experimental and control groups in a 1:1 ratio. The control group will receive routine care, and the intervention group will receive a 6-week one-on-one online family resilience intervention based on the control group. Two groups of subjects will be assessed at baseline and at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the intervention. The primary outcome is family resilience, and the secondary outcomes are coping style, social support, family disease burden, and levels of anxiety and depression.Expected resultsWe hypothesized that after the intervention, the intervention group would have significantly higher levels of family resilience than the preintervention and control groups. In the intervention group, other aspects related to family resilience, such as family disease burden and anxiety and depression levels of patients and their families, were significantly alleviated, and disease coping and social support levels were improved accordingly.DiscussionIf the program works, it can help breast cancer families identify family strengths and resources to proactively address challenges so that families can successfully navigate the crisis and patient and family recovery can be facilitated. It can also provide a practical path for clinical workers to help breast cancer families adjust rationally.Clinical Trial RegistrationThis study has been registered in the Chinese Clinical Trials Registry (Registration Number: http://www.chictr.org.cn/ChiCTR2100052108).

NeuroMeasures-Implementation of a Web-Based, Real-Time Quality Metric Tool to Improve Provider Practices in an Epilepsy Clinic.

The retrospective nature of most available epilepsy quality improvement (QI) tools focuses on changing health care provider (HCP) clinical habits and documentation practices rather than a focus on real-time patient interventions. Furthermore, patient-reported outcome data are often not available to determine the efficacy of these tools. Our primary objective was to demonstrate the improvement of HCPs' documentation and review of epilepsy quality measures (EQMs) during the patient visit with the implementation of a novel web application, NeuroMeasures. Our secondary objective was to improve the percentage of point-of-care counseling and interventions based on quality measures during the patient encounter based on the results of the NeuroMeasures tool. Our QI study focused on comparing a preintervention and postintervention cohort of patients with epilepsy (PWE) before the implementation of NeuroMeasures, a web-based application that takes a self-guided patient survey through self-scoring algorithms focused on the American Academy of Neurology (AAN)'s 2017 EQMs. This e-tool then provides the HCP a tool to directly review the EQMs highlighted and perform any necessary counseling or interventions at the point-of-care visit. After intervention, EQMs were gained from the review of the NeuroMeasures HCP quality measures tool and a chart review for physician documentation. Patients with language barriers and severe cognitive disabilities were excluded from the study. The preintervention cohort consisted of 150 unique PWE, and the postintervention cohort included 379 unique adult PWE and 515 total encounters. Overall percentages of review/adherence of EQMs were significantly improved between the preintervention and postintervention group for counseling for women of childbearing potential (91.7%), intractable epilepsy referral to a comprehensive epilepsy center (74%), quality of life assessment (80%), improvement of quality of life measurements (41.7%), and depression and anxiety screening (85.6%), demonstrating a significant increase when compared with the preintervention group (p < 0.00001). A web-based point-of-care EQM application demonstrated significant improvement of the HCP's ability to perform and review EQMs at the point-of-care patient visit. Furthermore, the application was successful in creating opportunities for direct intervention based on the EQMs and chances for better patient education and provider-patient communication. Further considerations would include automated survey requests and expansion into other AAN QMs.

Pressure ulcers in patients with COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome undergoing prone positioning in the intensive care unit: A pre- and post-intervention study.

Prone positioning has been widely used to improve oxygenation and reduce ventilator-induced lung injury in patients with severe COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). One major complication associated with prone positioning is the development of pressure ulcers (PUs). This study aimed to determine the impact of a prevention care bundle on the incidence of PUs in patients with COVID-19 ARDS undergoing prone positioning in the intensive care unit. This was a single-centre pre and post-test intervention study which adheres to the Standards for Reporting Implementation Studies (StaRI) guidelines. The intervention included a care bundle addressing the following: increasing frequency of head turns, use of an open gel head ring, application of prophylactic dressings to bony prominences, use of a pressure redistribution air mattress, education of staff in the early identification of evolving PUs through regular and rigorous skin inspection and engaging in bedside training sessions with nursing and medical staff. The primary outcome of interest was the incidence of PU development. The secondary outcomes of interest were severity of PU development and the anatomical location of the PUs. In the pre-intervention study, 20 patients were included and 80% (n= 16) of these patients developed PUs, comprising 34 ulcers in total. In the post-intervention study, a further 20 patients were included and 60% (n= 12) of these patients developed PUs, comprising 32 ulcers in total. This marks a 25% reduction in the number of patients developing a PU, and a 6% decrease in the total number of PUs observed. Grade II PUs were the most prevalent in both study groups (65%, n= 22; 88%, n= 28, respectively). In the post-intervention study, there was a reduction in the incidence of grade III and deep tissue injuries (pre-intervention 6%, n= 2 grade III, 6% n= 2 deep tissue injuries; post-intervention no grade III ulcers, grade IV ulcers, or deep tissues injuries were recorded). However, there was an increase in the number of unstageable PUs in the post-intervention group with 6% (n= 2) of PUs being classified as unstageable, meanwhile there were no unstageable PUs in the pre-intervention group. This is an important finding to consider as unstageable PUs can indicate deep tissue damage and therefore need to be considered alongside PUs of a more severe grade (grade III, grade IV, and deep tissue injuries). The use of a new evidence-based care bundle for the prevention of PUs in the management of patients in the prone position has the potential to reduce the incidence of PU development. Although improvements were observed following alterations to standard practice, further research is needed to validate these findings. The use of a new, evidence-based care bundle in the management of patients in the prone position has the potential to reduce the incidence of PUs.

A NURSE-DRIVEN, FAMILY-ENGAGED EARLY MOBILITY PROGRAM IN THE CARDIAC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

A NURSE-DRIVEN, FAMILY-ENGAGED EARLY MOBILITY PROGRAM IN THE CARDIAC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

381 Intra-Nasal Fentanyl for Fracture Patients in the Pediatric Emergency Department

381 Intra-Nasal Fentanyl for Fracture Patients in the Pediatric Emergency Department

S284 Family Matters: Impact of a Dot Phrase on Complete Family History Documentation During Initial Colorectal Cancer Screening Visits

Introduction: Obtaining a complete family history (FH) informs gastrointestinal (GI) cancer screening and referrals for genetic testing, but this is inconsistently done during colorectal cancer (CRC) screening visits. Previously, we improved the rate of complete FHs obtained to 28.4% from 5.2% after implementing education and a FH screening form in clinic. In this study, we assessed the impact of sharing a FH dot phrase on the rate of complete FHs obtained and genetics referrals made during outpatient CRC screening visits. Methods: We shared a dot phrase that prompts obtaining a complete FH to our gastroenterology division on February 9, 2022. A complete FH was defined as addressing history of cancer in first- and second-degree relatives, colon polyps in first-degree relatives, and GI disease. We reviewed outpatient GI CRC screening visits from February 10, 2022 to March 9, 2022, and compared them to a one-month period of pre-intervention visits. Patient characteristics, rates of complete FH and genetic referrals were extracted. Patients with prior colonoscopies or indications for diagnostic colonoscopy were excluded. Rates of complete FH and genetic referrals were compared between the pre- and post-intervention groups with unpaired T-tests. Results: A total of 188 patient visits were included; 93 post-intervention and 81 pre-intervention. The pre-and post-intervention groups were overall similar, but there were more white patients in the post-intervention group (Table). Complete FHs were obtained in 46/93 (49.5%) of post-intervention visits compared to 23/81 (28.4%) of visits in the pre-intervention group (p = 0.004). Genetic referrals were placed in 1/93 (1.1%) of post-intervention visits compared to 3/81 (3.7%) of pre-intervention visits (p=0.270). Conclusion: In our study, the rate of complete FHs obtained increased significantly to 49.5% from 28.4% after introduction of a FH dot phrase . The rate of genetic referrals was unchanged, though a larger sample size may be required to detect any potential difference. Given there were more white patients in the post-intervention group, further observation of complete FH rates in patients based on race is warranted. When upper GI problems were addressed along with CRC screening, FHs were often incomplete, suggesting a target for further intervention. Overall, further efforts are warranted to increase the rate of complete FHs obtained during CRC screening visits. Table 1. - Baseline characteristics and statistical analyses Patient Characteristics Whole CohortN=174 Pre-interventionN= 81 Post-interventionN= 93 p value Average age at screening, standard deviation [years] 51 51 50 Gender, n (%) Male 75 (43%) 33 (41%) 42 (45%) 0.1416 Female 99 (57%) 48 (59%) 51 (55%) 0.6672 Race/Ethnicity, n (%) AA 85 (49%) 44 (54%) 41 (44%) 0.6455 Asian 9 (5%) 3 (3.7%) 6 (6.5%) 0.1585* Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 0 (0%) 0 (0.0%) 0 (0%) - Hispanic 12 (6.9%) 5 (6.2%) 7 (7.5%) 0.4122 Other 8 (4.6%) 5 (6.2%) 3 (3.2%) 0.3173* Unknown 11 (6.3%) 7 (8.6%) 4 (4.3%) 0.2005* White 49 (28%) 17 (21%) 32 (34%) 0.0024 Complete family history 69 (40%) 23 (28.4%) 46 (49.5%) 0.004 Genetic referral 3 (1.7%) 3 (3.7%) 1 (1.1%) 0.2695 *High estimated error, category with value less than 5.

The Effect of Educational Interventional Program on the Rate of Development of Ventilator Associated Pneumonia

Background: Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) is one of the frequent infections associated with health care in intensive care units (ICU) prolongs the hospital stay, increases care costs and mortality, and is caused by the migration of oro-pharyngeal microorganisms onto the pulmonary parenchyma. Aim: To determine the effect of educational intervention on the rate of occurrence of ventilator associated pneumonia in patients admitted in Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Place and duration of study: Study was conducted in ICU of Jinnah Hospital, a tertiary care public sector hospital in Lahore, Pakistan for a period of 12 months from August 2019 to July 2020. Study design: Interventional Study. Methods: A total of 270 Patients were enrolled in the study and were divided into two groups, (pre and post educational intervention group). Information about patient's VAP rate, its distribution and patient's length of stay in hospital collected for both groups. Results: Of total 270 enrolled patients, 115(42.6%) were males and 155 (57.4%) were females. The overall rate of VAP was observed 43(15.9%), among them 27(20%) was in pre- interventional group and 16(11.9%) in post interventional group during treatment and stay in ICU. Conclusion: It was concluded that educational intervention played a significant role in controlling the VAP among the patients admitted in the ICU. Keywords: Educational intervention, Nosocomial Infection, Ventilator Associated Pneumonia and Intensive Care Unit

Impact of a Medication Reconciliation Pharmacist Program on Appropriateness of Community-Acquired Pneumonia Treatment Durations at Hospital Discharge.

Antimicrobial stewardship programs have made large efforts to minimize the inappropriate use of antibiotics. Implementation of these programs can be challenging, since many institutions have limited resources. Utilizing resources that already exist may be beneficial, including medication reconciliation pharmacist (MRP) programs. This study aims to evaluate the impact of a MRP program on appropriateness of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) treatment durations at hospital discharge. This study was a retrospective, observational, single-center study comparing the total days of antibiotic therapy for CAP in the preintervention period (9/2020-11/2020) versus the post-intervention period (9/2021-11/2021). Implementation of a new clinical intervention occurred between the 2 periods and included education to MRPs on appropriate CAP treatment durations and on documentation of recommendations. Data was collected utilizing a chart review of the electronic medical record of patients diagnosed with CAP using ICD-10 codes. The primary objective of this study was to compare the total days of antibiotic therapy in the pre-intervention period versus the postintervention period. One-hundred fifty-five patients were included in the primary analysis. When observing total days of antibiotic therapy, there was no change from the pre-intervention period at 8 days compared to the postintervention period (P = .109). When analyzing antibiotic days of therapy at discharge, there was a decrease from 4.55 days in the preintervention period compared to 3.8 days in the post-intervention period (P = .109). The incidence of those with appropriate treatment durations, defined as 5 to 7 days of antibiotic therapy, was higher in the post-intervention period (26.5% in the pre-intervention group vs 37.9% in the post-intervention group, P = .460). There was a non-statistically significant decrease in median days of antimicrobial therapy for CAP at hospital discharge after implementation of a new clinical intervention targeting antibiotic days of therapy. Though median total antibiotic days of therapy were similar between both time periods, patients had an overall increase in incidence of appropriate duration of therapy, defined as 5 to 7 days, after intervention. Further studies are necessary to show how MRPs have a positive impact on improving outpatient antibiotic prescribing at hospital discharge.

EFFECTIVENESS OF AN EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION FOR THE PREVENTION OF PERIPHERAL VENOUS CATHETER COMPLICATIONS

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of an evidence-based practice educational intervention in preventing peripheral venous catheter complications. Method: observational study with educational intervention for nursing professionals of a hospital in Minas Gerais, Brazil, about flushing, push-pause and locking techniques. Convenience sampling: 181 catheters in the pre-intervention group and 157 in the post-intervention group. The incidence of complications was evaluated and compared by the Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. Results: the incidence of complications in the post-intervention group was: 4.5% for obstruction (p=0.000), 10.8% for accidental removal (p=0.265) and 1.9% for phlebitis (p=0.847). The use of the flushing, push-pause and locking techniques resulted in a significant reduction in the incidence of obstruction. Conclusion: the educational intervention enabled updated knowledge and the implementation of flushing, push-pause and locking in nursing practices. The study is a contribution to nursing intervention planning to reduce the occurrence of obstruction.

Reducing intravenous thrombolysis delay in acute ischemic stroke through a quality improvement program in the emergency department

ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a quality improvement program for reducing intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) delay in acute ischemic stroke (AIS).Materials and methodsWe implement a quality improvement program consisting of 10 interventions for reducing IVT delay, including the establishment of an acute stroke team, standardized management of stroke teams, popularization of stroke and its treatment, emergency bypass route (BER), the achievement of computed tomography (CT) priority, no-delay CT interpretation, intravenous thrombolysis on the CT table, payment after treatment, whole recording, and incentive policy. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical time and outcome data of AIS patients treated with IVT in pre-intervention (108 patients) and post-intervention groups (598 patients), and further compared the differences between the non-emergency bypass route (NBER) and BER in the post-intervention group.ResultsThe thrombolysis rate increased from ~29% in the pre-intervention group to 48% in the post-intervention group. Compared with the pre-intervention group, the median of door-to-needle time (DNT) was greatly shortened from 95 to 26 min (P < 0.001), door-to-CT time (DCT) was noticeably decreased from 20 to 18 min (P < 0.001), and onset-to-needle time (OTT) significantly declined from 206 to 133 min (P = 0.001). Under the new mode after the intervention, we further analyzed the IVT delay difference between the NBER (518 patients) and BER groups (80 patients) from the post-intervention group. The median values of DNT (18 vs. 27 min, P < 0.001), DCT (10 vs. 19 min, P < 0.001), and OTT (99 vs. 143 min, P < 0.001) showed significant reductions in the BER group. The quality improvement program under the emergency platform successfully controlled the median of DNT to within 26 min.ConclusionsCollectively, the BER mode is a feasible scheme that greatly decreased DNT in AIS patients, and the secret to success was to accomplish as much as possible before the patient arrives at the emergency room.

A Quality Improvement Effort to Reduce Inpatient Opioid Consumption following Cesarean Delivery.

The amount of opioid prescribed following cesarean delivery (CD) is commonly in excess of patients' needs. An additional concern in a breastfeeding mother is neonatal opioid exposure. A maximum daily dose of 30 mg of oxycodone is recommended in breastfeeding women. Inadequate pain control can inhibit breastfeeding, as well as other negative consequences. We aimed to evaluate the effect of reducing the as-needed opioid ordered following CD on inpatient opioid consumption and analgesia. At our tertiary-care institution, our standard as-needed opioid order was reduced from oxycodone 5 to 10 mg every 4 hours to oxycodone 5 mg every 6 hours, in May 2019. Orders for scheduled acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were unchanged. We compared opioid use and pain scores before (February 2019-April 2019) and after (May 2019-July 2019) the order modification. Our primary outcome was the proportion of patients using >30 mg of oxycodone in the 24 hours prior to hospital discharge. We further assessed 48-hour opioid consumption and patient-reported verbal pain scores. There were 559 patients who met inclusion criteria; 241 preintervention patients and 318 postintervention patients. In the preintervention group, 14.5% (35/241) used >30-mg oxycodone in the 24 hours before discharge, compared with 5.0% (16/318) after the order set change (relative risk [RR] = 0.34, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.19, 0.61; number needed to treat [NNT] = 10.5). There was no change in the proportion of women with one or more pain score >7 (preintervention: 44.4% [107/241], postintervention: 43.1% [137/318], p = 0.756) or >4 and ≤7 (preintervention: 36.9% [89/241], postintervention: 36.9% [125/318], p = 0.567), nor was there a change in mean pain score (mean ± standard deviation [SD]: preintervention = 2.8 ± 1.6 and postintervention = 2.7 ± 1.4, p = 0.464). Reducing the amount of opioid ordered after CD reduced the proportion of post-CD patients exceeding the maximum recommended daily oxycodone dose for breastfeeding women. · Inpatient opioid prescribing influences usage.. · Opioid orders influence consumption.. · Reducing opioids may not increase pain..

Implementation of an Evidence-Based Prenotification Process for Patients With Stroke to Improve Neurological Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Endovascular mechanical thrombectomy can improve clinical outcomes in eligible patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), but its efficacy is time dependent. This quality improvement project aimed to examine whether a revised evidence-based neurological deficit algorithm initiated in the emergency department could reduce door-to-groin puncture time to less than 90 minutes and improve neurological outcomes in AIS patients who received mechanical thrombectomy. METHODS: Retrospective chart reviews occurred between September 2020 and April 2021, which included 25 patients. Clinical and time data were collected from AIS patients who were 18 years and older, presented for care with AIS symptoms, and deemed candidates for thrombectomy for a period of 6 months. A revised neurological deficit algorithm was initiated, and education was presented to appropriate staff. Postintervention chart reviews occurred from August 2021 to January 2022, which included 25 patients. RESULTS: Door-to-groin puncture time did not improve to less than 90 minutes; however, there was a slight improvement in time from 106 minutes in the preintervention to 98 minutes in the postintervention ( P = .534). Although the outcome measures were not clinically significant, there was a statistically significant decrease in response time to acute stroke call down ( P < .01). Door-to-computed tomography also improved, which was 14.42 minutes for the preintervention group and 5.25 minutes for the postintervention group ( P < .001). Finally, the mean National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale on discharge for the preintervention group was 11.92, and that of the postintervention group was 6.05 on discharge ( P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of the revised neurological deficit algorithm did not decrease the door-to-groin puncture time to less than 90 minutes. After implementation of the revised neurologic deficit algorithm, there were single variable improvements in several benchmarks, and this is a starting point for future quality improvement projects.

Mobile for Mothers mHealth Intervention to Augment Maternal Health Awareness and Behavior of Pregnant Women in Tribal Societies: Randomized Quasi-Controlled Study.

BackgroundDespite several initiatives taken by government bodies, disparities in maternal health have been noticeable across India’s socioeconomic gradient due to poor health awareness.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to implement an easy-to-use mobile health (mHealth) app—Mobile for Mothers (MfM)—as a supporting tool to improve (1) maternal health awareness and (2) maternal health–related behavioral changes among tribal and rural communities in India.MethodsPregnant women, aged 18 to 45 years, were selected from two rural villages of Jharkhand, India: (1) the intervention group received government-mandated maternal care through an mHealth app and (2) the control group received the same government-mandated care via traditional means (ie, verbally). A total of 800 accredited social health activists (ASHAs) were involved, of which 400 were allocated to the intervention group. ASHAs used the MfM app to engage with pregnant women during each home visit in the intervention group. The mHealth intervention commenced soon after the baseline survey was completed in February 2014. The end-line data were collected between November 2015 and January 2016. We calculated descriptive statistics related to demographics and the percentage changes for each variable between baseline and end line per group. The baseline preintervention groups were compared to the end-line postintervention groups using Pearson chi-square analyses. Mantel-Haenszel tests for conditional independence were conducted to determine if the pre- to postintervention differences in the intervention group were significantly different from those in the control group.ResultsAwareness regarding the five cleans (5Cs) in the intervention group increased (P<.001) from 143 (baseline) to 555 (end line) out of 740 participants. Awareness about tetanus vaccine injections and the fact that pregnant women should receive two shots of tetanus vaccine in the intervention group significantly increased (P<.001) from 73 out of 740 participants (baseline) to 372 out of 555 participants (end line). In the intervention group, awareness regarding the fact that problems like painful or burning urination and itchy genitals during pregnancy are indicative of a reproductive tract infection increased (P<.001) from 15 (baseline) to 608 (end line) out of 740 participants. Similarly, knowledge about HIV testing increased (P<.001) from 39 (baseline) to 572 (end line) out of 740 participants. We also noted that the number of pregnant women in the intervention group who consumed the prescribed dosage of iron tablets increased (P<.001) from 193 (baseline) out of 288 participants to 612 (end line) out of 663 participants.ConclusionsmHealth interventions can augment awareness of, and persistence in, recommended maternal health behaviors among tribal communities in Jharkhand, India. In addition, mHealth could act as an educational tool to help tribal societies break away from their traditional beliefs about maternal health and take up modern health care recommendations.Trial RegistrationOSF Registries 9U8D5; https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/9U8D5

Impact of a Surgical Wound Infection Prevention Bundle in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery

BackgroundThe aim of this project was to decrease the incidence of surgical wound infection (SWI) to <1.5% in our pediatric cardiothoracic surgery patients using a prevention bundle and quality improvement process. MethodsAn SWI prevention bundle addressing preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative risks was implemented. The primary outcome was SWI based on Society of Thoracic Surgeons criteria (superficial, deep, or mediastinitis). Novel aspects of the bundle included standardization of surgical closure and wound coverage for 14 days with a negative pressure dressing or a silicone dressing. Data were collected from January 2017 to November 2021; bundle intervention began in December 2019. SWIs were tracked using a g-chart. Preintervention and postintervention cohorts were compared by standard descriptive statistics. There were no changes in SWI tracking methods during the study. ResultsDuring the study, 1159 individuals underwent 1768 surgical interventions. Preintervention (n = 931) and postintervention (n = 837) groups were clinically similar, with fewer neonatal surgeries in the postintervention group. SWI decreased in all patients (preintervention period: 1 SWI per 22 surgeries; postintervention period: 1 SWI per 62.6 surgeries) and in neonates (preintervention period: 1 SWI per 12 surgeries; postintervention period: 1 SWI per 26.7 surgeries). Special cause variation was achieved in the entire cohort by March 2021 and in neonates by April 2021. Decreases in SWI occurred in superficial and deep wounds but not in mediastinitis. Annual rate of total SWIs decreased from 2.83% in 2019 to 1.15% in 2021. Intensive care unit and hospital length of stay did not change. ConclusionsWe demonstrated a reduction in SWI rates after implementing an SWI prevention bundle including standardized surgical closure and prolonged wound protection.

An Interprofessional Approach to Mobilizing Patients With COVID-19 Receiving Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

To assess survival outcomes with the intervention of an interprofessional mobilization program for patients with COVID-19 who were receiving venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO). Preintervention and postintervention retrospective cohort study. Survival outcomes of nonmobilized, adult patients (n = 16) with COVID-19 who were receiving VV-ECMO (May 2020 through December 2020) were compared with those of 26 patients who received a mobility care plan (January 2021 through November 2021). In the preintervention group, full sedation and paralysis were used. In the postintervention group, an early mobilization strategy involving interprofessional collaboration was introduced. The postintervention group had improved survival (73.1% vs 43.8%; P < .04); fewer days of receiving paralytics, fentanyl, and midazolam (P < .01 for all); but more days of dexmedetomidine, morphine, and ketamine administration (P < .01 for all). Concomitantly, more patients in the postintervention cohort received oral or transdermal analgesics, oral anxiolytics, and oral antipsychotics (P < .01 for all), and also required more VV-ECMO cannula adjustments (P = .03). Early mobilization of patients with COVID-19 who were receiving VV-ECMO improved survival rates but led to more cannula adjustments.

Use of Scheduled Nonopioid Analgesia to Decrease Inpatient Opioid Consumption After Scheduled Cesarean Birth

ObjectiveTo compare opioid use and pain scores in women who had scheduled cesarean birth before and after implementing a scheduled nonopioid analgesia practice guideline. DesignQuality improvement project with a comparison of pre-/postintervention. Setting/Local ProblemA 170-bed community hospital where the administration of postcesarean pain medications was unstandardized. ParticipantsConvenience sample of 175 individuals who were scheduled for cesarean birth (106 in preintervention group and 69 in postimplementation group). Intervention/MeasurementsAll participants had received a dose of 150 mcg of intrathecal morphine intraoperatively. Care of participants in the postimplementation group included a new practice guideline using preoperative oral acetaminophen 1 g and postoperative intravenous ketorolac 30 mg that transitioned to ibuprofen 600 mg orally every 6 hours until discharge. Acetaminophen 1 g every 6 hours also continued until discharge. For breakthrough pain, oxycodone 5 mg to 10 mg was available. ResultsResults were analyzed using the chi-square and t test. There was a statistical difference in the mean milligram morphine equivalent consumed after scheduled cesarean birth (preintervention = 21.15 vs. postintervention = 3.91, p < .001). Postimplementation, 84.1% of participants did not consume any opioids beyond the intrathecal dose compared to 47.2% of participants preintervention. Mean pain scores decreased from 2.49 to 1.62 (p < .001), and there was an observed decrease of the highest reported pain score from 5.39 to 4.03 (p < .001). ConclusionThe results of this project support the current literature indicating that the administration of a scheduled nonopioid multimodal analgesia regimen to individuals with scheduled cesarean birth is an effective postoperative pain management strategy. This approach to managing surgical birth pain can decrease subjective reports of pain and overall opioid consumption during the hospital stay.

Reducing intraventricular hemorrhage following the implementation of a prevention bundle for neonatal hypothermia.

In very low birth weight (VLBW) infants, hypothermia immediately following birth is common even in countries rich in medical resources. The purpose of this study is to design a standard prevention bundle that decreases the rate of hypothermia among infants after birth and to investigate efficacy of the bundle and short-term outcomes for VLBW infants. This quality improvement project was conducted from February 2017 to July 2018 on all VLBW preterm infants admitted at a single referral level III neonatal intensive care unit. The infants were classified into the pre-intervention (February to September 2017) and post-intervention (October 2017 to July 2018) groups according to the time periods when they were recruited. During the pre-intervention period, we analyzed the primary causes of hypothermia, developed solutions corresponding to each cause, integrated all solutions into a prevention bundle, and applied the bundle during the post-intervention period. Afterwards, the incidence of neonatal hypothermia and short-term outcomes, such as intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), acidosis, and shock requiring inotropic agents, in each group were compared. A total of 95 VLBW infants were enrolled in the study, including 37 pre-intervention, and 58 post-intervention cases. The incidence of hypothermia in preterm infants decreased significantly upon the implementation of our prevention bundle, both in the delivery room (from 45.9% to 8.6%) and on admission (59.5% to 15.5%). In addition, the short-term outcomes of VLBW infants improved significantly, especially with the decreased incidence of IVH (from 21.6% to 5.2%, P = 0.015). Our standardized prevention bundle for preventing hypothermia in VLBW infants is effective and decreased the IVH rate in VLBW infants. We strongly believe that this prevention bundle is a simple, low-cost, replicable, and effective tool that hospitals can adopt to improve VLBW infant outcomes.

Increasing statin prescription rates to prevent cardiovascular disease among high-risk populations: a quality improvement intervention centred on a novel interactive tool

Statins are indicated for primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Our previous study of 1042 consecutive patient encounters at our large urban academic institution found that one...

Improving Care by Decreasing Wait Times: A Military Health System Quality Improvement Project.

Maximizing patient satisfaction is now a significant focus in many outpatient orthopedic clinics as it has been shown to affect many facets of healthcare. With this quality improvement study, we sought to determine the areas of the longest patient wait time during their clinical encounter and evaluate the effect of an identification card system on those times. We hypothesized that utilizing an identification card system would expedite the time patients spend in the clinic and decrease wait times. This quality improvement study was conducted in an orthopedic hand surgery clinic within a military treatment facility. Pre-intervention and intervention data collection consisted of a time sheet that was filled out by surgeons and clinic staff as the patient progressed through their appointment. The intervention consisted of a card system to track the patient throughout their encounter and mark their order in the queue. There were a total of 130 patients in the pre-intervention group and 113 in the intervention group. Compared with the pre-intervention group, the intervention group patients had significantly less time from check-in to being roomed by the clinic staff with a mean of 13 ± 13 vs. 21 ± 19 minutes in the pre-intervention group (P < .001). In the pre-intervention cohort, the average clinic encounter was 66 ± 38 minutes compared to 57 ± 35 minutes in the intervention cohort, which was not statistically significant (P = .112). The time spent with the orthopedic surgeon and occupational therapists increased in the intervention group. We provided a simple way to decrease patient wait times and increase time with the healthcare team, utilizing our existing clinic space. Time with the orthopedic surgeon significantly increased because of our intervention, while the overall clinic time trended down.