Contribution of proactive management of healthcare risks to the reduction of adverse events in a maternity hospital.

BACKGROUND: The risks of the childbirth assistance process are still very high, both for mothers and babies. According to the WHO, birth-related asphyxia accounts for 23% of all 3.3 million annual neonatal deaths and an even larger number of survivors with disabilities. On the other hand, maternal mortality is still a global challenge, affecting 17 mothers per 100 000 births in the USA. This is associated with the use of outdated technologies and a lack of well-defined processes in monitoring labour and early recognition of maternal clinical deterioration. METHOD: This study used Lean methodology to map the care flow for pregnant women in a Brazilian maternity hospital (Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein) in order to identify the risks within this process and a set of actions to minimise them. The work team consisted of 29 individuals, including local medical and nursing leaders, as well as healthcare professionals. The What-if tool was used to categorise the levels of risks, and the proportion of severe and catastrophic adverse events was evaluated before and after the implementation of changes. RESULTS: After the implementation of the actions, 100% of the extreme risks (28 risks) and 8% of the high risks (4 risks) were eliminated. This led to a reduction in the interval between severe/catastrophic events from 126 to 284 days, even with an increase in the average monthly number of visits from 367 to 449. Consequently, the weighted value of events decreased from 7.91 to 3.29 per 1000 patients treated, resulting in an annual cost savings of R$693 646.80 (US$139 000.00). DISCUSSION: The construction of a process based on Lean methodology was essential for mapping the involved risks and implementing a set of actions to minimise them. The participation of the healthcare team and leadership seemed to be important in choosing the measures to be adopted and their applicability. The results found can be attributed to both the established changes and the safety culture brought about by this constructive process.

ROX index as a predictor of failure of high-flow nasal cannula in infants with bronchiolitis.

High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is a relatively recent therapy that has been used to treat respiratory failure. Until now, the criterion for failure requiring escalation to other forms of ventilatory support has remained unclear. This study evaluated how the ROX index predicts the success or failure of HFNC in infants with bronchiolitis. A prospective, observational, multicenter study was conducted in 2 pediatric ICUs. The data were collected at 7 moments. Patients were categorized into failure and success groups according to HFNC. A total of 102 infants were included, 18(17.6%) of whom failed HFNC therapy. For the ROX index, significant differences were observed between the failure 5.8(95%CI 4.7-7.1) and success 7.7(95%CI 7.2-8.2) groups (p = 0.005) at the 12 h evaluation. According to the analysis of the performance of the ROX index, the AUC at 12 h was 0.716(95%CI 0.591-0.842; p = 0.016). The best cutoff range for the ROX index at 12 h was 6.50-7.18, with a sensitivity of 42% and a specificity of 66% at the cutoff of 6.50, and a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 54% at the cutoff of 7.18. We concluded that the ROX index could be effective at predicting the failure of HFNC therapy in infants with bronchiolitis beginning at 12 h after installation.

Impact of social isolation due to COVID-19 on the seasonality of pediatric respiratory diseases.

INTRODUCTION: Respiratory tract diseases are the major cause of morbidity and mortality in children under the age of 5 years, constituting the highest rate of hospitalization in this age group. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of hospitalizations for respiratory diseases in childhood in the last 5 years and to assess the impact of social isolation due to COVID-19 on the seasonal behavior of these diseases. METHODS: A cross-sectional clinical study was carried out, with a survey of all patients aged 0 to 17 years who were admitted with a diagnosis of respiratory diseases between January 2015 and July 2020. The database was delivered to the researchers anonymized. The variables used for analysis were date of admission, date of discharge, length of stay, age, sex and diagnosis. In order to make the analysis possible, the diagnoses were grouped into upper respiratory infection (URI), asthma / bronchitis, bronchiolitis and pneumonia. RESULTS: 2236 admissions were included in the study. Children under 5 years old account for 81% of hospitalizations for respiratory disease in our population. In the adjusted model, an average reduction of 38 hospitalizations was observed in the period of social isolation (coefficient: -37.66; 95% CI (- 68.17; -7.15); p = 0.016). CONCLUSION: The social isolation measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically interfered with the seasonality of childhood respiratory diseases. This was reflected in the unexpected reduction in the number of hospitalizations in the pediatric population during this period.

Adult respiratory distress syndrome in newborns: 5 cases

Aiming to set out the occurrence of the Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) in the neonatal period, and according to recent descriptions in literature, we prospectively analyzed 5 cases. The criterion adopted to characterize ARDS was the expanded defintion of the syndrome suggested by Murray & Matthay, (10), conjointly with non-invasive cardiac monitoring, to exclude pulmonary edema resulting from myocardial dysfunction. For each case, evolution was briefly described, as well as the predisposing conditions associated to the clinical score punctuation for diagnosis, stressing the importance of adequate identification and fastest possible mangement of such source of systemic effects. Upon admission at the intensive care unit (Ped. ICU), the five cases were either related to sepsis or to the syndrome of multiple organ failure, or to both syndromes were essentially triggered by severe anoxia neonatorum, respiratory distress of the newborn and/or previous hospitalization with hypoxemia and use of a higher inspired fraction of oxygen. The primary causes of death were related to uncontrolled infection or shock, and not directly related to pulmonary failure

Sinéquia intra-uterina: análise de 28 casos / Intrauterine adhesion: analysis of 28 cases

Säo estudados 28 casos de sinéquias intra-uterinas. Após sucinta revisäo da literatura, säo tecidos comentários referentes à incidência, localizaçäo, fisiopatologia, quadro clínico, diagnóstico, diagnóstico diferencial e terapêutica. Em 6 tabelas säo analisados os antecedentes menstruais, a etiologia, o quadro clínico, diagnóstico, os aspectos da histerossalpingografia, o achado histopatológico e os resultados. Säo referidos bons resultados no que concerne à normalizaçäo dos ciclos menstruais, registrado em 60,8% dos casos, porém, em relaçäo à gestaçäo, apenas três engravidaram, duas abortaram e em uma a gestaçäo evoluiu a termo