Frequency and Characterization of Tracheal Intubation Adverse Events in Pediatric Sepsis.

OBJECTIVES: Intubation in critically ill pediatric patients is associated with approximately 20% rate of adverse events, but rates in the high-risk condition of sepsis are unknown. Our objectives were to describe the frequency and characteristics of tracheal intubation adverse events in pediatric sepsis. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of a sepsis registry. SETTING: Two tertiary care academic emergency departments and four affiliated urgent cares within a single children's hospital health system. PATIENTS: Children 60 days and older to 18 years and younger who required nonelective intubation within 24 hours of emergency department arrival. Exclusion criteria included elective intubation, intubation prior to emergency department arrival, presence of tracheostomy, or missing intubation chart data. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The outcome was tracheal intubation adverse event as defined by the National Emergency Airway Registry Tool 4 KIDS. During the study period, 118 of 2,395 registry patients met inclusion criteria; 100% of intubations were successful. First attempt success rate was 57% (95% CI, 48-65%); 59% were intubated in the emergency department, and 28% were intubated in the PICU. First attempts were by a resident (30%), a fellow (42%), attending (6%), and anesthesiologist (13%). Tracheal intubation adverse events were reported in 61 (43%; 95% 43-61%) intubations with severe tracheal intubation adverse events in 22 (17%; 95 CI, 13-27%) intubations. Hypotension was the most common severe event (n = 20 [17%]) with 14 novel occurrences during intubation. Mainstem bronchial intubation was the most common nonsevere event (n = 28 [24%]). Residents, advanced practice providers, and general pediatricians in urgent care settings had the lowest rates of first-pass success. CONCLUSIONS: The rates of tracheal intubation adverse events in this study are higher than in nonelective pediatric intubations in all conditions and highlight the high-risk nature of intubations in pediatric sepsis. Further research is needed to identify optimal practices for intubation in pediatric sepsis.

Evaluation of an Antimicrobial Stewardship Decision Support for Pediatric Infections.

OBJECTIVES: Clinical decision support (CDS) has promise for the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) in the emergency department (ED). We sought to assess the usability of a newly developed automated CDS to improve guideline-adherent antibiotic prescribing for pediatric community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and urinary tract infection (UTI). METHODS: We conducted comparative usability testing between an automated, prototype CDS-enhanced discharge order set and standard order set, for pediatric CAP and UTI antibiotic prescribing. After an extensive user-centered design process, the prototype CDS was integrated into the electronic health record, used passive activation, and embedded locally adapted prescribing guidelines. Participants were randomized to interact with three simulated ED scenarios of children with CAP or UTI, across both systems. Measures included task completion, decision-making and usability errors, clinical actions (order set use and correct antibiotic selection), as well as objective measures of system usability, utility, and workload using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX). The prototype CDS was iteratively refined to optimize usability and workflow. RESULTS: Usability testing in 21 ED clinical providers demonstrated that, compared to the standard order sets, providers preferred the prototype CDS, with improvements in domains such as explanations of suggested antibiotic choices (p < 0.001) and provision of additional resources on antibiotic prescription (p < 0.001). Simulated use of the CDS also led to overall improved guideline-adherent prescribing, with a 31% improvement for CAP. A trend was present toward absolute workload reduction. Using the NASA-TLX, workload scores for the current system were median 26, interquartile ranges (IQR): 11 to 41 versus median 25, and IQR: 10.5 to 39.5 for the CDS system (p = 0.117). CONCLUSION: Our CDS-enhanced discharge order set for ED antibiotic prescribing was strongly preferred by users, improved the accuracy of antibiotic prescribing, and trended toward reduced provider workload. The CDS was optimized for impact on guideline-adherent antibiotic prescribing from the ED and end-user acceptability to support future evaluative trials of ED ASPs.

Confidence-weighted Testing as an Impactful Education Intervention within a Pediatric Sepsis Quality Improvement Initiative.

INTRODUCTION: Confidence-weighted testing assesses learners' beliefs about their knowledge and skills. As part of a hospital-wide quality improvement initiative to enhance care for pediatric patients with suspected sepsis, we developed a novel intervention using confidence-weighted testing to identify institutional areas of misinformation and knowledge gaps while also providing real-time feedback to individual learners. METHODS: We developed pediatric sepsis eLearning modules incorporating confidence-weighted testing. We distributed them to nurses, advanced practitioners, and physicians in emergency departments and acute care/non-intensive care unit inpatient settings in our hospital system. We analyzed completion and response data over 2 years following module distribution. Our outcomes included completion, confidently held misinformation (CHM; when a learner answers a question confidently but incorrectly), struggle (when a learner repeatedly answers a question incorrectly or with low confidence), and mastery (when a learner initially answers a question correctly and confidently). RESULTS: Eighty-three percent of assigned learners completed the modules (1,463/1,754). Although nurses had significantly more misinformation and struggled more than physicians and advanced practitioners, learners of all roles achieved 100% mastery as part of module completion. The greatest CHM and struggle were found in serum lactate interpretation's nuances and the hemodynamic shock states commonly seen in sepsis. CONCLUSIONS: Our novel application of confidence-weighted testing enhanced learning by correcting learners' misinformation. It also identified systems issues and institutional knowledge gaps as targets for future improvement.

Seventy-two-hour Return Initiative: Improving Emergency Department Discharge to Decrease Returns.

Unscheduled return visits within 72 hours of discharge account for 4% of pediatric emergency department (ED) visits each year and are a quality indicator of ED care. This project aimed to reduce the unexpected 72-hour return visit rate for a network of ED and urgent cares (UC) by improving discharge processes. METHODS: A multidisciplinary team conducted a quality improvement initiative in the EDs/UCs of a tertiary children's hospital network. The team developed discharge interventions through successive Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles. They included standardization of the electronic health record discharge workflow and implementation of "mini-after care instructions" and teach-back education. The team used a statistical process control chart to follow the 72-hour return rate, and a chi-square test to compare the pre- and post-intervention 72-hour return rate. RESULTS: The ED/UC network discharged 219,196 patients during the study, 12/2014-4/2016. The baseline 72-hour return rate was 3.5% before interventions. The team implemented discharge interventions from 12/14 to 9/15. After the implementation of mini-after care instructions (4/15), 8 consecutive points fell below the mean on the statistical process control chart, and there was an 8.2% reduction in the 72-hour return rate (P < 0.01). Admission rates of 72-hour return patients remained stable throughout the study (27% pre-intervention and 28% post-intervention). Improvements to the ED/UC discharge process resulted in the estimated prevention of 600 ED/UC visits annually throughout the network. CONCLUSIONS: Quality improvement methodology and multidisciplinary enhancement of discharge processes significantly decreased 72-hour return rates across a network of pediatric EDs and UCs.

Breathing Easier: Decreasing Tracheal Intubation-associated Adverse Events in the Pediatric ED and Urgent Care.

Tracheal intubation is a high-risk procedure in the pediatric emergency department (PED) and pediatric urgent care (PUC) settings. We aimed to develop an airway safety intervention to decrease severe tracheal intubation-associated adverse events (TIAEs) by decreasing process variation. METHODS: After gathering baseline data on TIAE, an interdisciplinary team underwent a mini-Delphi process to identify key drivers for decreasing severe TIAE rates. We launched a 4-part airway safety bundle that included: (1) color-coded weight-based equipment chart, (2) visual schematic of airway equipment, (3) recommended medication dosing, and (4) safety checklist across a single, tertiary PED and 5 satellite community PUCs/PEDs. Multiple plan-do-study-act cycles were undertaken, and results were monitored using statistical process control charts. Charts were restaged when special cause variation was achieved. This study aimed to decrease the severe TIAE rate from a baseline of 23% in the tertiary site and 25% in the community sites to <15% within 12 months and to sustain these outcomes for 6 months. RESULTS: During the study period, we noted decreased rates of severe TIAE in both the PED and PUC setting during the intervention period, and we have sustained this improvement for more than 6 months in all sites with no associated change in balancing measures. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of an airway safety bundle over a wide geographic area and among personnel with variable levels of training is possible and has the potential to decrease severe TIAE across multiple clinical settings.

The Caregiver Perspective on Unscheduled 72-Hour Return Visits to Pediatric Acute Care Sites: A Focus on Discharge Processes.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize pediatric caregivers' reasons for 72-hour emergency department (ED) and urgent care (UC) returns. METHODS: A sample of caregivers returning within 72 hours of initial visit to a pediatric ED or affiliated UC site was surveyed from November 2014 to June 2015; patients evaluated at outside ED/UC, scheduled for return, or non-English/Spanish speaking were excluded. Caregiver surveys underwent item generation, validation, and pilot testing. Survey items included caregiver reasons for unscheduled returns, with a specific assessment of delivery of key components of discharge instructions (diagnosis, duration of illness, home care, return precautions). Complete delivery of instructions was defined by caregiver reported receipt of instructions on all 4 components. RESULTS: Of the 500 caregiver surveys analyzed 495 children received a 72-hour return ED/UC visit. Mean age of caregivers was 33 years, 62% completed college. Children were 2 years of age or younger (47%), male (52%), Caucasian (55%), and publicly insured (64%). Reported reasons for ED/UC return included belief that their child's illness had not resolved (51%) or worsened (41%). Many caregivers (41%) were not instructed on all key components of discharge. Almost half of caregivers (47%) were not educated on anticipated duration of illness. Complete delivery of discharge instructions was associated with ED/UC satisfaction (odds ratio, 5.7; 95% confidence interval, 3.8-8.5). CONCLUSIONS: Among caregivers of children returning for an unscheduled ED/UC visit, most do not receive complete discharge instructions at initial visit. Improving delivery of key components of discharge instructions has the potential to increase ED/UC satisfaction and reduce unscheduled 72-hour returns.