An Automated Inpatient Split-dose Bowel Preparation System Improves Colonoscopy Quality and Reduces Repeat Procedures.

BACKGROUND/GOALS: Inpatient colonoscopy preparations are often inadequate, compromising patient safety and procedure quality, while resulting in greater hospital costs. The aims of this study were to: (1) design and implement an electronic inpatient split-dose bowel preparation order set; (2) assess the intervention's impact upon preparation adequacy, repeated colonoscopies, hospital days, and costs. STUDY: We conducted a single center prospective pragmatic quasiexperimental study of hospitalized adults undergoing colonoscopy. The experimental intervention was designed using DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) methodology. Prospective data collected over 12 months were compared with data from a historical preintervention cohort. The primary outcome was bowel preparation quality and secondary outcomes included number of repeated procedures, hospital days, and costs. RESULTS: On the basis of a Delphi method and DMAIC process, we created an electronic inpatient bowel preparation order set inclusive of a split-dose bowel preparation algorithm, automated orders for rescue medications, and nursing bowel preparation checks. The analysis data set included 969 patients, 445 (46%) in the postintervention group. The adequacy of bowel preparation significantly increased following intervention (86% vs. 43%; P<0.01) and proportion of repeated procedures decreased (2.0% vs. 4.6%; P=0.03). Mean hospital days from bowel preparation initiation to discharge decreased from 8.0 to 6.9 days (P=0.02). The intervention resulted in an estimated 1-year cost-savings of $46,076 based on a reduction in excess hospital days associated with repeated and delayed procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Our interdisciplinary initiative targeting inpatient colonoscopy preparations significantly improved quality and reduced repeat procedures, and hospital days. Other institutions should consider utilizing this framework to improve inpatient colonoscopy value.

A System to Assess the Competency for Interpretation of Esophageal Manometry Identifies Variation in Learning Curves.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Quality esophageal high-resolution manometry (HRM) studies require competent interpretation of data. However, there is little understanding of learning curves, training requirements, or measures of competency for HRM. We aimed to develop and use a competency assessment system to examine learning curves for interpretation of HRM data. METHODS: We conducted a prospective multicenter study of 20 gastroenterology trainees with no experience in HRM, from 8 centers, over an 8-month period (May through December 2015). We designed a web-based HRM training and competency assessment system. After reviewing the training module, participants interpreted 50 HRM studies and received answer keys at the fifth and then at every second interpretation. A cumulative sum procedure produced individual learning curves with preset acceptable failure rates of 10%; we classified competency status as competency not achieved, competency achieved, or competency likely achieved. RESULTS: Five (25%) participants achieved competence, 4 (20%) likely achieved competence, and 11 (55%) failed to achieve competence. A minimum case volume to achieve competency was not identified. There was no significant agreement between diagnostic accuracy and accuracy for individual HRM skills. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a competency assessment system for HRM interpretation; using this system, we found significant variation in learning curves for HRM diagnosis and individual skills. Our system effectively distinguished trainee competency levels for HRM interpretation and contrary to current recommendations, found that competency for HRM is not case-volume specific.

Evaluation of the 2015 AGA guidelines on pancreatic cystic neoplasms in a large surgically confirmed multicenter cohort.

Background and study aims The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) recently published guidelines for the management of asymptomatic pancreatic cystic neoplasms (PCNs). We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic characteristics of the AGA guidelines in appropriately recommending surgery for malignant PCNs. Patients and methods A retrospective multicenter study was performed of patients who underwent endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) for evaluation of PCNs who ultimately underwent surgical resection from 2004 - 2014. Demographics, EUS characteristics, fine-needle aspiration (FNA) results, type of resection, and final pathologic diagnosis were recorded. Patients were categorized into 2 groups (surgery or surveillance) based on what the AGA guidelines would have recommended. Performance characteristics for the diagnosis of cancer or high-grade dysplasia (HGD) on surgical pathology were calculated. Results Three hundred patients underwent surgical resection for PCNs, of whom the AGA guidelines would have recommended surgery in 121 (40.3 %) and surveillance in 179 (59.7 %) patients. Among patients recommended for surgery, 45 (37.2 %) had cancer, whereas 76 (62.8 %) had no cancer/HGD. Among patients recommended for surveillance, 170 (95.0 %) had no cancer/HGD; however, 9 (5.0 %) patients had cancer that would have been missed. For the finding of cancer/HGD on surgical pathology, the AGA guidelines had 83.3 % sensitivity (95 % CI 70.7 - 92.1), 69.1 % specificity (95 % CI 62.9 - 74.8), 37.2 % positive predictive value (95 % CI 28.6 - 46.4), 95.0 % negative predictive value (95 % CI 90.7 - 97.7), and 71.7 % accuracy (95 % CI 67.4 - 74.6). Conclusions The 2015 AGA guidelines would have resulted in 60 % fewer patients being referred for surgical resection, and accurately recommended surveillance in 95 % of patients with asymptomatic PCNs. Future prospective studies are required to validate these guidelines. Meeting presentations: Presented in part at Digestive Diseases Week 2016.