Implementation of a hospital-wide multidisciplinary blunt chest injury care bundle (ChIP): Fidelity of delivery evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Ineffective intervention for patients with blunt chest wall injury results in high rates of morbidity and mortality. To address this, a blunt chest injury care bundle protocol (ChIP) was developed, and a multifaceted plan was implemented using the Behaviour Change Wheel. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reach, fidelity, and dose of the ChIP intervention to discern if it was activated and delivered to patients as intended at two regional Australian hospitals. METHODS: This is a pretest and post-test implementation evaluation study. The proportion of ChIP activations and adherence to ChIP components received by eligible patients were compared before and after intervention over a 4-year period. Sample medians were compared using the nonparametric median test, with 95% confidence intervals. Differences in proportions for categorical data were compared using the two-sample z-test. RESULTS/FINDINGS: Over the 19-month postimplementation period, 97.1% (n = 440) of eligible patients received ChIP (reach). The median activation time was 134 min; there was no difference in time to activation between business hours and after-hours; time to activation was not associated with comorbidities and injury severity score. Compared with the preimplementation group, the postimplementation group were more likely to receive evidence-based treatments (dose), including high-flow nasal cannula use (odds ratio [OR] = 6.8 [95% confidence interval {CI} = 4.8-9.6]), incentive spirometry in the emergency department (OR = 7.5, [95% CI = 3.2-17.6]), regular analgesia (OR = 2.4 [95% CI = 1.5-3.8]), regional analgesia (OR = 2.8 [95% CI = 1.5-5.3]), patient-controlled analgesia (OR = 1.8 [95% CI = 1.3-2.4]), and multiple specialist team reviews, e.g., surgical review (OR = 9.9 [95% CI = 6.1-16.1]). CONCLUSIONS: High fidelity of delivery was achieved and sustained over 19 months for implementation of a complex intervention in the acute context through a robust implementation plan based on theoretical frameworks. There were significant and sustained improvements in care practices known to result in better patient outcomes. Findings from this evaluation can inform future implementation programs such as ChIP and other multidisciplinary interventions in an emergency or acute care context.

Hospital readmissions in paediatric trauma patients: A 10-year Australian review.

AIM: Readmission of paediatric trauma patients is associated with increased hospital length of stay, additional operative procedures and significant costs to the health-care system. The rates and causes of readmission of paediatric trauma patients are not well reported outside of the USA or single centres. This nation-wide study is the first in Australia to examine the readmission rates, costs and characteristics of Australian paediatric trauma patients. METHODS: This was a retrospective examination of linked hospitalisation and mortality data for injured children aged 16 or younger from 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2012, readmitted to hospital within 28 days of discharge. Data including injury severity, nature of injury, episodes of care and costs were extracted from hospitalisation data. RESULTS: There were 37 603 injury children aged ≤16 years readmitted to hospital within 28 days during the 10-year period, a readmission rate of 5.5%. The most common principal injury requiring readmission was fracture (52.6%) and burns (19.3%). A total of 66% of all patients had a readmission diagnosis of injury, complication of their initial injury or complication of surgical and medical care; 30% were readmitted for a specific procedure or follow-up care. The total cost of readmissions was AU$108 million. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital readmission rates of paediatric trauma patients in Australia are due to injury or a complication of injury and are associated with significant costs. Early identification of at-risk patients and the prevention of complications are needed to prevent the ongoing burden of readmission.

Implementation evaluation and refinement of an intervention to improve blunt chest injury management-A mixed-methods study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate uptake of a Chest Injury Protocol (ChIP), examine factors influencing its implementation and identify interventions for promoting its use. BACKGROUND: Failure to treat blunt chest injuries in a timely manner with sufficient analgesia, physiotherapy and respiratory support, can lead to complications such as pneumonia and respiratory failure and/or death. DESIGN: This is a mixed-methods implementation evaluation study. METHODS: Two methods were used: (i) identification and review of the characteristics of all patients eligible for the ChIP protocol, and (ii) survey of hospital staff opinions mapped to the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to identify barriers and facilitators to implementation. The characteristics and treatment received between the groups were compared using the chi-square test or Fischer's exact test for proportions, and the Mann-Whitney U-test for continuous data. Quantitative survey data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were coded in NVivo 10 using a coding guide based on the TDF and Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW). Identification of interventions to change target behaviours was sourced from the Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy Version 1 in consultation with stakeholders. RESULTS: Only 68.4% of eligible patients received ChIP. Fifteen facilitators and 10 barriers were identified to influence the implementation of ChIP in the clinical setting. These themes were mapped to 10 of the 14 TDF domains and corresponded with all nine intervention functions in the BCW. Seven of these intervention functions were selected to address the target behaviours and a multi-faceted relaunch of the revised protocol developed. Following re-launch, uptake increased to 91%. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated how the BCW may be used to revise and improve a clinical protocol in the ED context. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Newly implemented clinical protocols should incorporate clinician behaviour change assessment, strategy and interventions. Enhancing the self-efficacy of emergency nurses when performing assessments has the potential to improve patient outcomes and should be included in implementation strategy.

Continuous chest compressions with a simultaneous triggered ventilator in the Munich Emergency Medical Services: a case series.

Background: Mechanical chest compression devices are commonly used providing a constant force and frequency of chest compression during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. However, there are currently no recommendations on ventilation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation with a mechanical chest compression device using continuous mode. An effective method for ventilation in such scenarios might be a triggered oxygen-powered resuscitator. Methods: We report seven cardiopulmonary resuscitation cases from the Munich Emergency Medical Service where mechanical chest compression devices in continuous mode were used with an oxygen-powered resuscitator. In each case, the resuscitator (Oxylator®) was running in automatic mode delivering a breath during the decompression phase of the chest compressions at a frequency of 100 per minute. End-tidal carbon dioxide and pulse oximetry were measured. Additional data was collected from the resuscitation protocol of each patient. Results: End-tidal carbon dioxide was available in all cases while oxygen saturation only in four. Five patients had a return of spontaneous circulation. Based on the end-tidal carbon dioxide values of each of the cases, the resuscitator did not seem to cause hyperventilation and suggests that good-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation was delivered. Conclusions: Continuous chest compressions using a mechanical chest compression device and simultaneous synchronized ventilation using an oxygen-powered resuscitator in an automatic triggering mode might be feasible during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

ChIP: An early activation protocol for isolated blunt chest injury improves outcomes, a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Blunt chest injuries not treated in a timely manner with sufficient analgesia, physiotherapy and respiratory support are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of a blunt chest injury early activation protocol (ChIP) on patient and hospital outcomes. METHODS: In this pre-post cohort study, the outcomes of patients with blunt chest injury who received ChIP were compared against those who did not. Data including injury severity, patient outcomes, hospital treatments and comorbidites were extracted from medical records. The primary outcome was pneumonia. Secondary outcomes evaluated health service delivery. Logistic and multiple regressions were used to adjust for potential confounding variables. RESULTS: 546 patients were included, 273 in the before-ChIP cohort and 273 in the after-ChIP cohort. The incidence of pneumonia following the introduction of ChIP was reduced by 4.8% (95% CI 0.5-9.2, p=0.03). In the after-ChIP cohort, more patients received a pain team review (32% vs. 13%, p<0.001), physiotherapy (93% vs. 86%, p=0.005) and trauma team review (95% vs. 39%, p<0.001). There was no difference in length of stay (p=0.50). CONCLUSIONS: ChIP improved the delivery of healthcare services and reduced the rate of pneumonia among patients with isolated chest trauma.

Treatments for blunt chest trauma and their impact on patient outcomes and health service delivery.

Blunt chest trauma is associated with a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Complications in blunt chest trauma develop secondary to rib fractures as a consequence of pain and inadequate ventilation. This literature review aimed to examine clinical interventions in rib fractures and their impact on patient and hospital outcomes. A systematic search strategy, using a structured clinical question and defined search terms, was performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library. The search was limited to studies of adult humans from 1990-March 2014 and yielded 977 articles, which were screened against inclusion/exclusion criteria. A hand search was then performed of the articles that met the eligibility criteria, 40 articles were included in this review. Each article was assessed using a quantitative critiquing guideline. From these articles, interventions were categorised into four main groups: analgesia, surgical fixation, clinical protocols and other interventions. Surgical fixation was effective in patients with flail chest at improving patient outcomes. Epidural analgesia, compared to both patient controlled analgesia and intravenous narcotics in patients with three or more rib fractures improved both hospital and patient outcomes, including pain relief and pulmonary function. Clinical pathways improve outcomes in patients ≥ 65 with rib fractures. The majority of reviewed papers recommended a multi-disciplinary approach including allied health (chest physiotherapy and nutritionist input), nursing, medical (analgesic review) and surgical intervention (stabilisation of flail chest). However there was a paucity of evidence describing methods to implement and evaluate such multidisciplinary interventions. Isolated interventions can be effective in improving patient and health service outcomes for patients with blunt chest injuries, however the literature recommends implementing strategies such as clinical pathways to improve the care and outcomes of thesetre patients. The implementation of evidence-practice interventions in this area is scarce, and evaluation of interventions scarcer still.