Incidencia de la encefalopatía hipóxico-isquémica e implementación de la hipotermia terapéutica por regiones en España / Incidence of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy and use of therapeutic hypothermia in Spain

INTRODUCCIÓN: La incidencia de la encefalopatía hipóxico-isquémica perinatal (EHI) y la implementación de la hipotermia terapéutica (HT) es desconocida en España. MÉTODO: Estudio transversal nacional en recién nacidos vivos (RNV) ≥ 35 semanas de gestación mediante cuestionario on-line en las 90 unidades neonatales de nivel III. Se solicitaron datos de los RNV con EHI moderada-grave en los años 2012 y 2013, y de la implementación de la HT en junio del 2015. RESULTADOS: Se recibieron datos de los 90 hospitales. La incidencia de EHI moderada-grave fue 0,77/1.000 RNV (IC del 95%, 0,72; 0,83). El 86% de los RNV con EHI recibieron HT (activa o pasiva), aumentando los que recibieron HT activa del 78% en 2012 al 85% en 2013 (p = 0,01). El 14% no recibió HT principalmente por retraso en el diagnóstico o en el traslado, o por no indicarse el tratamiento. El 57% de los RN nació en hospitales sin HT, siendo el traslado en hipotermia pasiva; en el 39% por equipos sin formación adecuada. En junio del 2015, 57/90 centros realizaban HT: 54 HT corporal total activa (todos con dispositivos servocontrolados). Existió heterogeneidad en la distribución por comunidades autónomas (CC. AA.) de centros con HT activa y en el número de RN que recibieron HT. CONCLUSIONES: La incidencia de EHI moderada-grave es homogénea entre CC. AA. Aunque se constata un importante progreso en la implementación de la HT, es preciso mejorar la disponibilidad de HT activa entre CC. AA., así como el diagnóstico precoz y el traslado con garantías desde los centros emisores

INTRODUCTION: There are no data on the incidence of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) and the implementation of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) in Spain. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional, national study, performed using an on-line questionnaire targeting level III neonatal care units in Spain. Participants were requested to provide data of all newborns ≥ 35 weeks of gestational age diagnosed with moderate-severe HIE over a two year-period (2012-2013), and of the implementation of TH up to June 2015. RESULTS: All (90) contacted hospitals participated. HIE incidence rate was 0.77/1000 live newborns (95% CI 0.72 - 0.83). During 2012-2013, 86% of the newborns diagnosed with moderate-severe HIE received TH (active or passive). Active TH was increasingly used, from 78% in 2012 to 85% in 2013 (P=.01). Of the 14% that did not receive TH, it was mainly due to a delay in the diagnosis or inter-hospital transfer, and to the fact that the treatment was not offered. More than half (57%) were born in hospitals where TH was not provided, and passive hypothermia was used for inter-hospital patient transfer, and in 39% of the cases by inappropriately trained personnel. By June 2015, 57 out of 90 centres had implemented TH, of which 54 performed whole-body TH (using servo-controlled devices). The geographical distribution of centres with active TH, and the number of newborn that received TH, was heterogeneous. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of moderate-severe HIE is homogeneous across Spanish territory. Significant progress is being made in the implementation of TH, however it is necessary to increase the availability of active TH between Autonomous Communities, to improve early diagnosis, and to guarantee high quality patient transfer to referral centres

[Incidence of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy and use of therapeutic hypothermia in Spain]. / Incidencia de la encefalopatía hipóxico-isquémica e implementación de la hipotermia terapéutica por regiones en España.

INTRODUCTION: There are no data on the incidence of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) and the implementation of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) in Spain. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional, national study, performed using an on-line questionnaire targeting level III neonatal care units in Spain. Participants were requested to provide data of all newborns ≥ 35 weeks of gestational age diagnosed with moderate-severe HIE over a two year-period (2012-2013), and of the implementation of TH up to June 2015. RESULTS: All (90) contacted hospitals participated. HIE incidence rate was 0.77/1000 live newborns (95% CI 0.72 - 0.83). During 2012-2013, 86% of the newborns diagnosed with moderate-severe HIE received TH (active or passive). Active TH was increasingly used, from 78% in 2012 to 85% in 2013 (P=.01). Of the 14% that did not receive TH, it was mainly due to a delay in the diagnosis or inter-hospital transfer, and to the fact that the treatment was not offered. More than half (57%) were born in hospitals where TH was not provided, and passive hypothermia was used for inter-hospital patient transfer, and in 39% of the cases by inappropriately trained personnel. By June 2015, 57 out of 90 centres had implemented TH, of which 54 performed whole-body TH (using servo-controlled devices). The geographical distribution of centres with active TH, and the number of newborn that received TH, was heterogeneous. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of moderate-severe HIE is homogeneous across Spanish territory. Significant progress is being made in the implementation of TH, however it is necessary to increase the availability of active TH between Autonomous Communities, to improve early diagnosis, and to guarantee high quality patient transfer to referral centres.

Population-Based Study of the National Implementation of Therapeutic Hypothermia in Infants with Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy.

Data on the incidence of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in the first 6 hours of life together with the implementation of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) are relevant to delineate actions to achieve the lowest rates of neonatal mortality, morbidity, and long-term impact on health associated with HIE. This is population-based national survey study, including newborns ≥35 weeks of gestation with moderate-to-severe HIE from all level III neonatal care units, to provide the incidence of HIE for the period 2012-2013, and the implementation of TH up to June 2015 in Spain. Incidence rate was 0.77 per 1000 live births (95% confidence interval 0.72-0.83). By June 2015, 63% (57/90) of the units had implemented TH; 95% of them performed servo-controlled whole-body TH. For the 2-year period, 86% of the newborns diagnosed with moderate-to-severe HIE received TH. Active TH increased in use from 78% in 2012 to 85% in 2013 (p = 0.01). The main reasons for not cooling were a delay in the diagnosis (31/682) and the fact that the treatment was not offered (20/682). Interhospital patient transfer was performed using passive hypothermia, by appropriately trained personnel in 61% of centers. Eighteen percent of newborns with moderate or severe HIE died, without significant differences between the 2 years. Up-to-date knowledge of the national coverage of neonatal care of infants with HIE in developed countries is a prerequisite to reducing the load of HIE in this area and to facilitating coordinated, eliminate investigation.

Improving the quality of medical prescriptions in neonatal units.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric units, especially neonatal units, are highly vulnerable to error generally and to medication error in particular. Potential failures are distributed across the entire medication process, occurring mostly at the time of medication prescription and during preparation for drug administration. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of violations of good prescribing practice before and after the implementation of several measures aimed at improving the quality of the medical prescription. METHODS: Before and after evaluation study with prospective data collection in a third level neonatal unit. 6,320 handwritten medical prescriptions for neonates admitted in the first study period and 1,435 in the second period were analyzed. Training on good prescribing practice and the implementation of a pocket PC-based automatic dosage calculation system were the interventions. The main outcome measure was the proportion of prescriptions with violations of good prescribing practice: incorrect dose, units, dose interval, route of administration or legibility. RESULTS: Incorrect prescriptions decreased from 39.5% before the intervention to 11.9% after, with an adjusted prevalence ratio of 0.29 (0.25-0.34). The number of wrongly specified items on a single prescription decreased from 11.1% of the prescriptions with two or more wrongly specified items in the first period to 1.3% in the second period, with a prevalence ratio of 0.09 (0.05-0.14). CONCLUSIONS: Violations of good prescribing practice are common in neonatal units. A simple intervention should improve the quality of handwritten medical prescriptions for newborns admitted to intensive care settings.