A Multimodal Intervention to Reduce C. difficile Infections and Stool Testing.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The introduction of multiplex gastrointestinal panels at our institution resulted in increased Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) detection and stool test utilization. We aimed to reduce hospital-onset C. difficile infections (HO-CDIs), C. difficile detection, and overall stool testing by 20% within 1 year. METHODS: We conducted a quality improvement project from 2018 to 2020 at a large children's hospital. Interventions included development of a C. difficile testing and treatment clinical care pathway, new options for gastrointestinal panel testing with or without C. difficile (results were suppressed if not ordered), clinical decision support tool to restrict testing, and targeted prevention efforts. Outcomes included the rate of HO-CDI (primary), C. difficile detection, and overall stool testing. All measures were evaluated monthly among hospitalized children per 10 000 patient-days (PDs) using statistical process-control charts. For balancing measures, we tracked suppressed C. difficile results that were released during real-time monitoring because of concern for true infection and C. difficile-related adverse events. RESULTS: HO-CDI decreased by 55%, from 11 to 5 per 10 000 PDs. C. difficile detection decreased by 44%, from 18 to 10 per 10 000 PDs, and overall test utilization decreased by 29%, from 99 to 70 per 10 000 PDs. The decrease in stool tests resulted in annual savings of $55 649. Only 2.3% of initially suppressed positive C. difficile results were released, and no patients had adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Diagnostic stewardship strategies, coupled with an evidence-based clinical care pathway, can be used to decrease C. difficile and improve overall test utilization.

Use of Perirectal Hyaluronic Acid Spacer Prior to Radiotherapy in a Pediatric Patient With Bladder Rhabdomyosarcoma: A Case Report.

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) treatment involves surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. A radioprotective space between the bladder/prostate and rectum reduces postradiation complications, as reported in adult patients. Describe pediatric preradiotherapy perirectal hyaluronic acid (HA) spacer injection for bladder/prostate RMS. We present a case of a 17-month-old male with bladder/prostate RMS. Before radiotherapy, an HA spacer was injected peri-rectally. Under general anesthesia, a transrectal ultrasound was positioned and 1mL of HA spacer was injected into the perirectal space. No complications were reported at 6-month follow-up. This is the first report of pre-radiation therapy spacer injection for pediatric bladder/prostate RMS.

The Effect of Implementation of Guideline Order Bundles Into a General Admission Order Set on Clinical Practice Guideline Adoption: Quasi-Experimental Study.

BACKGROUND: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) and associated order sets can help standardize patient care and lead to higher-value patient care. However, difficult access and poor usability of these order sets can result in lower use rates and reduce the CPGs' impact on clinical outcomes. At our institution, we identified multiple CPGs for general pediatrics admissions where the appropriate order set was used in <50% of eligible encounters, leading to decreased adoption of CPG recommendations. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine how integrating disease-specific order groups into a common general admission order set influences adoption of CPG-specific order bundles for patients meeting CPG inclusion criteria admitted to the general pediatrics service. METHODS: We integrated order bundles for asthma, heavy menstrual bleeding, musculoskeletal infection, migraine, and pneumonia into a common general pediatrics order set. We compared pre- and postimplementation order bundle use rates for eligible encounters at both an intervention and nonintervention site for integrated CPGs. We also assessed order bundle adoption for nonintegrated CPGs, including bronchiolitis, acute gastroenteritis, and croup. In a post hoc analysis of encounters without order bundle use, we compared the pre- and postintervention frequency of diagnostic uncertainty at the time of admission. RESULTS: CPG order bundle use rates for incorporated CPGs increased by +9.8% (from 629/856, 73.5% to 405/486, 83.3%) at the intervention site and by +5.1% (896/1351, 66.3% to 509/713, 71.4%) at the nonintervention site. Order bundle adoption for nonintegrated CPGs decreased from 84% (536/638) to 68.5% (148/216), driven primarily by decreases in bronchiolitis order bundle adoption in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic. Diagnostic uncertainty was more common in admissions without CPG order bundle use after implementation (28/227, 12.3% vs 19/81, 23.4%). CONCLUSIONS: The integration of CPG-specific order bundles into a general admission order set improved overall CPG adoption. However, integrating only some CPGs may reduce adoption of order bundles for excluded CPGs. Diagnostic uncertainty at the time of admission is likely an underrecognized barrier to guideline adherence that is not addressed by an integrated admission order set.

Quality improvement knowledge in pediatric hematology/oncology physicians: A need for improved education.

Pediatric hematology/oncology fellows face unique quality improvement challenges given the danger of chemotherapy and caring for immunocompromised patients. Curricula to teach pediatric hematology/oncology fellows about quality improvement are lacking. We conducted a needs assessment of pediatric hematology/oncology physicians as a first step for creating a quality improvement curriculum for pediatric hematology/oncology fellows. Curricular topics were identified: root cause analysis, run charts, process mapping, chemotherapy/medication safety, implementation/adherence to guidelines. Identified barriers to curriculum implementation included a possible lack of quality improvement expertise, lack of awareness of quality improvement resources, and limited time.

The influence of integrating clinical practice guideline order bundles into a general admission order set on guideline adoption.

Objectives of this study were to (1) describe barriers to using clinical practice guideline (CPG) admission order sets in a pediatric hospital and (2) determine if integrating CPG order bundles into a general admission order set increases adoption of CPG-recommended orders compared to standalone CPG order sets. We identified CPG-eligible encounters and surveyed admitting physicians to understand reasons for not using the associated CPG order set. We then integrated CPG order bundles into a general admission order set and evaluated effectiveness through summative usability testing in a simulated environment. The most common reasons for the nonuse of CPG order sets were lack of awareness or forgetting about the CPG order set. In usability testing, CPG order bundle use increased from 27.8% to 66.6% while antibiotic ordering errors decreased from 62.9% to 18.5% with the new design. Integrating CPG-related order bundles into a general admission order set improves CPG order set use in simulation by addressing the most common barriers to CPG adoption.

Clinicians' and public acceptability of universal risk-of-death screening for older people in routine clinical practice in Australia: cross-sectional surveys.

BACKGROUND: Clinicians' delays to identify risk of death and communicate it to patients nearing the end of life contribute to health-related harm in health services worldwide. This study sought to ascertain doctors, nurses and senior members of the public's perceptions of the routine use of a screening tool to predict risk of death for older people. METHODS: Cross-sectional online, face-to-face and postal survey of 360 clinicians and 497 members of the public. RESULTS: Most (65.9%) of the members of the public welcomed (and 12.3% were indifferent to) the use of a screening tool as a decision guide to minimise overtreatment and errors from clinician assumptions. Supporters of the use of a prognostic tool were likely to be males with high social capital, chronically ill and who did not have an advance health directive. The majority of clinicians (75.6%) reported they were likely or very likely to use the tool, or might consider using it if convinced of its accuracy. A minority (13.3%) stated they preferred to rely on their clinical judgement and would be unlikely to use it. Differentials in support for tools by seniority were observed, with more support expressed by nurses, interns and registrars than medical specialists (χ2 = 12.95, p = 0.044) and by younger (< 40 years) clinicians (81.2% vs. 71.2%, p = 0.0058). DISCUSSION: The concept of integrating prognostication of death in routine practice was not resisted by either target group. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that screening for risk of death is seen as potentially useful and suggests the readiness for a culture change. Future research on implementation strategies could be a step in the right direction.

Timing of Radiation Therapy in Pediatric Wilms Tumor: A Report From the National Cancer Database.

PURPOSE: To determine, using the National Cancer Database (NCDB), the impact of the surgery to radiation therapy interval (SRI) on survival in contemporary patients with Wilms tumor (WT). METHODS AND MATERIALS: The NCDB was queried for patients aged ≤25 years diagnosed from 2004 to 2013 with unilateral WT who underwent definitive surgery and radiation therapy. The SRI was calculated for each patient. A stratified analysis was performed based on presence of metastasis using logistic regression to calculate risk factors for prolonged SRI, with a focus on the recommended SRI according to recent Children's Oncology Group trials (by day 14) and National Wilms Tumor Study-5 (by day 9). Cox regression was performed to assess the association of SRI with overall survival. RESULTS: A total of 1488 patients were included; 32.1% had metastasis at diagnosis. Among both metastatic and nonmetastatic groups, older patients were more likely to have prolonged SRI. For those without metastasis, SRI > 14 days was associated with increased risk of mortality (hazard ratio 2.13, P = .013). Analyzing SRI as a continuous variable also demonstrated an increased risk of death with longer SRI (hazard ratio 1.04 per day, P = .006) in this group. In contrast, among patients with metastasis, no significant association between SRI and mortality was found. CONCLUSION: Early initiation of radiation therapy remains a critical component of multimodal treatment for patients with nonmetastatic WT. For nonmetastatic patients, SRI ≤ 14 days correlates with improved overall survival. However, no such association was noted for patients with metastases. These results may inform the development of future WT trials.

Patterns of care and survival outcomes for adolescent and young adult patients with testicular seminoma in the United States: A National Cancer Database analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Testicular germ cell tumors (GCTs) are the most common solid tumor among adolescent and young adult (AYA) males. AYA patients with GCTs most typically have non-seminoma compared with seminoma, and accordingly there are fewer data reported on the AYA experience with testicular seminoma. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate national trends in postoperative treatment and overall survival (OS) outcomes in testicular seminoma by age group, specifically comparing AYAs with older adults. STUDY DESIGN: The National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) was queried for patients with testicular seminoma diagnosed between 2004 and 2012, who underwent orchiectomy followed by observation or adjuvant therapy (chemotherapy, radiation (RT), or both). Patients were grouped by age: AYA (15-39 years), adults between 40 and 55 years, and adults >55 years. Overall survival (OS) was presented using Kaplan-Meier curves and groups compared via a log-rank test. Univariate (UVA) and multivariate (MVA) analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Binary multiple logistic regression identified differences in variables by age category. RESULTS: Of the total 22,361 patients the majority were AYAs (12,880, 57.6%), followed by adults 40-55 years (8,022, 35.9%), and >55 years (1,459, 6.5%). Unadjusted 5-year OS was significantly better for AYAs versus adults 40-55 years and >55 years (98.0%, 96.4%, 87.7%; p < 0.001), as was 10-year OS (96.1%, 91.8%, 71.3% respectively; p < 0.001). The Table shows that on a MVA, OS was significantly better for AYAs versus adults 40-55 years and adults >55 years. AYA patients were also more commonly treated at centers with greater clinical volume. Additionally, AYA patients were less likely to present with metastatic disease. Accordingly, AYA patients were less likely to undergo retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (OR 0.81; p = 0.001) and were less often managed with adjuvant therapy including chemotherapy (OR 0.91; p = 0.027), RT (OR 0.93; p = 0.025), or both (OR 0.68; p = 0.020). DISCUSSION: AYA patients with testicular seminoma present with earlier stage disease and in the clinical Stage I setting are more often are managed with active surveillance following orchiectomy when compared with older adults in this population-based analysis. Among AYA patients, OS was modestly better when compared with adults 40-55 years and significantly better when compared with adults >55 years. CONCLUSION: Our objective to describe the patterns of care and survival outcomes for AYA patients with testicular seminoma in the USA was met by reviewing this large national dataset. These results may inform future guidelines for management of AYA seminoma.

A cross-sectional study of medical students' knowledge of patient safety and quality improvement.

BACKGROUND: The Association of American Medical Colleges and the World Health Organization have endorsed formal patient safety and quality improvement (QI) education for medical students. We surveyed medical students to assess their current level of patient safety and QI knowledge and to identify factors associated with increased knowledge. METHODS: A literature review, focus groups with medical students, and local expert interviews were used to develop an electronic survey, which was distributed to all medical students at a single medical school in the spring of 2012. RESULTS: Fifty-seven percent of the medical school student body (N = 790) participated in the survey. A greater proportion of students reported previous exposure to patient safety education than to QI education (79% vs 47%). Students scored an average of 56% and 58% on the patient safety and QI knowledge tests, respectively. Having or pursuing an advanced degree (P = .02) and previous exposure to patient safety education (P = .02) were associated with higher knowledge scores. After adjusting for confounding variables, only previous exposure to QI education (P = .02) was associated with higher QI knowledge scores. LIMITATIONS: There is a risk of measurement bias due to the use of an unvalidated instrument. Students who have greater knowledge of patient safety or QI might recall exposure at a greater frequency, inflating the association between exposure and knowledge. Also, this is a cross-sectional study, so we cannot draw conclusions about causality. CONCLUSION: Medical students' knowledge of patient safety and QI is low. Previous formal or informal education about these topics is associated with increased knowledge.