Background: Sepsis is deadly when not recognized and treated in a timely manner and leads to 270,000 deaths each year in America. Mortality increases eight percent for each hour treatment is delayed. Sepsis-related admission is the most expensive condition in the United States with a median cost per patient of $32,421. Local problem: Baseline data for patients with sepsis revealed that only 30% were recognized in triage, only 20% received correct amounts of fluids, and only 45% received antibiotics within one hour. The aim of this project was to improve timely sepsis care to 75% for patients in a rural emergency department within 90 days. Methods: A rapid cycle quality improvement project was completed, consisting of four plan-do-study-act cycles over 90 days. Each cycle included tests of change related to team and patient engagement, screening, and the use of timely sepsis orders. Data were collected three times weekly and analyzed using run charts. Interventions: Interventions included screening in triage with positively screened patients receiving participatory education, team handoff communication, a sepsis checklist for nurse-driven orders, and Power Hour for timely care. Results: Team communication improved to 83%. Patient education exceeded goal, with 100% of patients taking an active role in care. Sepsis screening improved to 100%. The recommended One-Hour Bundle for timely sepsis treatment improved to 83%. Conclusion: The project was successful in improving patient and team engagement, screening, and sepsis care within 1 hour for emergency department patients.
Objective Porcine-derived xenograft biological dressings (PXBDs) are occasionally used to prepare chronic wound beds for definitive closure before split-thickness skin grafts (STSGs). We sought to determine whether PXBD influences rate of STSG take in lower-extremity wounds. Methods Lower-extremity wounds treated with STSGs were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were included in one of two groups: wound bed preparation with PXBD before STSG or no preparation. Patients were excluded if they received wound bed preparation via another method. Patient demographics, comorbidities, wound history, wound bed preparation, and 30- and 60-day outcomes were collected. Results There was no difference in healing outcomes between the PXBD (n = 27) and no preparation (n = 39) groups. At 30- and 60-day follow-up, percentage of STSG take was not significantly different between groups (77.9% versus 79.0%, P30 = .818; 82.2% versus 80.9%, P60 = .422). Mean wound sizes at these follow-up periods were not different (4.4 cm2 versus 5.1 cm2, P30 = .902; 1.2 cm2 versus 1.1 cm2, P60 = .689). The PXBD group had a higher mean ± SD hemoglobin A1c level (8.3 ± 3.5 versus 6.9 ± 1.6; P = .074) and age (64.9 ± 12.8 years versus 56.3 ± 11.9 years; P = .007) versus the no preparation group. Conclusions Application of PXBDs for wound bed preparation had no effect on wound healing compared with no wound bed preparation. The two groups varied only by mean age and hemoglobin A1c level. The PXBD may be beneficial, but these results call for randomized controlled trials to determine the true impact of PXBDs on wound healing. In addition, PXBDs may have utility outside of clinically oriented outcomes, and future work should address patient-reported outcomes and pain scores with this adjunct.
Background: A recent assessment of the national annual burden of the cost of asthma among school-aged children was nearly $6 million. In a Midwestern county, the incidence of childhood asthma was 15.8%, which was above both state and national levels. Local problem: Effective asthma care was not being provided at a rural, pediatric patient-centered medical home due to a lack of standardization. This quality improvement (QI) initiative aimed to increase the mean effective asthma care score to 78% for patients with asthma over the course of 90 days. Methods: This right care initiative was implemented using a rapid-cycle Plan-Do-Study-Act methodology. Tests of change in the areas of team engagement, patient engagement, and two process measures were analyzed through chart audits and run charts over four cycles. Likert scale surveys were used to analyze qualitative data. Interventions: Interventions included developing the Asthma Patient Identification Tool, implementing an asthma education protocol with teach-back, creating standardized smart phrases for effective documentation, and initiating asthma care huddles. Results: The delivery of effective asthma care increased to 84%. The number of patients receiving the asthma education protocol increased to 65%, with 80% of the patients participating in effective teach-back sessions. The mean effective documentation score increased to 92%. Conclusions: A standardized approach to asthma care grounded in evidence-based guidelines positively affected the delivery of care. Nurse practitioners are effective team leaders for clinical QI initiatives.
Background: Approximately 40% of postpartum patients do not return for comprehensive postpartum visits. Up to 20% of postpartum patients suffer from depression or anxiety. One-third of deaths related to pregnancy occur between 7 days to 1-year postpartum. Only 27% of new moms returned for comprehensive postpartum or check-in visits during the first 3 weeks postpartum. The providers did not perform depression screening for these postpartum outpatients. This quality initiative aimed to provide effective care by increasing postpartum follow-up to 80% in 90 days. Method:The core interventions in this project included schedule logs, telehealth check-in visits within 1-3 weeks postpartum, screening with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and a team engagement plan.Results: Sixty-eight percent (68.8%) of patients attended check-in visits, and staff screened 90.9% of patients with the EPDS. Patients who checked-in benefited from visits, making patients more than four times more likely to attend comprehensive visits. Overall attendance for the comprehensive visit increased from 27% to 57% (p < .001).Discussion: This initiative increased attendance at postpartum visits at a statistically significant rate. Implementing a schedule log, postpartum check-in visits, and depression screening increased effective care and attendance at comprehensive postpartum visits.
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