Fever under 3 months and the full septic screen: Time to think again? A retrospective cohort study at a tertiary‐level paediatric hospital

IntroductionThe purpose of this observational study is to assess the safety and impact of the introduction of a clinical practice guideline (CPG) recommending early discharge of infants with fever without source who are at low risk of serious bacterial infection (SBI). We hypothesise that implementation of this guideline will be associated with a rate of unplanned readmission to hospital (within 7 days of discharge) which is similar (ie, non-inferior) to that observed under previous standard practice.Methods and analysisThis observational study is a prospective pragmatic, multisite safety assessment and impact project. It will evaluate the safety of a CPG which allows febrile infants fulfilling low-risk criteria to be discharged early from hospital if their blood cultures demonstrate no growth at 24 hours (compared with previous minimum 48 hours admission). This guideline has been implemented at two Western Australian metropolitan hospitals. Infants aged <3 months (chronological or corrected for premature birth before 37 weeks gestation) presenting with fever without source will be included. The primary outcome is readmission to hospital due to clinical deterioration/caregiver concern within 7 days of discharge, identified through review of electronic admission details and study-specific caregiver surveys. Secondary outcomes include rates of SBI, hospital lengths of stay compared with previous practice, clinician guideline adherence and caregiver satisfaction with the discharge process. Analysis will be within a sequential Bayesian safety monitoring framework, which incorporates new information and updates the evidence for guideline safety relative to previous practice (historical control) at prespecified interim analyses. Demographic and clinical information will be summarised.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval and waiver of consent for data collection has been granted by the Child and Adolescent Health Service Human Research Ethics Committee (RGS0000001415). Caregivers will have the option to opt out of survey follow-up. Results will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publication.Trial registration numberAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12619001010189).

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FeBRILe3 Project: protocol for a prospective pragmatic, multisite observational study and safety evaluation assessing Fever, Blood cultures and Readiness for discharge in Infants Less than 3 months old

Mace

Martin

Ramsay

et al. 2020

BMJ Open

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Head home: a prospective cohort study of a nurse-led paediatric head injury clinical decision tool at a district general hospital

et al. 2020

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ObjectivesTo assess if a nurse-led application of a paediatric head injury clinical decision tool would be safe compared with current practice.MethodsAll paediatric (<17 years) patients with head injuries presenting to Frimley Park Emergency Department (ED), England from 1 May to 31 October 2018 were prospectively screened by a nurse using a mandated electronic 'Head Injury Discharge At Triage' questionnaire (HIDATq). We determined which patients underwent CT of brain and whether there was a clinically important intracranial injury or re-presentation to the ED. The negative predictive value of the screening tool was assessed. We determined what proportion of patients could have been sent home from triage using this tool.ResultsOf the 1739 patients screened, 61 had CTs performed due to head injury (six abnormal) with a CT rate of 3.5% and 2% re-presentations. Of the entire cohort, 1052 screened negative. 1 CT occurred in this group showing no abnormalities. Of those screened negative, 349 (33%)/1052 had ‘no other injuries’ and 543 (52%)/1052 had ‘abrasions or lacerations’. HIDATq's negative predictive value for CT was 99.9% (95% CI 99.4% to 99.9%) and 100% (95% CI 99.0% to 100%) for intracranial injury. The positive predictive value of the tool was low. Five patients screened negative and re-presented within 72 hours but did not require CT imaging.ConclusionA negative HIDATq appears safe in our ED. Potentially 20% (349/1739) of all patients with head injuries presenting to our department could be discharged by nurses at triage with adequate safety netting advice. This increases to 50% (543/1739), if patients with lacerations or abrasions were given advice and discharged at triage. A large multicentre study is required to validate the tool.

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Fever without a source under 3 months of age: any predictive factors of Serious Bacterial Infection?

Ribeiro,

Queiros,

Ferreira

et al. 2024

Pediatric Oncall

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Fever under 3 months and the full septic screen: Time to think again? A retrospective cohort study at a tertiary‐level paediatric hospital

Abstract: An ad hoc risk-stratified practice already exists at the authors' institution, and application of an RSP did not miss any SBIs. Adoption and implementation of a formal RSP is currently being formulated.

Cited by 3 publications

References 15 publications

FeBRILe3 Project: protocol for a prospective pragmatic, multisite observational study and safety evaluation assessing Fever, Blood cultures and Readiness for discharge in Infants Less than 3 months old

FeBRILe3 Project: protocol for a prospective pragmatic, multisite observational study and safety evaluation assessing Fever, Blood cultures and Readiness for discharge in Infants Less than 3 months old

Head home: a prospective cohort study of a nurse-led paediatric head injury clinical decision tool at a district general hospital

Fever without a source under 3 months of age: any predictive factors of Serious Bacterial Infection?

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