Quality of clinical care provided during simulated pediatric cardiac arrest: a simulation-based study

Adverse Safety Events in Emergency Medical Services Care of Children With Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Importance

Survival for children with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains poor despite improvements in adult OHCA survival.

Objective

To characterize the frequency of and factors associated with adverse safety events (ASEs) in pediatric OHCA.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This population-based retrospective cohort study examined patient care reports from 51 emergency medical services (EMS) agencies in California, Georgia, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin for children younger than 18 years with an OHCA in which resuscitation was attempted by EMS personnel between 2013 and 2019. Medical record review was conducted from January 2019 to April 2022 and data analysis from October 2022 to February 2023.

Main Outcomes and Measure

Severe ASEs during the patient encounter (eg, failure to give an indicated medication, 10-fold medication overdose).

Results

A total of 1019 encounters of EMS-treated pediatric OHCA were evaluated; 465 patients (46%) were younger than 12 months. At least 1 severe ASE occurred in 610 patients (60%), and 310 patients (30%) had 2 or more. Neonates had the highest frequency of ASEs. The most common severe ASEs involved epinephrine administration (332 [30%]), vascular access (212 [19%]), and ventilation (160 [14%]). In multivariable logistic regression, the only factor associated with severe ASEs was young age. Neonates with birth-related and non-birth-related OHCA had greater odds of a severe ASE compared with adolescents (birth-related: odds ratio [OR], 7.0; 95% CI, 3.1-16.1; non-birth-related: OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.2-9.6).

Conclusions and Relevance

In this large geographically diverse cohort of children with EMS-treated OHCA, 60% of all patients experienced at least 1 severe ASE. The odds of a severe ASE were higher for neonates than adolescents and even higher when the cardiac arrest was birth related. Given the national increase in out-of-hospital births and ongoing poor outcomes of OHCA in young children, these findings represent an urgent call to action to improve care delivery and training for this population.

Video Review of Simulated Pediatric Cardiac Arrest to Identify Errors/Latent Safety Threats: A Mixed Methods Study

INTRODUCTION

Outcomes from pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest depend on the treatment provided as well as resuscitation team performance. Our study aimed to identify errors occurring in this clinical context and develop an analytical framework to classify them. This analytical framework provided a better understanding of team performance, leading to improved patient outcomes.

METHODS

We analyzed 25 video recordings of pediatric cardiac arrest simulations from the pediatric intensive care unit at the Alberta Children's Hospital. We conducted a qualitative-dominant crossover mixed method analysis to produce a broad understanding of the etiology of errors. Using qualitative framework analysis, we identified and qualitatively described errors and transformed the data coded into quantitative data to determine the frequency of errors.

RESULTS

We identified 546 errors/error-related actions and behaviors and 25 near misses. The errors were coded into 21 codes that were organized into 5 main themes. Clinical task-related errors accounted for most errors (41.9%), followed by planning, and executing task-related errors (22.3%), distraction-related errors (18.7%), communication-related errors (10.1%), and knowledge/training-related errors (7%).

CONCLUSIONS

This novel analytical framework can robustly identify, classify, and describe the root causes of errors within this complex clinical context. Future validation of this classification of errors and error-related actions and behaviors on larger samples of resuscitations from various contexts will allow for a better understanding of how errors can be mitigated to improve patient outcomes.

A randomized crossover comparison of the bébé VieScope and direct laryngoscope for pediatric airway management by nurses in medical simulation settings

BACKGROUND

Airway management in life-threatening emergencies is essential for children, and endotracheal intubation is the gold standard. It protects against regurgitation and enables mechanical ventilation. New types of airway management equipment are being developed and implemented to meet the needs of medical personnel.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This prospective, randomized, cross-over simulation trial evaluated the success of endotracheal intubation in three scenarios: normal airway (scenario-A), tongue edema (scenario-B), and continuous chest compression (scenario-C), using the bébé Vie Scope™ laryngoscope (VieScope) and the Macintosh blade laryngoscope (MAC) as a comparative tool performed by nurses with limited tracheal intubation experience.

RESULTS

The results of the study showed that in scenario-A, there were no significant differences in the first attempt success rate or endotracheal intubation time between VieScope and MAC. However, VieScope was associated with better visualization of the glottis. In scenarios B and C, VieScope was significantly more effective than MAC in terms of first-pass success rate, time to intubate, Cormack-Lehane grade, POGO score, and ease of endotracheal intubation.

CONCLUSIONS

Bébé VieScope may be useful for endotracheal intubation in pediatric patients, particularly in cases of tongue edema and ongoing chest compression, providing a higher first-pass success rate than conventional laryngoscopes.

Evaluating pediatric advanced life support in emergency medical services with a performance and safety scoring tool

INTRODUCTION

Pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (P-OHCA) are infrequent, have low survival rates, and often have poor neurologic outcomes. Recent evidence indicates that high-performance emergency medical service (EMS) care can improve outcomes.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) guideline performance in the out of hospital setting and introduce an easy-to-use tool that scores guideline compliance and patient safety.

METHODS

We observed EMS teams responding to standardized pediatric resuscitation simulations. Teams were dispatched to a mock assisted living home for a choking 6-year-old with a complex medical history. The child manikin was presented as unconscious and apneic, with bradycardic pulse. Teams were expected to monitor vitals; initiate airway management and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); and establish vascular access and administer epinephrine based on PALS guidelines. We developed a tool to score the quality of care for critical tasks and had a clinical expert evaluate technical performance using blinded video review.

RESULTS

We observed 34 EMS teams providing care in P-OHCA simulations. Teams were proficient at assessing vitals, using correct-sized equipment, intubation, and confirmation of tube placement. Teams were delayed in initiating positive pressure ventilation (PPV) and chest compressions. Many teams (53%) deviated from guidelines in chest compressions with 17 (50%) performing continuous compressions before establishing an advanced airway and one (3%) not performing compressions. Similarly, 20 (59%) teams deviated from medication guidelines with 12 (35%) failing to administer epinephrine, six (18%) underdosing, and two (6%) overdosing by more than 20%.

CONCLUSION

EMS teams were successful in selecting the appropriate equipment but delayed initiating ventilations in a child with severe bradycardia. We also noted frequent use of continuous chest CC rather than the AHA recommended 15:2 ratio. We developed a scoring tool with time-based criteria that can be used to assess guideline compliance, individual performance, and/or educational effectiveness.