Delivery Room Quality Improvement Project Improved Compliance with Best Practices for a Community NICU

What is the Opinion of the Health Care Personnel Regarding the Use of Different Assistive Tools to Improve the Quality of Neonatal Resuscitation?

OBJECTIVE

 It is important to determine whether the use of different quality improvement tools in neonatal resuscitation is well-received by health care teams and improves coordination and perceived quality of the stabilization of the newborn at birth. This study aimed to explore the satisfaction of personnel involved in resuscitation for infants under 32 weeks of gestational age (<32 wGA) at birth with the use of an assistance toolkit: Random Real-time Safety Audits (RRSA) of neonatal stabilization stations, the use of pre-resuscitation checklists, and the implementation of briefings and debriefings.

STUDY DESIGN

 A quasi-experimental, prospective, multicenter intervention study was conducted in five level III-A neonatal intensive care units in Madrid (Spain). The intervention involved conducting weekly RRSA of neonatal resuscitation stations and the systematic use of checklists, briefings, and debriefings during stabilization at birth for infants <32 wGA. The satisfaction with their use was analyzed through surveys conducted with the personnel responsible for resuscitating these newborns. These surveys were conducted both before and after the intervention phase (each lasting 1 year) and used a Likert scale response model to assess various aspects of the utility of the introduced assistance tools, team coordination, and perceived quality of the resuscitation.

RESULTS

 Comparison of data from 200 preintervention surveys and 155 postintervention surveys revealed statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) between the two phases. The postintervention phase scored higher in all aspects related to the effective utilization of these tools. Improvements were observed in team coordination and the perceived quality of neonatal resuscitation. These improved scores were consistent across personnel roles and years of experience.

CONCLUSION

 Personnel attending to infants <32 wGA in the delivery room are satisfied with the application of RRSA, checklists, briefings, and debriefings in the neonatal resuscitation and perceive a higher level of quality in the stabilization of these newborns following the introduction of these tools.

KEY POINTS

· RRSA, checklists, briefings, and debriefings improve the quality of neonatal resuscitation at birth.. · These tools, when used together, are well-received and enhance perceived resuscitation quality.. · Perception of utility and quality improvement is consistent across roles and experience..

Combined application of various quality assessment tools in neonatal resuscitation

INTRODUCTION

In neonatal resuscitation, it is important to know whether the use of a combination of quality assessment tools has an impact on the preparation of the resuscitation bed and equipment, the correct performance of the procedure and the clinical outcomes of the most vulnerable neonates.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Multicentre, prospective, quasi-experimental interventional study in five level III-A neonatal units. In the pre- and post-intervention phases, both of which lasted 1 year, there were weekly random audits of the stabilization beds in the delivery room to assess their preparation. In the post-intervention phase, checklists, briefings and debriefings were used in the resuscitation of neonates delivered before 32 weeks. We compared the performance of the procedure and early post-resuscitation outcomes in the 2 periods.

RESULTS

Total of 852 audits were carried out in the pre-intervention period and 877 in the post-intervention period. There was a greater percentage of audits that did not identify defects in the second phase (63% vs 81%; P < .001). The first phase included 75 resuscitations and the second 48, out of which all the quality assessment tools had been used in 36 (75%). We did not find any differences in the main clinical variables during stabilization, although we observed a trend towards fewer technical problems during the procedure in the second period.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of random audits, checklists, briefings and debriefings in the resuscitation of newborns delivered before 32 weeks is feasible but has no impact on short-term clinical outcomes or correct performance of the procedure. Audits of neonatal resuscitation beds significantly improved their preparation.

Video recording in the delivery room: current status, implications and implementation

Many factors determine the performance and success of delivery room management of newborn babies. Improving the quality of care in this challenging surrounding has an important impact on patient safety and on perinatal morbidity and mortality. Video recording (VR) offers the advantage to record and store work as done rather than work as recalled. It provides information about adherence to algorithms and guidelines, and technical, cognitive and behavioural skills. VR is feasible for education and training, improves team performance and results of research led to changes of international guidelines. However, studies thus far have not provided data regarding whether delivery room video recording affects long-term team performance or clinical outcomes. Privacy is a concern because data can be stored and individuals can be identified. We describe the current state of clinical practice in high- and low-resource settings, discuss ethical and medical-legal issues and give recommendations for implementation with the aim of improving the quality of care and outcome of vulnerable babies. IMPACT: VR improves performance by health caregivers providing neonatal resuscitation, teaching and research related to delivery room management, both in high as well low resource settings. VR enables information about adherence to guidelines, technical, behavioural and communication skills within the resuscitation team. VR has ethical and medical-legal implications for healthcare, especially recommendations for implementation of VR in routine clinical care in the delivery room. VR will increase the awareness that short- and long-term outcomes of babies depend on the quality of care in the delivery room.

Singapore Neonatal Resuscitation Guidelines 2021

Neonatal resuscitation is a coordinated, team-based series of timed sequential steps that focuses on a transitional physiology to improve perinatal and neonatal outcomes. The practice of neonatal resuscitation has evolved over time and continues to be shaped by emerging evidence as well as key opinions. We present the revised Neonatal Resuscitation Guidelines for Singapore 2021. The recommendations from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation Neonatal Task Force Consensus on Science and Treatment Recommendations (2020) and guidelines from the American Heart Association and European Resuscitation Council were compared with existing guidelines. The recommendations of the Neonatal Subgroup of the Singapore Resuscitation and First Aid Council were derived after the work group discussed and appraised the current available evidence and their applicability to local clinical practice.

Use of briefing and debriefing in neonatal resuscitation, a scoping review

AIM

To review the literature on briefing and debriefing in neonatal resuscitation using International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) methodology to see if a formal systematic review is justified.

METHODS

This scoping review was undertaken by an ILCOR Newborn Life Support scoping review team and guided by the ILCOR methodological framework and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were peer-reviewed, compared briefing/debriefing of healthcare professionals who had completed a neonatal resuscitation or simulated resuscitation and reported outcomes for infants, families or staff. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases were searched.

RESULTS

This review included four studies that reported on three briefing/debriefing interventions: video debriefing, the use of checklists with a briefing/debriefing component and rapid cycle deliberate practice. Video debriefing was associated with improvements in the process of care and adherence to resuscitation guidelines. Use of checklists was associated with improvements in short term clinical outcomes and a reduction in communication problems. Rapid cycle deliberate practice may lead to short but not sustained improvements in algorithm compliance and timely completion of resuscitation steps.

CONCLUSION

This scoping review did not identify sufficient new evidence to justify conducting new systematic reviews or review of current resuscitation guidelines. Improvements in the process of care, short term clinical outcomes and reduction in communication problems were associated with briefing/debriefing supported by video, checklists or rapid, cycle deliberate practice. It highlights knowledge gaps, including the need to consider briefing/debriefing separately from other interventions, the effect of briefing/debriefing on short- and long-term clinical outcomes and the effect of rapid cycle deliberate practice on resuscitation training.

2020 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations

This 2020 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations (CoSTR) for neonatal life support includes evidence from 7 systematic reviews, 3 scoping reviews, and 12 evidence updates. The Neonatal Life Support Task Force generally determined by consensus the type of evidence evaluation to perform; the topics for the evidence updates followed consultation with International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation member resuscitation councils. The 2020 CoSTRs for neonatal life support are published either as new statements or, if appropriate, reiterations of existing statements when the task force found they remained valid.Evidence review topics of particular interest include the use of suction in the presence of both clear and meconium-stained amniotic fluid, sustained inflations for initiation of positive-pressure ventilation, initial oxygen concentrations for initiation of resuscitation in both preterm and term infants, use of epinephrine (adrenaline) when ventilation and compressions fail to stabilize the newborn infant, appropriate routes of drug delivery during resuscitation, and consideration of when it is appropriate to redirect resuscitation efforts after significant efforts have failed.All sections of the Neonatal Resuscitation Algorithm are addressed, from preparation through to postresuscitation care. This document now forms the basis for ongoing evidence evaluation and reevaluation, which will be triggered as further evidence is published.Over 140 million babies are born annually worldwide (https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/births-and-deaths-projected-to-2100). If up to 5% receive positive-pressure ventilation, this evidence evaluation is relevant to more than 7 million newborn infants every year. However, in terms of early care of the newborn infant, some of the topics addressed are relevant to every single baby born.

Neonatal Life Support: 2020 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations

This 2020 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations (CoSTR) for neonatal life support includes evidence from 7 systematic reviews, 3 scoping reviews, and 12 evidence updates. The Neonatal Life Support Task Force generally determined by consensus the type of evidence evaluation to perform; the topics for the evidence updates followed consultation with International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation member resuscitation councils. The 2020 CoSTRs for neonatal life support are published either as new statements or, if appropriate, reiterations of existing statements when the task force found they remained valid. Evidence review topics of particular interest include the use of suction in the presence of both clear and meconium-stained amniotic fluid, sustained inflations for initiation of positive-pressure ventilation, initial oxygen concentrations for initiation of resuscitation in both preterm and term infants, use of epinephrine (adrenaline) when ventilation and compressions fail to stabilize the newborn infant, appropriate routes of drug delivery during resuscitation, and consideration of when it is appropriate to redirect resuscitation efforts after significant efforts have failed. All sections of the Neonatal Resuscitation Algorithm are addressed, from preparation through to postresuscitation care. This document now forms the basis for ongoing evidence evaluation and reevaluation, which will be triggered as further evidence is published. Over 140 million babies are born annually worldwide (https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/births-and-deaths-projected-to-2100). If up to 5% receive positive-pressure ventilation, this evidence evaluation is relevant to more than 7 million newborn infants every year. However, in terms of early care of the newborn infant, some of the topics addressed are relevant to every single baby born.

Preliminary Adaptation, Development, and Testing of a Team Sports Model to Improve Briefing and Debriefing in Neonatal Resuscitation

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Briefing in team sports has been shown to benefit both performance and confidence among team members. The neonatal resuscitation team shares similarities with sports teams, where task performance includes rapid decision-making skills within dynamic situations, alongside unpredictable circumstances.