Documentation of contact precautions in an electronic health record

Economic impact of an outbreak of carbapenemase producing-Enterobacteriaceae in a surgical intensive care unit

BACKGROUND

A 15-month outbreak of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) occurred in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) of our institution. We aimed to estimate the financial impact of this outbreak from the perspective of the French public health insurance system.

METHODS

The characteristics of the colonised/infected CPE patients and outbreak management according to French national guidelines were prospectively collected. Loss of productivity was assessed in terms of the reduction in total number of admissions (TNA) and discharges and in ICU length of stay (LoS). The additional financial burden associated with this outbreak was estimated by the accounting department of the hospital, including the impact of the extended LoS and restricted admissions.

RESULTS

Sixteen CPE patients (19 stays) were hospitalised in the SICU (10/2016-01/2018). The median ICU LoS for the CPE cases was 17 [8-36] days versus 6.5 and 6.1 days in 2016 and 2017, respectively, for the whole SICU population. The total number of lost bed days during the outbreak was 452. The TNA dropped dramatically in 2017 (decrease of 20.6%). The estimated costs were 768,386 EUR for bed days lost; 297,176 EUR and 63,675 EUR for the extended LoS for the CPE cases and the patients on contact precautions, respectively; 34,045 EUR for staff reinforcements; 85,764 EUR for bacteriological screening tests; and 42,857 EUR for antimicrobial treatment. The total financial burden of the outbreak was 1,291,903 EUR.

CONCLUSION

Management of a CPE outbreak in the SICU is associated with a huge financial burden for the unit and for the institution.

Unfinished nursing care, missed care, and implicitly rationed care: State of the science review

OBJECTIVES

The purposes of this review of unfinished care were to: (1) compare conceptual definitions and frameworks associated with unfinished care and related synonyms (i.e. missed care, implicitly rationed care; and care left undone); (2) compare and contrast approaches to instrumentation; (3) describe prevalence and patterns; (4) identify antecedents and outcomes; and (5) describe mitigating interventions.

METHODS

A literature search in CINAHL and MEDLINE identified 1828 articles; 54 met inclusion criteria. Search terms included: implicit ration*, miss* care, ration* care, task* undone, and unfinish*care. Analysis was performed in three phases: initial screening and sorting, comprehensive review for data extraction (first author), and confirmatory review to validate groupings, major themes, and interpretations (second author).

RESULTS

Reviewed literature included 42 quantitative reports; 7 qualitative reports; 1 mixed method report; and 4 scientific reviews. With one exception, quantitative studies involved observational cross-sectional survey designs. A total of 22 primary samples were identified; 5 involved systematic sampling. The response rate was >60% in over half of the samples. Unfinished care was measured with 14 self-report instruments. Most nursing personnel (55-98%) reported leaving at least 1 task undone. Estimates increased with survey length, recall period, scope of response referent, and scope of resource scarcity considered. Patterns of unfinished care were consistent with the subordination of teaching and emotional support activities to those related to physiologic needs and organizational audits. Predictors of unfinished care included perceived team interactions, adequacy of resources, safety climate, and nurse staffing. Unfinished care is a predictor of: decreased nurse-reported care quality, decreased patient satisfaction; increased adverse events; increased turnover; decreased job and occupational satisfaction; and increased intent to leave.

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS

Unfinished care is a significant problem in acute care hospitals internationally. Prioritization strategies of nurses leave patients vulnerable to unmet educational, emotional, and psychological needs. Key limitations of the science include the threat of common method/source bias, a lack of transparency regarding the use of combined samples and secondary analysis, inconsistency in the reporting format for unfinished care prevalence, and a paucity of intervention studies.

Impact of intensive infection control team activities on the acquisition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the incidence of Clostridium difficile-associated disease

The transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) is an emerging problem in acute healthcare facilities. To reduce this transmission, we introduced intensive infection control team (ICT) activities and investigated the impact of their introduction. This study was conducted at a single teaching hospital from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2012. During the intervention period, all carbapenem use was monitored by the ICT, and doctors using carbapenems inappropriately were individually instructed. Information related to patients with newly identified MDROs was provided daily to the ICT and instructions on the appropriate infection control measures for MDROs were given immediately with continuous monitoring. The medical records of newly hospitalized patients were reviewed daily to check previous microbiological results and infection control intervention by the ICT was also performed for patients with a previous history of MDROs. Compared with the pre-intervention period, the antimicrobial usage density of carbapenems decreased significantly (28.5 vs. 17.8 defined daily doses/1000 inpatient days; p < 0.001) and the frequency of use of sanitary items, especially the use of aprons, increased significantly (710 vs 1854 pieces/1000 inpatient days; p < 0.001). The number of cases with hospital-acquired MRSA (0.66 vs. 0.29 cases/1000 inpatient days; p < 0.001), hospital-acquired drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (0.23 vs. 0.06 cases/1000 inpatient days; p = 0.006) and nosocomial Clostridium difficile-associated disease (0.47 vs. 0.11 cases/1000 inpatient days; p < 0.001) decreased significantly during the intervention period. Our study showed that proactive and continuous ICT interventions were effective for reduction of MDRO transmission.