A Quality Improvement Initiative to Improve the Administration of Systemic Corticosteroids in the Pediatric Emergency Department

Reducing Time from Pediatric Emergency Department Arrival to Dexamethasone Administration in Wheezing Patients

Introduction

Asthma exacerbations are common presentations to pediatric emergency departments. Standard treatment for moderate-to-severe exacerbations includes administration of oral corticosteroids concurrently with bronchodilators. Early administration of corticosteroids has been shown to decrease emergency department length of stay (LOS) and hospitalizations. Our SMART aim was to reduce the time from arrival to oral corticosteroids (dexamethasone) administration in pediatric patients ≥2 years of age with an initial Pediatric Asthma Severity Score >6 from 60 to 30 minutes within 6 months.

Methods

We used the model for improvement with collaboration between ED physicians, nursing, pharmacy, and respiratory therapists. Interventions included nursing education, dosage rounding in the electronic medical record, supplying triage with 1-mg tablets and a pill crusher, updates to an asthma nursing order set and pertinent chief complaints triggering nurses to document a Pediatric Asthma Severity Score in the electronic medical record and use the order set. Our primary outcome measure was the time from arrival to dexamethasone administration. Secondary outcome measures included ED LOS for discharged patients and admission rate. We used statistical process control to analyze changes in measures over time.

Results

From October 2021 to March 2022, the average time for dexamethasone administration decreased from 59 to 38 minutes. ED LOS for discharged asthma exacerbation patients rose with overall ED LOS for all patients during the study period. There was no change in the admission rate.

Conclusions

Using quality improvement methodology, we successfully decreased the time from ED arrival to administration of dexamethasone in asthma exacerbation patients from 59 to 38 minutes over 10 months.

Nurse-Initiated Protocol to Improve Timely Antibiotic Administration in Pediatric Open Fractures

BACKGROUND

Early administration of antibiotics in the presence of open fractures is critical in reducing infections and later complications. Current guidelines recommend administering antibiotics within 60 min of patient arrival to the emergency department, yet trauma centers often struggle to meet this metric.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to evaluate the impact of a nurse-initiated evidence-based treatment protocol on the timeliness of antibiotic administration in pediatric patients with open fractures.

METHODS

A retrospective pre-post study of patients who met the National Trauma Data Standard registry inclusion criteria for open fractures of long bones, amputations, or lawn mower injuries was performed at a Midwestern United States Level II pediatric trauma center. The time of patient arrival and time of antibiotic administration from preimplementation (2015-2020) to postimplementation (2021-2022) of the protocol were compared. Patients transferred in who received antibiotics at an outside facility were excluded.

RESULTS

A total of N = 73 participants met the study inclusion criteria, of which n = 41 were in the preimplementation group and n = 32 were in the postimplementation group. Patients receiving antibiotics within 60 min of arrival increased from n = 24/41 (58.5%) preimplementation to n = 26/32 (84.4%) postimplementation (p< .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrates that initiating evidence-based treatment orders from triage helped decrease the time from arrival to time of antibiotic administration in patients with open fractures. We sustained improvement for 24 months after the implementation of our intervention.

Breathing across ages: a systematic review on challenges and components of transitional care for young people with asthma

Introduction

Asthma is a chronic condition that affects millions of adolescents and young adults (AYA) worldwide. The transition from pediatric to adult care presents unique challenges for this population, affecting their self-management, quality of life and overall health outcomes. This systematic review aims to consolidate the available evidence on challenges encountered by AYA with asthma during the transition period from child to AYA and on the key elements of transitional care for AYAs with asthma including the outcomes achieved, ultimately enhancing outcomes.

Methodology

A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science from their inception to October 2, 2023, to provide an overview of currently available literature. Primary quantitative and qualitative studies, published in peer-reviewed journals that focused on AYA with a confirmed diagnosis of asthma were considered if they focused on challenges encountered by AYA with asthma during the transition process and/or components of transitional care and their outcomes assessed.

Results

A total of 855 studies were initially identified and 6 articles were included in this systematic literature review. Several challenges experienced by AYA with asthma were identified including maintaining medication adherence, the need to take responsibility and being involved, understanding their condition and its severity, feeling left out of the care system, and experiencing a lack of engagement. The identified transitional care components included a standardized form for medical data transmission, a joint consultation and to offer several longer consultations.

Conclusion

Several international guidelines for asthma care recommend implementing transition programs in the care for AYA with asthma. Such transition programs should include a comprehensive and individualized approach addressing several challenges faced, to ensure optimal outcomes post-transition. However, to date, data on effective components of transitional care facilitating good outcomes were found to be limited. This systematic review underscores the need for larger studies evaluating the effect of the components of transition programs.

Managing Pediatric Asthma Exacerbations: The Role of Timely Systemic Corticosteroid Administration in Emergency Care Settings-A Multicentric Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND

Asthma is the most prevalent chronic respiratory condition in children. An asthma exacerbation (AE) is a frequent reason for emergency department (ED) visits. An important step in the management of a moderate to severe AE is the administration of systemic corticosteroids (SCS) within 1 h after ED presentation. This study aimed to determine the timing of SCS administration and correlate this with the length of stay and oxygen therapy duration and to explore factors predicting timely administration.

METHODS

This study used a retrospective multicenter observational design based on electronic medical records review. Children aged < 18 years, presenting to the ED with a moderate to severe AE were included.

RESULTS

205 patients were included. Only 28 patients received SCS within 60 min after ED arrival. The median time to SCS administration was 169 min (Q1 92-Q3 380). A correlation was found between timing and oxygen treatment duration (r = 0.363, p < 0.001) and length of stay (r = 0.368, p < 0.001). No patient characteristics predicted timely SCS administration.

CONCLUSIONS

Three in four children who presented with a moderate to severe AE at the ED did not receive SCS within the first hour. A prolonged timing of SCS administration correlated with a prolonged length of stay and extended need for oxygen support.

Quality improvement for paediatric asthma care in acute settings

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This is a summative review of recent trends and novel programming integrated into various clinical settings (i.e. emergency departments, urgent care centres and paediatric clinics) to enhance the quality of care received by paediatric asthma patients Asthma is the most common chronic disease in paediatric patients and despite recognized national management guidelines, implementation and aftercare, especially in the emergency room, remain challenging.

RECENT FINDINGS

Outcome-based systematic quality improvement initiatives are described as well as evidence-based recommendations to enhance the education of providers, patients and caregivers.

SUMMARY

Many of the care initiatives described in the literature have been integrated into the emergency room. The authors feel some of these process improvements, such as pathway-based care, reducing time to delivery of medications, and personalized asthma education, may also be applicable and add value to clinical practice in additional community-based acute care settings such as urgent care centers and paediatric clinics.

Evaluating the Clinical Impact of a Novel Pediatric Emergency Medicine Curriculum on Asthma Outcomes in Belize

BACKGROUND

Respiratory-related complaints prompt most pediatric visits to Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Authority's (KHMHA) Emergency Department (ED) in Belize. We developed and taught a novel pediatric respiratory emergencies module for generalist practitioners there. We assessed the curriculum's clinical impact on pediatric asthma emergency management.

OBJECTIVE

This study assesses the clinical impact of a pediatric emergency medicine curriculum on management of pediatric asthma emergencies at KHMHA in Belize City, Belize.

METHODS

We conducted a randomized chart review of pediatric (aged 2-16 y) visits for asthma-related diagnosis at the KHMHA ED between 2015 and 2018 to assess the training module's clinical impact. Primary outcomes included time to albuterol and steroids. Secondary outcomes included clinical scoring tool (Pediatric Respiratory Assessment Measure [PRAM]) usage, ED length of stay, usage of chest radiography, return visit within 7 days, and hospital admission rates. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard regression were used.

RESULTS

Two hundred eighty-three pediatric asthma-related diagnoses met our inclusion criteria. The patients treated by trained and untrained physician groups were demographically and clinically similar. The time to albuterol was significantly faster in the trained (intervention) group compared with the untrained (control) physician group when evaluating baseline of the group posttraining (P < 0.05). However, the time to steroids did not reach statistical significance posttraining (P = 0.93). The PRAM score utilization significantly increased among both control group and intervention group. The untrained physician group was more likely to use chest radiography or admit patients. The trained physician group had higher return visit rates within 7 days and shorter ED length of stay, but this did not reach statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS

The curriculum positively impacted clinical outcomes leading to earlier albuterol administration, increased PRAM score use, obtaining less chest radiographs, and decreased admission rates. The timeliness of systemic steroid administration was unaffected.

Evaluating the transitions in care for children presenting with acute asthma to emergency departments: a retrospective cohort study

Background

Acute asthma is a common presentation to emergency departments (EDs) worldwide and, due to overcrowding, delays in treatment often occur. This study deconstructs the total ED length of stay into stages and estimates covariate effects on transition times for children presenting with asthma.

Methods

We extracted ED presentations in 2019 made by children in Alberta, Canada for acute asthma. We used multivariable Cox regressions in a multistate model to model transition times among the stages of start, physician initial assessment (PIA), disposition decision, and ED departure.

Results

Data from 6598 patients on 8270 ED presentations were extracted. The individual PIA time was longer (i.e., HR < 1) when time to the crowding metric (hourly PIA) was above 1 h (HR = 0.32; 95% CI:0.30,0.34), for tertiary (HR = 0.65; 95% CI:0.61,0.70) and urban EDs (HR = 0.77; 95% CI:0.70,0.84), for younger patients (HR = 0.99 per year; 95% CI:0.99,1.00), and for patients triaged less urgent/non-urgent (HR = 0.89; 95% CI:0.84,0.95). It was shorter for patients arriving by ambulance (HR = 1.22; 95% CI:1.04,1.42). Times from PIA to disposition decision were longer for tertiary (HR = 0.47; 95% CI:0.44,0.51) and urban (HR = 0.69; 95% CI:0.63,0.75) EDs, for patients triaged as resuscitation/emergent (HR = 0.51; 95% CI:0.48,0.54), and for patients arriving by ambulance (HR = 0.78; 95% CI:0.70,0.87). Times from disposition decision to ED departure were longer for patients who were admitted (HR = 0.16; 95% CI:0.13,0.20) or transferred (HR = 0.42; 95% CI:0.35,0.50), and for tertiary EDs (HR = 0.93; 95% CI:0.92,0.94).

Conclusions

All transition times were impacted by ED presentation characteristics. The sole key patient characteristic was age and it only impacted time to PIA. ED crowding demonstrated strong effects of time to PIA but not for the transition times involving disposition decision and ED departure stages.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12873-021-00550-z.