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Fatemi Y, Polsky T, Burns J, L'Etoile N, Obstfeld A, Zorc JJ, Nord E, Coffin S, Shaw K. Reducing Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate Ordering: De-implementation and Diagnostic Stewardship. Hosp Pediatr 2024; 14:658-665. [PMID: 38988307 DOI: 10.1542/hpeds.2023-007642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/12/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The Choosing Wisely campaign recommends against the routine use of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) for the assessment of acute undiagnosed inflammation or infection. We examined ESR and C-reactive protein (CRP) ordering practices at a large, freestanding children's hospital. We found that 80% of ESR orders were placed concurrently with a CRP order. We aimed to reduce the ESR testing rate by 20% within 6 months in both inpatient and emergency department (ED) settings. METHODS Applying Lean process improvement principles, we interviewed stakeholders from multiple subspecialties and engaged the institutional laboratory stewardship committee to identify the root causes of ESR ordering and design interventions. We conducted provider education (November 2020) and employed clinical decision support through an order panel in the electronic health record (April 2021). The outcome measures were monthly ESR testing rate per 1000 patient days (inpatient) and per 1000 ED visits, analyzed using statistical process control charts. CRP testing rate was a balancing measure. RESULTS After intervention implementation, the ESR testing rate decreased from 11.4 to 8.9 tests per 1000 inpatient patient days (22% decrease) and from 49.4 to 29.5 tests per 1000 ED visits (40% decrease). This change has been sustained for >1 year postintervention. Interventions were effective even during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic when there was a rise in baseline ED ESR ordering rate. CRP testing rates did not increase after the interventions. CONCLUSIONS Education and clinical decision support were effective in reducing the ESR ordering rate in both inpatient and ED settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasaman Fatemi
- Division of Infectious Diseases
- Department of Pediatrics
- Departments of Pediatrics
| | - Tracey Polsky
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | | | | | - Amrom Obstfeld
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Joseph J Zorc
- Department of Pediatrics
- Division of Emergency Medicine
- Departments of Pediatrics
| | - Ellen Nord
- Center for Healthcare Quality and Analytics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Susan Coffin
- Division of Infectious Diseases
- Department of Pediatrics
- Departments of Pediatrics
| | - Kathy Shaw
- Department of Pediatrics
- Division of Emergency Medicine
- Departments of Pediatrics
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Tchou MJ, Hall M, Markham JL, Stephens JR, Steiner MJ, McCoy E, Aronson PL, Shah SS, Molloy MJ, Cotter JM. Changing patterns of routine laboratory testing over time at children's hospitals. J Hosp Med 2024; 19:671-679. [PMID: 38643414 PMCID: PMC11296890 DOI: 10.1002/jhm.13372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/22/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Research into low-value routine testing at children's hospitals has not consistently evaluated changing patterns of testing over time. OBJECTIVES To identify changes in routine laboratory testing rates at children's hospitals over ten years and the association with patient outcomes. DESIGN, SETTINGS, AND PARTICIPANTS We performed a multi-center, retrospective cohort study of children aged 0-18 hospitalized with common, lower-severity diagnoses at 28 children's hospitals in the Pediatric Health Information Systems database. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES We calculated average annual testing rates for complete blood counts, electrolytes, and inflammatory markers between 2010 and 2019 for each hospital. A >2% average testing rate change per year was defined as clinically meaningful and used to separate hospitals into groups: increasing, decreasing, and unchanged testing rates. Groups were compared for differences in length of stay, cost, and 30-day readmission or ED revisit, adjusted for demographics and case mix index. RESULTS Our study included 576,572 encounters for common, low-severity diagnoses. Individual hospital testing rates in each year of the study varied from 0.3 to 1.4 tests per patient day. The average yearly change in hospital-specific testing rates ranged from -6% to +7%. Four hospitals remained in the lowest quartile of testing and two in the highest quartile throughout all 10 years of the study. We grouped hospitals with increasing (8), decreasing (n = 5), and unchanged (n = 15) testing rates. No difference was found across subgroups in costs, length of stay, 30-day ED revisit, or readmission rates. Comparing resource utilization trends over time provides important insights into achievable rates of testing reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Tchou
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Hospital Medicine, University of Colorado-Anschutz Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, USA
| | - Matt Hall
- Children’s Hospital Association, Lenexa, Kansas, USA
| | - Jessica L. Markham
- Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Mercy Kansas City and University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
| | - John R. Stephens
- North Carolina Children’s Hospital and School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Michael J. Steiner
- North Carolina Children’s Hospital and School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Elisha McCoy
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
- Department of General Pediatrics, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Paul L. Aronson
- Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Samir S. Shah
- Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Matthew J. Molloy
- Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Jillian M. Cotter
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Hospital Medicine, University of Colorado-Anschutz Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, USA
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Gangathimmaiah V, Drever N, Evans R, Moodley N, Sen Gupta T, Cardona M, Carlisle K. What works for and what hinders deimplementation of low-value care in emergency medicine practice? A scoping review. BMJ Open 2023; 13:e072762. [PMID: 37945299 PMCID: PMC10649718 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-072762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Low-value care can harm patients and healthcare systems. Despite a decade of global endeavours, low value care has persisted. Identification of barriers and enablers is essential for effective deimplementation of low-value care. This scoping review is an evidence summary of barriers, enablers and features of effective interventions for deimplementation of low-value care in emergency medicine practice worldwide. DESIGN A mixed-methods scoping review was conducted using the Arksey and O'Malley framework. DATA SOURCES Medline, CINAHL, Embase, EMCare, Scopus and grey literature were searched from inception to 5 December 2022. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA Primary studies which employed qualitative, quantitative or mixed-methods approaches to explore deimplementation of low-value care in an EM setting and reported barriers, enablers or interventions were included. Reviews, protocols, perspectives, comments, opinions, editorials, letters to editors, news articles, books, chapters, policies, guidelines and animal studies were excluded. No language limits were applied. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Study selection, data collection and quality assessment were performed by two independent reviewers. Barriers, enablers and interventions were mapped to the domains of the Theoretical Domains Framework. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used for quality assessment. RESULTS The search yielded 167 studies. A majority were quantitative studies (90%, 150/167) that evaluated interventions (86%, 143/167). Limited provider abilities, diagnostic uncertainty, lack of provider insight, time constraints, fear of litigation, and patient expectations were the key barriers. Enablers included leadership commitment, provider engagement, provider training, performance feedback to providers and shared decision-making with patients. Interventions included one or more of the following facets: education, stakeholder engagement, audit and feedback, clinical decision support, nudge, clinical champions and training. Multifaceted interventions were more likely to be effective than single-faceted interventions. Effectiveness of multifaceted interventions was influenced by fidelity of the intervention facets. Use of behavioural change theories such as the Theoretical Domains Framework in the published studies appeared to enhance the effectiveness of interventions to deimplement low-value care. CONCLUSION High-fidelity, multifaceted interventions that incorporated education, stakeholder engagement, audit/feedback and clinical decision support, were administered daily and lasted longer than 1 year were most effective in achieving deimplementation of low-value care in emergency departments. This review contributes the best available evidence to date, but further rigorous, theory-informed, qualitative and mixed-methods studies are needed to supplement the growing body of evidence to effectively deimplement low-value care in emergency medicine practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinay Gangathimmaiah
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Townsville University Hospital, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Natalie Drever
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Cairns Hospital, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
- College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | - Rebecca Evans
- College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Nishila Moodley
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Townsville University Hospital, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Tarun Sen Gupta
- College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Magnolia Cardona
- A/Prof Implementation Science, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Honorary A/Prof of Research Translation, Institute for Evidence Based Healthcare, Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
| | - Karen Carlisle
- College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
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Combs MD, Liberman DB, Lee V. Decreasing Blood Culture Collection in Hospitalized Patients with CAP, SSTI, and UTI. Pediatr Qual Saf 2023; 8:e705. [PMID: 38058473 PMCID: PMC10697617 DOI: 10.1097/pq9.0000000000000705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Blood culture collection in pediatric patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI), and urinary tract infections (UTI) remains high despite evidence of its limited utility. We aimed to decrease the number of cultures collected in children hospitalized for CAP, SSTI, and UTI by 25% over 11 months. Methods Quality improvement initiative at a children's hospital among well-appearing patients aged 2 months or more to 18 years diagnosed with CAP, SSTI, or UTI. Our primary and secondary outcomes were blood culture collection rate and positivity rate, respectively. Interventions focused on three key drivers: academic detailing, physician awareness of personal performance, and data transparency. Results Over the 2-year study period, there were 105 blood cultures collected in 223 hospitalized patients. Blood culture collection rates demonstrated special cause variation, decreasing from 63.5% to 24.5%. For patients with UTI, 86% (18/21) of blood cultures were negative, whereas 100% were negative for CAP and SSTI. All three patients with bacteremic UTI had a concurrent urine culture growing the same pathogen. Balancing measures remained unchanged, including escalation to a higher level of care and return to the emergency department or hospital within 14 days for the same infection. Conclusions A multifaceted quality improvement approach can reduce blood culture collection for hospitalized patients with CAP, SSTI, and UTI without significant changes to balancing measures. Despite the reduction achieved, the near-universal negative culture results suggest continued overutilization and highlight the need for more targeted approaches to blood culture collection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica D Combs
- From the Division of Hospital Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Calif
- Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif
| | - Danica B Liberman
- Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif
- Division of Emergency and Transport Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Calif
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif
| | - Vivian Lee
- From the Division of Hospital Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Calif
- Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif
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Harper BD, Marcus CH, Burke N, Kawai K, Mansbach JM. Utility of Inflammatory Markers in Hospitalized Children With Skin Erythema. Hosp Pediatr 2021; 11:627-631. [PMID: 34039639 DOI: 10.1542/hpeds.2021-005825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is overlap in the clinical presentations of superficial skin infections (eg, cellulitis) and deeper infections (eg, osteomyelitis). Inflammatory markers are frequently obtained in hospitalized patients with cellulitis. However, it is unknown whether inflammatory markers discriminate between superficial and deeper infections. METHODS We performed a retrospective review of children hospitalized with erythema on the skin and diagnoses of cellulitis, bursitis, myositis, osteomyelitis, and/or tenosynovitis. Patients were grouped into superficial infection (cellulitis and bursitis) and deeper infection (myositis, tenosynovitis, osteomyelitis). We compared C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) values between the two groups and constructed receiver operating characteristic curves to determine optimal cutoff values. RESULTS Among 168 children hospitalized with skin erythema, 122 patients had superficial and 46 patients had deeper infections. Mean CRP and ESR were significantly higher in patients with deeper infections (CRP: 8.3 [±9.6] mg/dL versus 2.8 [±3.5] mg/dL; P < .001; ESR: 48.3 [±28.6] mm/h versus 21.8 [±16.0] mm/h; P < .001). Neither WBC nor fever was significantly different between groups. CRP ≥2 mg/dL and ESR ≥30 mm/h were associated with deeper infections (CRP: odds ratio: 4.77; 95% confidence interval: 2.24-10.15; ESR: odds ratio: 7.93; 95% confidence interval: 3.46-17.67). When CRP and ESR were below these cutoffs, the negative predictive value was 89%. CONCLUSIONS Among patients presenting with skin erythema, CRP ≥2 mg/dL and ESR ≥30 mm/hr were significantly associated with deeper infection, whereas values below these cutoffs were reassuring against deeper infection. Future study of inflammatory markers in skin and soft tissue infections may help develop tailored testing strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beth D Harper
- Department of Pediatrics and .,Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston Massachusetts; and
| | - Carolyn H Marcus
- Department of Pediatrics and.,Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston Massachusetts; and
| | - Natalie Burke
- Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia Pennsylvania
| | - Kosuke Kawai
- Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston Massachusetts; and.,Institutional Centers for Clinical and Translational Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston Massachusetts
| | - Jonathan M Mansbach
- Department of Pediatrics and.,Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston Massachusetts; and
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