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Improving Pediatric Readiness and Clinical Care in General Emergency Departments: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study

Abulebda K, Whitfill T, Mustafa M, Montgomery EE, Lutfi R, Abu-Sultaneh S, Nitu ME, Auerbach MA et al.

The Journal of pediatrics, 2022

15 citations

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a collaborative initiative between general emergency departments (EDs) and the pediatric academic medical center on the process of clinical care in a group of general EDs.

STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective cohort study assessed the process of clinical care delivered to critically ill children presenting to 3 general EDs. Our previous multifaceted intervention included the following components: postsimulation debriefing, designation of a pediatric champion, customized performance reports, pediatric resources toolkit, and ongoing interactions. Five pediatric emergency care physicians conducted chart reviews and scored encounters using the Pediatric Emergency Care Research Network's Quality of Care Implicit Review Instrument, which assigns scores between 5 and 35 across 5 domains. In addition, safety metrics were collected for medication, imaging, and laboratory orders.

RESULTS: A total of 179 ED encounters were reviewed, including 103 preintervention and 76 postintervention encounters, with an improvement in mean total quality score from 23.30 (SD 5.1) to 24.80 (4.0). In the domain of physician initial treatment plan and initial orders, scores increased from a mean of 4.18 (0.13) to 4.61 (0.15). In the category of safety, administration of wrong medications decreased from 28.2% to 11.8% after the intervention.

CONCLUSION: A multifaceted collaborative initiative involving simulation and enhanced pediatric readiness was associated with…

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