scholarly journals Three easily-implementable changes reduce median door-to-needle time for intravenous thrombolysis by 23 minutes

BMC Neurology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Demi Tran ◽  
Zhu Zhu ◽  
Mohammad Shafie ◽  
Hermelinda Abcede ◽  
Dana Stradling ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The benefit of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) for acute ischemic stroke is time dependent. Despite great effort, the median door-to-needle time (DNT) was 60 min at the United States stroke centers. We investigated the effect of a simple quality improvement initiative on DNT for IVT. Methods This is a single-center study of patients treated with IVT between 2013 and 2017. A simple quality improvement initiative was implemented in January 2015 to allow the Stroke team to manage hypertension in the emergency room, to make decision for IVT before getting blood test results unless patients were taking oral anticoagulants, and to give IVT in the CT suite. Baseline characteristics, DNT and outcomes at hospital discharge were compared between pre- and post-intervention groups. Results Ninety and 136 patients were treated with IVT in pre- and post-intervention groups, respectively. The rate of IVT was significantly higher in the post-intervention group (20% vs. 14.4%, p = 0.007). The median DNT with interquartile range (IQR) was reduced significantly by 23 min (63[53–81] vs. 40[29–53], p < 0.001) with more patients in the post-intervention group receiving IVT within 60 min (81.6% vs. 46.7%) and 45 min (64.0% vs.17.8%). There was no significant difference in symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage rate (1.5% vs. 1.1%), modified Rankin Scale 0–1 (29.4% vs. 23.3%), and hospital mortality (7.4% vs. 6.7%) between the 2 groups. Conclusions Three easily-implementable quality improvement initiative increases IVT rate and reduces DNT significantly without increasing the rate of IVT-related complications in our comprehensive stroke center.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Demi Tran ◽  
Zhu Zhu ◽  
Mohammad Shafie ◽  
Hermelinda Abcede ◽  
Dana Stradling ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The benefit of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) for acute ischemic stroke is time dependent. Despite great effort, the median door-to-needle time (DNT) was 60 minutes at the United States stroke centers. We investigated the effect of a simple quality improvement initiative on DNT for IVT. Methods: This is a single-center study of patients treated with IVT between 2013 and 2017. A simple quality improvement initiative was implemented in January 2015 to allow the Stroke team to manage hypertension in the emergency room, to make decision for IVT before getting blood test results unless patients were taking oral anticoagulants, and to give IVT in the CT suite. Baseline characteristics, DNT and outcomes at hospital discharge were compared between pre- and post-intervention groups. Results: Ninety and 136 patients were treated with IVT in pre- and post-intervention groups, respectively. The rate of IVT was significantly higher in the post-intervention group (20% vs. 14.4%, p=0.007). The median DNT with interquartile range (IQR) was reduced significantly by 23 minutes (63[53-81] vs. 40[29-53], p<0.001) with more patients in the post-intervention group receiving IVT within 60 minutes (81.6% vs. 46.7%) and 45 minutes (64.0% vs.17.8%). There was no significant difference in symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage rate (1.5% vs. 1.1%), modified Rankin Scale 0-1 (29.4% vs. 23.3%), and hospital mortality (7.4% vs. 6.7%) between the 2 groups. Conclusions: Three easily-implementable quality improvement initiative increases IVT rate and reduces DNT significantly without increasing the rate of IVT-related complications in our comprehensive stroke center.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Demi Tran ◽  
Zhu Zhu ◽  
Mohammad Shafie ◽  
Hermelinda Abcede ◽  
Dana Stradling ◽  
...  

Abstract Background:The benefit of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is time dependent. Despite great effort, the median door-to-needle time (DNT) was 60 minutes at the U.S. stroke centers. We investigated the effect of a simple quality improvement initiative on DNT for IVT. Methods: This is a single-center study of patients treated with IVT between 2013 and 2017. A simple quality improvement initiative was implemented in January 2015 to allow the Stroke team to manage hypertension in the emergency room, to make decision for IVT before getting blood test results unless patients were taking oral anticoagulants, and to give IV tPA in the CT suite. Baseline characteristics, DNT and outcomes at hospital discharge were compared between pre- and post-intervention groups. Results: Ninety and 136 patients were treated with IVT in pre- and post-intervention groups, respectively. The rate of IVT was significantly higher in the post-intervention group (20% vs. 14.4%, p=0.007).The median DNT with interquartile range (IQR) was reduced significantly by 23 minutes (63[53-81] versus 40[29-53],p<0.001) with more patients in the post-intervention group receiving IVT within 60 minutes (81.6% versus 46.7%) and 45 minutes (64.0% versus 17.8%). There was no significant difference in symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage rate (1.5% vs 1.1%), functional independence at discharge (mRS 0-1, 29.4% vs 23.3), and hospital mortality (7.4% vs 6.7%) between the 2 groups. Conclusions:Three easily-implementable quality improvement initiative increases IVT rate and reduces DNT significantly. It is safe and can be easily adopted at other stroke centers.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Demi Tran ◽  
Zhu Zhu ◽  
Mohammad Shafie ◽  
Hermelinda Abcede ◽  
Dana Stradling ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The benefit of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) for acute ischemic stroke is time dependent. Despite great effort, the median door-to-needle time (DNT) was 60 minutes at the United States stroke centers. We investigated the effect of a simple quality improvement initiative on DNT for IVT. Methods: This is a single-center study of patients treated with IVT between 2013 and 2017. A simple quality improvement initiative was implemented in January 2015 to allow the Stroke team to manage hypertension in the emergency room, to make decision for IVT before getting blood test results unless patients were taking oral anticoagulants, and to give IVT in the CT suite. Baseline characteristics, DNT and outcomes at hospital discharge were compared between pre- and post-intervention groups. Results: Ninety and 136 patients were treated with IVT in pre- and post-intervention groups, respectively. The rate of IVT was significantly higher in the post-intervention group (20% vs. 14.4%, p=0.007). The median DNT with interquartile range (IQR) was reduced significantly by 23 minutes (63[53-81] vs. 40[29-53], p<0.001) with more patients in the post-intervention group receiving IVT within 60 minutes (81.6% vs. 46.7%) and 45 minutes (64.0% vs.17.8%). There was no significant difference in symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage rate (1.5% vs. 1.1%), functional independence at discharge (modified Rankin Scale 0-1, 29.4% vs. 23.3%), and hospital mortality (7.4% vs. 6.7%) between the 2 groups. Conclusions: Three easily-implementable quality improvement initiative increases IVT rate and reduces DNT significantly without increasing the rate of IVT-related complications in our comprehensive stroke center.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 166-176
Author(s):  
Jia Feng ◽  
Zhihan Zhu ◽  
Ahmed Waqas ◽  
Lukui Chen

Objective:To evaluate whether endovascular thrombectomy combined with intravenous thrombolysis is superior to the standard treatment of intravenous thrombolysis for the treatment of ischemic stroke.Methods:A meta-analysis of 12 studies obtained by searching PubMed and Web of Science database was performed to determine whether the difference in mortality (within 7 days or 90 days), functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale, 0-2), hemorrhage (symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage), and recurrent ischemic stroke rate at 90 days between patients who underwent mechanical intravenous thrombolysis with (intervention) and without (control) endovascular thrombectomy.Results:As compared with the control group, patients in the intervention group had lower 90-day mortality [summary risk ratio (RR) = 0.83, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.69-0.99; n = 1309/1070], higher recanalization rate (RR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.97-2.56; n = 504/497), better functional outcome (modified Rankin score: 0-2; RR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.29-1.54; n = 1702/1502), and higher rate of subarachnoid hemorrhage (RR = 2.40, 95% CI: 1.45-3.99; n = 1046/875) without significant difference in the 7-day mortality (RR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.84-1.50; n = 951/773), symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (RR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.82-1.54; n = 1707/1507), or recurrent ischemic stroke (RR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.52-1.54; n = 718/506).Conclusion:Our results demonstrated that patients in the intervention group had lower mortality and better functional outcomes than the control group. Although patients in the intervention group had a higher rate of subarachnoid hemorrhage; hence, endovascular thrombectomy combined with intravenous thrombolysis is still a beneficial intervention for a defined population of stroke patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke D.E. Witherspoon ◽  
Ailsa M.L. Gan ◽  
Rodney H. Breau ◽  
Ginette Saumure ◽  
Jacqueline Shea ◽  
...  

Introduction: This quality improvement study examined if a video-based resource could reduce delayed discharges after robotic prostatectomy while maintaining high levels of patient satisfaction. Methods: From April 2018 to February 2020, all patients undergoing robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) were asked to complete an anonymous survey evaluating their perioperative experience. The quality improvement (QI) intervention started in March 2019 with a series of six educational videos being shown to all patients. The videos were used to supplement postoperative instruction. The discharge times of all patients were obtained from The Ottawa Hospital Data Repositories. A run chart analysis was used to detect change in discharge time (outcome measure). Patient satisfaction (balancing measure) was analyzed using Chi-squared analysis and descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 425 robotic prostatectomies (199 pre-intervention, 226 post-intervention) were available. Analysis of the run chart revealed non-random change favoring earlier discharge in the intervention group (p<0.05), with a pre-intervention late discharge rate of 64% and a post-intervention late discharge rate of 55%. A total of 140 surveys (59 pre-intervention, 81 post-intervention) assessing patient satisfaction were completed, corresponding with a response rate of 29.6% and 35.8%, respectively. Median score on a 10-point scale for overall satisfaction was equal between the intervention and non-intervention groups (9 [interquartile range (IQR 8–10) vs. 10 [IQR 8-10], p=0.92). Conclusions: Patient satisfaction with care and education was high for all patients and was not negatively impacted by this intervention. Video education tools may be one method to help improve the discharge process following RARP.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 10529-10529
Author(s):  
Leigh Boehmer ◽  
Latha Shivakumar ◽  
Christine B. Weldon ◽  
Julia Rachel Trosman ◽  
Stephanie A. Cohen ◽  
...  

10529 Background: National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines recommend testing for highly penetrant breast/ovarian cancer genes in several scenarios, including women with early-onset (≤ 45 years) or metastatic HER-2 negative breast cancer regardless of family history. A 2018 Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) survey (N = 95) showed that > 80% of respondents reported ≤ 50% testing rate of patients with breast cancer who met guidelines. To improve rates of genetic counseling(GC)/testing, ACCC partnered with 15 community cancer programs to support site-directed quality improvement (QI) interventions. Methods: Pre- and post-intervention data from 9/15 partner programs for genetically at-risk women with early-onset or HER-2 negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC) were analyzed. Pre-intervention data were collected between 01/01/2017 and 06/30/2019 while post-intervention data were collected as early as 07/01/2019 and as late as 10/01/2020. QI project scope ranged from creation of testing eligibility education to implementation of a virtual GC clinic. De-identified data collected included: family history documentation; GC appointment; test results; and timing of results relative to surgical date. Results: The pre-intervention cohort included 2691 women and the post- cohort included 3104 women who were eligible for GC. Early-onset patients in the post-intervention group attended a GC appointment 83% (331/401) of the time and 74% (296/401) had genetic test results, with 92% (271/296) receiving results before surgery. Sixty-one percent (1387/2267) of women with HER-2 negative MBC in the post-intervention group received GC, compared to 36% (658/1845) in the pre-intervention group. There was an overall increase in the number of MBC patients with documented test results following GC in the post-intervention cohort (55% (1243/2267) versus 15% (273/1845); p < 0.0001). Rates of GC appointments improved overall, regardless of family history documentation. Rates among those with a documented high-risk family history improved from 57% (729/1284) to 85% (1485/1741) following QI interventions (p < 0.0001). There was also a significantly higher rate of GC provided in the post-intervention group among women with negative family histories (40% (462/1155) versus 23% (181/778); p < 0.0001). GC also increased from 6% (35/629) to 45% (94/208) of women in the post-intervention cohort with no documentation of family history (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Genetic testing is underutilized in women with breast cancer. Significant improvement was achieved with QI initiatives specifically designed to target easily identified populations meeting guidelines for GC/testing. This project demonstrates the importance of attention to practice-directed strategies aimed at improving identification of risk as well as follow through to GC/testing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S46-S46
Author(s):  
Anna Witt ◽  
Mason G Harper ◽  
Juan Carlos Rico Crescencio ◽  
Ryan K Dare ◽  
Mary Burgess

Abstract Background An antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) strategy to minimize the use of overly broad antimicrobials is to suppress specific antimicrobial susceptibility results when isolates are sensitive to narrow antibiotics. There is limited data on possible adverse outcomes of this method. Patients with febrile neutropenia (FN) and gram-negative bacteremia (GNB) whose culture is sensitive to non-pseudomonal antibiotics still require broader pseudomonal coverage to treat the syndrome of FN. We evaluated if ASP suppression of anti-pseudomonal antibiotics adversely affects patients with FN and GNB. Methods In February 2018, our institution’s ASP began suppressing cefepime and meropenem susceptibility results from E. coli, Klebsiella spp, and Proteus spp when sensitive to cefepime (MIC ≤ 2), ceftriaxone and ceftazidime. We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with FN and GNB from 2016 – 2020 to evaluate the appropriateness of antibiotic regimens before and after the ASP intervention. Antibiotic regimens were deemed inappropriate if the patient was de-escalated to a narrow-spectrum, non-pseudomonal agent while neutropenic. Of 338 inpatient encounters identified with any bacteremia and FN, 49 were due to non-Pseudomonas, non-ESBL GNB, 20 before and 29 after the intervention. Sixteen of the 29 post-intervention patients were excluded, as their isolates did not meet suppression criteria. This resulted in a total of 13 patients in the post-intervention group. Results After culture susceptibility reports were released, 3 out of 20 patients in the pre-intervention group (15%) and 4 out of 13 patients in the post-intervention group (30.8%) were inappropriately tailored to narrow-spectrum antibiotics (p=0.39). There was no significant difference in 30-day mortality, 10.0% pre- and 0% post-intervention (p=0.50), or amount of meropenem prescribed, 45% pre- and 38.5% post-intervention (p=0.74). Conclusion These data show no significant difference in inappropriate antibiotic regimens prescribed for patients with FN and GNB after ASP antibiotic suppression was implemented. 30-day mortality was also not affected. The ASP intervention did not decrease meropenem prescriptions in this patient group, which may be appropriate. Larger studies are needed to verify these findings. Disclosures Ryan K. Dare, MD, MS, Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc (Research Grant or Support) Mary Burgess, MD, Pfizer Inc (Grant/Research Support)


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (34_suppl) ◽  
pp. 120-120
Author(s):  
Andras Heczey ◽  
Kathy McCarthy ◽  
Meng-Fen Wu ◽  
Curtis Kennedy ◽  
Marilyn Hockenberry

120 Background: The mortality rate of chemotherapy-related fever and neutropenia (F&N) has decreased significantly in recent years with attention shifting to antibiotic regimens with the least side effects. Multiple randomized controlled clinical trials have demonstrated that antibiotic regimens without aminoglycosides are sufficient for successful treatment of F&N and the addition of aminoglycosides significantly increases the risk of acute kidney injury among adults. The institutional F&N Guideline of Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) mandated the use of gentamycin in combination vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam (P-T) for the treatment of hig- risk (HR) patients with F&N. To decrease the incidence of nephrotoxicity while maintaining excellent survival, empiric gentamycin use was stopped. Methods: Bacterial susceptibility and characteristics of patients with positive blood cultures treated at TCH during 2009 were retrospectively analyzed (pre-intervention group). Negligible P-T resistance was confirmed among bacterial isolates and empiric use of gentamycin for HR patients with F&N was stopped. After a 6 month adjustment period, data for all patients treated according to the new HR algorithm were prospectively collected (post-intervention group) for 12 months. The pre- and post-intervention groups were evaluated for differences in treatment success and incidence of nephrotoxicity. Results: Data from 69 patients from the pre-intervention group and 39 patients from the post-intervention group who had bacteremia were analyzed. No statistical difference was found between pre- and post-intervention groups for age, gender, survival, baseline creatinine level and baseline estimated creatinine clearance. However, significant difference was found for change in creatinine levels (0.12 vs. 0.04 mg/dl p=0.01), change in estimated creatinine clearance (24.8 vs. 12.1ml/min/1.73m2, p=0.01) and incidence of acute kidney injury (30.1 vs. 11.1%, p=0.04). Conclusions: Children with high risk F&N episode may be treated effectively and safely with decreased incidence of acute kidney injury without the empiric use of gentamycin.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089719002098713
Author(s):  
Steven M. Smoke ◽  
Vishal V. Patel ◽  
Nicole I. Leonida

Background: Limited sample size and disparate outcome measures can hinder the ability of antimicrobial stewardship programs to assess the utility of their quality improvement interventions. Desirability of outcome ranking (DOOR) is a novel methodology that incorporates multiple outcomes into a single value to more comprehensively compare therapeutic strategies. The objective of this study was to apply DOOR to a single center antibiotic stewardship intervention. Methods: A pre- and post-interventional study was conducted evaluating the impact of prospective pharmacist review of rapid molecular diagnostic testing (RDT) of blood cultures on antibiotic optimization. Outcomes included the percentage of patients who were switched to appropriate therapy, the time to appropriate therapy, and the percentage of patients who had missed de-escalation opportunities. Results: A total of 19 and 29 patients were included in the final analysis. The percentage of patients reaching appropriate therapy was 84% (16/19) and 97% ([28/29], p = 0.16) in the pre-intervention and post-intervention groups respectively. Median time to appropriate therapy was 26 hours and 36 minutes (IQR 13:05-50:45) and 22:40 (IQR 3:42-48:23, p = 0.32), respectively. One missed de-escalation opportunity was identified in the post-intervention group (0% vs 3%, p = 1.00). DOOR analysis indicated that the probability of a better outcome for the post-intervention group than the pre-intervention group was 58% (95% CI 54-62). Conclusion: In this analysis, DOOR revealed a benefit that would not have been apparent with traditional outcomes assessments. Antimicrobial stewardship programs conducting quality improvement studies should consider incorporating DOOR into their methodology.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diala Alawneh ◽  
Moustafa Younis ◽  
Majdi S. Hamarshi

Background: According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) hospitalization rates have been steadily increasing. Due to the increasing incidence and the economic impact associated with its morbidity and treatment, effective management is key. We aimed to streamline the management of DKA in our intensive care units (ICU) by implementing a Best-Practice Advisory (BPA) that notifies providers when DKA has resolved. Methods: A BPA was implemented on 9/15/2018. We conducted a retrospective review of patients admitted to the ICU with DKA a year before and after 9/15/2018. Adults (≥18 age) meeting DKA criteria on admission and treated with continuous insulin infusion (CII) were included. Pre-intervention group included patients admitted before BPA implementation and post-intervention group included patients admitted after. Summary and univariate analyses were performed. Results: A total of 282 patients were included; 162 (57%) pre-intervention and 120 (43%) post-intervention. Mean (±SD) age was 44 (±17) years. There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics such as age, sex, race, BMI, HbA1c, initial blood glucose, anion gap or bicarbonate concentration between both groups (p>0.05). Mean (±SD) total time on CII in hours was significantly lower in the post-intervention group 14.8 (±7.7) vs 17.5 (±14.3) p=0.041, 95% CI: 0.11-5.3. The incidence of hypoglycemia was lower in the post-intervention group n=4 (3%) vs 17 (10%), p=0.024. There was no significant difference in hypokalemia, mortality, LOS or ICU stay between both groups (p>0.05). Conclusions: The BPA introduced in our DKA management algorithm successfully reduced total time on insulin and the incidence of hypoglycemia.


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