Models for Assessing Strategies for Improving Hospital Capacity for Handling Patients during a Pandemic

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the performance of key hospital units associated with emergency care of both routine emergency and pandemic (COVID-19) patients under capacity enhancing strategies. Methods: This investigation was conducted using whole-hospital, resource-constrained, patient-based, stochastic, discrete-event simulation models of a generic 200-bed urban U.S. tertiary hospital serving routine emergency and COVID-19 patients. Systematically designed numerical experiments were conducted to provide generalizable insights into how hospital functionality may be affected by the care of COVID-19 pandemic patients along specially designated care paths under changing pandemic situations from getting ready to turning all of its resources to pandemic care. Results: Several insights are presented. For example, each day of reduction in average ICU length of stay increases intensive care unit patient throughput by up to 24% for high COVID-19 daily patient arrival levels. The potential of five specific interventions and two critical shifts in care strategies to significantly increase hospital capacity is described. Conclusions: These estimates enable hospitals to repurpose space, modify operations, implement crisis standards of care, prepare to collaborate with other health care facilities, or request external support, increasing the likelihood that arriving patients will find an open staffed bed when one is needed.

Between Restrictive and Supportive Devices in the Context of Physical Restraints: Findings from a Large Mixed-Method Study Design

Physical restraints are still a common problem across healthcare settings: they are triggered by patient-related factors, nurses, and context-related factors. However, the role of some devices (e.g., bed rails), and those applied according to relatives’/patients’ requests have been little investigated to date. A mixed-method study in 2018, according to the Good Reporting of a Mixed Methods Study criteria was performed. In the quantitative phase, patients with one or more physical restraint(s) as detected through observation of a single index day in 37 Italian facilities (27 long-term, 10 hospital units, =4562 patients) were identified. Then, for each patient with one or more restraint(s), the nurse responsible was interviewed to gather purposes and reasons for physical restraints use. A thematic analysis of the narratives was conducted to (a) clarify the decision-making framework that had been used and (b) to assess the differences, if any, between hospital and long-term settings. The categories ‘Restrictive’ and ‘Supportive’ devices aimed at ‘Preventing risks’ and at ‘Promoting support’, respectively, have emerged. Reasons triggering ‘restrictive devices’ involved patients’ risks, the health professionals’ and/or the relatives’ concerns. In contrast, the ‘supportive’ ones were triggered by patients’ problems/needs. ‘Restrictive’ and ‘Supportive’ devices were applied based on the decision of the team or through a process of shared decision-making involving relatives and patients. According to the framework that emerged, long-term care patients are at increased risk of being treated with ‘restrictive devices’ (Odds Ratio 1.87, Confidence Interval 95% 1.44; 2.43; p < 0.001) as compared to those hospitalized. This study contributes to the improvement in knowledge of the definition, classification and measurement of physical devices across settings.

Asthma in Morocco: Retrospective Analysis of Case Characteristics reported by Hospital Units

Asthma is a serious public health problem. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of asthma cases reported by Agadir's Souss-Massa Regional Hospital Center (SMRHC). A retrospective analysis was carried out at the SMRHC's pneumology and paediatrics departments in 2019. As data support, reporting records and a data collection worksheet were used. This year, 141 cases were reported. The highest frequencies were observed in February (21.9%) and April (26.6%). Both males and females were affected (sex ratio Male/Female = 0.98). The asthmatics were, on average 40.7 ± 25.1 years old. The majority of the cases are from areas that are easily accessible for medical consultation at the SMRHC. To obtain more accurate knowledge and contribute to the research, related studies should be undertaken on this topic. Our findings, we hope, will act as a foundation for future research into improving the case registration system (digital support) and upgrading patient data in accordance with WHO and GINA guidelines.

A Two-Stage SEM—Artificial Neural Network Analysis of the Rewards Effects on Self Perceived Performance in Healthcare

Healthcare managers consider the rewards and performances of employees as central elements of their activities due to the challenges caused by the phenomenon of healthcare employees’ emigrating to higher-income countries, which has reduced patient satisfaction and led to a negative image of hospitals. In this context, this paper analyzes how employee rewards influence the employees’ self-perceived performances in the hospital units of the emergency medical system in Romania. Using structural equation modeling, we analyzed the relationships between the investigated variables, showing that financial motivation and the recognition of employees’ merits are central to employees’ self-perceived performances. Ensuring equity also has a positive impact on how the reward package is established and managed. While financial rewards are the most important incentives to increase efforts to exhibit higher performances, recognition has a long-term motivational effect.

Analysis of the diagnostic accuracy of rapid antigenic tests for detection of SARS-CoV-2 in hospital outbreak situation

The reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) continues to be the reference diagnostic method for the confirmation of COVID-19 cases; however, rapid antigen detection tests (RADT) have recently been developed. The purpose of the study is to assess the performance of rapid antigen-based COVID-19 testing in the context of hospital outbreaks. This was an observational, cross-sectional study. The study period was from October 2020 to January 2021. The “Panbio COVID-19 AG” RADT (Abbott) was performed and TaqPath COVID-19 test RT-PCR. The samples were obtained from hospitalised patients in suspected outbreak situations at the Ramón y Cajal Hospital. A hospital outbreak was defined as the presence of 3 or more epidemiologically linked cases. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of the RADT were calculated using RT-PCR as a reference. A total of 17 hospital outbreaks were detected in 11 hospital units during the study period, in which 34 RT-PCR and RADT screenings were performed. We obtained 541 samples, which were analysed with RT-PCR and a further 541 analysed with RADT. Six RADT tests gave conflicting results with the RT-PCR, 5 of them with a negative RADT and positive RT-PCR and one with positive RADT and a negative RT-PCR. The sensitivity of the RADT was 83.3% (65.3–94.4%) and the specificity was 99.8% (98.9–100%). The PPV was 96.2% (80.4–99.9%) and the NPV was 99% (97.7–99.7%). The RADT shows good diagnostic performance in patients on non-COVID-19 hospital wards, in the context of an outbreak.

Nurse staffing and patient-perceived quality of nursing care: a cross-sectional analysis of survey and administrative data in German hospitals

ObjectiveTo examine the impact of nurse staffing on patient-perceived quality of nursing care. We differentiate nurse staffing levels and nursing skill mix as two facets of nurse staffing and use a multidimensional instrument for patient-perceived quality of nursing care. We investigate non-linear and interaction effects.SettingThe study setting was 3458 hospital units in 1017 hospitals in Germany.ParticipantsWe contacted 212 554 patients discharged from non-paediatric, non-intensive and non-psychiatric hospital units who stayed at least two nights in the hospital between January and October 2019. Of those, 30 174 responded, yielding a response rate of 14.2%. Our sample included only those patients. After excluding extreme values for our nurse staffing variables and removing observations with missing values, our final sample comprised 28 136 patients ranging from 18 to 97 years of age (average: 61.12 years) who had been discharged from 3458 distinct hospital units in 1017 hospitals.Primary and secondary outcome measuresPatient-perceived quality of nursing care (general nursing care, guidance provided by nurses, and patient loyalty to the hospital).ResultsFor all three dimensions of patient-perceived quality of nursing care, we found that they significantly decreased as (1) nurse staffing levels decreased (with decreasing marginal effects) and (2) the proportion of assistant nurses in a hospital unit increased. The association between nurse staffing levels and quality of nursing care was more pronounced among patients who were less clinically complex, were admitted to smaller hospitals or were admitted to medical units.ConclusionsOur results indicate that, in addition to nurse staffing levels, nursing skill mix is crucial for providing the best possible quality of nursing care from the patient perspective and both should be considered when designing policies such as minimum staffing regulations to improve the quality of nursing care in hospitals.

45. Significantly Decreased Broad Spectrum Antimicrobial Use (Carbapenems And Fluoroquinolones) with Implementation of Antibiotic Stewardship Program (ASP) and Pharmacist Interventions

Background According to the WHO, carbapenems and fluoroquinolones (FQ) should be key targets for stewardship programs. Methods A multifaceted antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) was implemented in July 2018 at a 160-bed tertiary care center serving the tristate area of Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska. Carbapenem and FQ use during pre-ASP intervention period (P1: 12/01/2016-6/30/2018) was compared with ASP-intervention period (P2: 07/01/2018-1/31/2020). ASP interventions included: stewardship educational pearls in monthly physician newsletters; educational posters in provider areas; suppression of carbapenem results on microbiology susceptibility reports; provider counseling for appropriate ordering; creating carbapenem alternative alert in order-entry software; removing FQ and carbapenems from order-sets where appropriate; default antibiotic stop dates changed to 7 days in EMR (Epic); adverse effects warning fired as an alert when ordering FQ. Pharmacist interventions: procalcitonin protocol allowing pharmacists to reorder follow-up procalcitonin and make recommendations to discontinue therapy where appropriate. Results FQ use declined significantly from a mean of 133 days of therapy (DOT) per 1000 days to 46 DOT per 1000 patient days during P2 (p&lt; 0.0001). Carbapenem use declined significantly from a mean of 65 DOT per 1000 patient days during P1 to 9 DOT per 1000 patient days in P2 (p&lt; 0.001). All hospital units showed a significant decrease in use, with intensive care units (ICUs) noting 56% reduction (p&lt; 0.00001) during P2 compared to P1. During P2, 55% of orders for carbapenems and FQ during P2 were found to be appropriate compared to 39% in P1 (p&lt; 0.0001). Sensitivity profile for Pseudomonas aeruginosa improved from 86% carbapenem sensitivity during P1 to 89% in P2 and no Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae isolates were identified during the study period; FQ sensitivity remained stable at 81%. Cost savings of &757 per 1000 patient days were recognized in P2 as a result of reduced use. Conclusion With ASP and pharmacist interventions, a significant decline in total utilization of carbapenem and FQ, considerable cost savings and an increase in proportion of appropriate use were observed. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

428. Assessing the Confidence, Knowledge and Preferences of Hospital Staff with Regards to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background Effective use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by hospital staff is critical to prevent transmission of COVID-19. This study examines hospital staff confidence in and knowledge of effective PPE use, and their preferences for learning about PPE practices. Methods Three isolation precautions signs were created for use in the care of those with or under investigation for COVID-19 infection: first, a special respiratory precautions sign designed by infection control; and next, two signs outlining proper donning and doffing practices – one created internally with the support of health literacy, and another developed with a design firm (IDEO) using principles of human-centered design (Figure 1). All signs were used for ≥ 10 weeks prior to distribution of a questionnaire (REDCap) to clinical and non-clinical hospital staff. Those who had not worked on hospital units during the pandemic (after March 15, 2020) were excluded. The 38-item survey was sent by supervisors over email between July 14-31, 2020, and examined demographics, confidence in and knowledge of PPE best practices, and preferences for each precaution sign with regards to trustworthiness, ease of following, informative content, and clarity of image/layout. Responses were reported using descriptive statistics. A non-parametric test of trends compared staff preferences across signs. Logistic regression examined the association between answering all knowledge-based questions correctly and staff role and confidence in PPE practices (Stata). Results Of the 531 respondents, 461 were eligible for inclusion. The majority were female, white, and not high risk for COVID-19 (Table 1). Most were confident about PPE use, correctly answered questions examining knowledge of PPE best practices, and found PPE signage helpful (Table 2). Staff preferred the professionally designed sign for informative content (p&lt; 0.01) and clear imagery/layout (p=0.01) (Table 3). Confidence in PPE practices and physician or nurse roles were associated with answering all knowledge-based questions correctly (p&lt; 0.001 and p=0.04, respectively). Conclusion In a convenience sample of hospital staff, most were confident and knowledgeable about PPE use, found PPE signage helpful, and preferred professionally designed signs. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Quantification of airborne SARS-CoV-2 genomic particles in different hospital settings

We quantified the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the air of different hospital settings and the autopsy room of the largest medical centre in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Real-time reverse-transcription PCR was used to determine the presence of the envelope protein of SARS-CoV-2 and the nucleocapsid protein genes. The E-gene was detected in 5 out of 6 samples at the ICU-COVID-19 ward and in 5 out of 7 samples at the ward-COVID-19. Similarly, in the non-dedicated facilities, the E-gene was detected in 5 out of 6 samples collected in the ICU and 4 out of 7 samples in the ward. In the necropsy room, 6 out of 7 samples were positive for the E-gene. When both wards were compared, the non-COVID ward presented a significantly higher concentration of the E-gene than in the COVID-19 ward (p = 0.003). There was no significant difference in E-gene concentration between the ICU-COVID-19 and the ICU (p = 0.548). Likewise, there was no significant difference among E-gene concentrations found in the autopsy room versus the ICUs and wards (dedicated or not) (p = 0.245). Our results show the widespread presence of aerosol contamination in different hospital units.