Critical Care Explorations (Nov 2021)

Queensland Pediatric Sepsis Breakthrough Collaborative: Multicenter Observational Study to Evaluate the Implementation of a Pediatric Sepsis Pathway Within the Emergency Department

  • Amanda Harley, MN,
  • Paula Lister, PhD,
  • Patricia Gilholm, PhD,
  • Michael Rice, MN,
  • Bala Venkatesh, MD,
  • Amy N.B. Johnston, PhD,
  • Debbie Massey, PhD,
  • Adam Irwin, PhD,
  • Kristen Gibbons, PhD,
  • Luregn J. Schlapbach, PhD,
  • on behalf of the Queensland Statewide Sepsis Collaborative,
  • Luregn Schlapbach,
  • Amanda Harley,
  • Adam Irwin,
  • Nicolette Graham,
  • Fiona Thomson,
  • Kieran Owen,
  • Kirsten Garrish,
  • Emma Sampson,
  • Debbie Long,
  • Shane George,
  • Keith Grimwood,
  • Christa Bell,
  • Bethany Semple,
  • Claire Adams,
  • Josea Brown,
  • Louise Maloney,
  • Paula Lister,
  • Scott Schofield,
  • Clare Thomas,
  • Liam Dejong,
  • Esther Bently,
  • Lambros Halkidis,
  • Cheryl Bird,
  • Matthew Smith,
  • Pia Alexander,
  • Laura Davidson-West,
  • Titiosibina Ebenezer Adegbija,
  • Alice Brandt,
  • Bree Walker,
  • Andrea McLucas,
  • Adam Philip Michael,
  • Yulia Sugeng,
  • Samantha Hoole,
  • Candice Bauer,
  • John Sutherland,
  • Douglas Gordon Thomas,
  • David Van der Walt,
  • Jessica Hulme,
  • Kerrie Burke,
  • Helena Cooney,
  • Doug Morel,
  • Louise O’Riordan,
  • Samantha Fairless,
  • Megan Bool,
  • Nandini Choudary,
  • Shalini Arora,
  • Ben Lawton,
  • Jo Farrell,
  • Penelope Prasad,
  • Rudesh Prasad,
  • Laura O’Connor,
  • Timothy Butters,
  • Peter Kennedy,
  • Hanh Pham,
  • Maya Aoude,
  • Sara Blundell,
  • Natasha Willmett,
  • Louise McGrath,
  • Karen Smith,
  • Kate Weller,
  • Trina Maturanec,
  • Michael Rice,
  • Balasubramanian Venkatesh,
  • Paul Lane,
  • Lyndell Redpath,
  • Robert Seaton,
  • Donna Mason,
  • Naitik Mehta,
  • Vikrant Kalke,
  • Damian Jones,
  • Mathew Ames,
  • Mary Steele,
  • Amy Wilkinson,
  • Kristen Gibbons,
  • Patricia Gilholm,
  • Endrias Ergetu,
  • Rachel Treadwell,
  • Tahlia Van Raders,
  • Jessicah Minogue

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1097/CCE.0000000000000573
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3, no. 11
p. e0573

Abstract

Read online

OBJECTIVES:. To evaluate the implementation of a pediatric sepsis pathway in the emergency department as part of a statewide quality improvement initiative in Queensland, Australia. DESIGN:. Multicenter observational prospective cohort study. SETTING:. Twelve emergency departments in Queensland, Australia. PATIENTS:. Children less than 18 years evaluated for sepsis in the emergency department. Patients with signs of shock, nonshocked patients with signs of organ dysfunction, and patients without organ dysfunction were assessed. INTERVENTIONS:. Introduction of a pediatric sepsis pathway. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:. Process measures included compliance with and timeliness of the sepsis bundle, and bundle components. Process and outcome measures of children admitted to the ICU with sepsis were compared with a baseline cohort. Five-hundred twenty-three children were treated for sepsis including 291 with suspected sepsis without organ dysfunction, 86 with sepsis-associated organ dysfunction, and 146 with septic shock. Twenty-four (5%) were admitted to ICU, and three (1%) died. The median time from sepsis recognition to bundle commencement for children with septic shock was 56 minutes (interquartile range, 36–99 min) and 47 minutes (interquartile range, 34–76 min) for children with sepsis-associated organ dysfunction without shock; 30% (n = 44) and 40% (n = 34), respectively, received the bundle within the target timeframe. In comparison with the baseline ICU cohort, bundle compliance improved from 27% (n = 45) to 58% (n = 14) within 60 minutes of recognition and from 47% (n = 78/167) to 75% (n = 18) within 180 minutes of recognition (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS:. Our findings on the introduction of protocolized care in a large and diverse state demonstrate ongoing variability in sepsis bundle compliance. Although bundle compliance improved compared with a baseline cohort, continued efforts are required to ensure guideline targets and sustainability are achieved.