Journal of hospital medicine : an official publication of the Society of Hospital Medicine
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The accuracy of pulse oximetry monitor orders for identifying infants with bronchiolitis who are being continuously monitored is unknown. In this 56-hospital repeated cross-sectional study, investigators used direct bedside observation to determine continuous pulse oximetry monitor use and then assessed if an active continuous monitoring order was present in the electronic health record. ⋯ The positive predictive value of a monitoring order was 77% (95% CI, 72-82), and the negative predictive value was 69% (95% CI, 61-77). Teams intending to measure continuous pulse oximetry use should understand the limitations of using electronic health record orders as a stand-alone measure.
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Observational Study
Comparing Two Proximal Measures of Unrecognized Clinical Deterioration in Children.
Critical deterioration events (CDEs) and emergency transfers (ETs) are two proximal measures to cardiopulmonary arrest, and both aim to evaluate how systems recognize and respond to clinical deterioration in children. This retrospective observational study sought to (1) characterize CDEs and ETs by timing, overlap, and intervention category, and (2) evaluate the performance of the watcher identification system and the pediatric early warning score (PEWS) to identify patients who experience these events. A total of 359 CDEs and 88 ETs occurred during the study period. ⋯ A narrow majority of patients were identified as watchers (55.4% of CDEs and 51.1% of ETs). In total, 85.5% of CDEs and 87.5% of ETs were identified as watchers, elevated PEWS, or both. Opportunities exist for improved escalation plans for high-risk patients to prevent the need for emergent intervention.