National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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Search All Research Studies
Topics
- Adverse Drug Events (ADE) (2)
- Adverse Events (3)
- Antibiotics (4)
- Antimicrobial Stewardship (2)
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- (-) Critical Care (10)
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- (-) Intensive Care Unit (ICU) (10)
- Kidney Disease and Health (1)
- (-) Medication (10)
- Medication: Safety (3)
- Neurological Disorders (2)
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 10 of 10 Research Studies DisplayedFlannery DD, Zevallos Barboza A, Mukhopadhyay S
Antibiotic use among infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units.
The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine antibiotic exposure, days of therapy, types of antibiotics, and changes in use patterns among newborns in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) across the U.S. Data for almost 1.4 million infants were taken from the Premier Healthcare Database. The most common antibiotics prescribed during the study period were ampicillin, gentamicin, vancomycin, and cefotaxime. Antibiotic use declined substantially over time, primarily because of reductions in ampicillin and gentamicin. The authors noted that these findings probably reflect the penetration of national calls for neonatal antibiotic stewardship efforts and refined early-onset infection risk-assessment strategies; shortage and subsequent discontinuation of cefotaxime may have played a role in the sharp decline in its use and the related increase in ceftazidime use.
AHRQ-funded; HS027468.
Citation: Flannery DD, Zevallos Barboza A, Mukhopadhyay S .
Antibiotic use among infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units.
JAMA Pediatr 2023 Dec; 177(12):1354-56. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.3664..
Keywords: Newborns/Infants, Antibiotics, Medication, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Critical Care
Sullivan BA, Panda A, Wallman-Stokes A
Antibiotic spectrum index: a new tool comparing antibiotic use in three NICUs.
This study looked at a new tool called the antibiotic spectrum index (ASI) which quantifies antibiotic exposure by relative antimicrobial activity, adding information to exposure measured by days of therapy (DOT). This index was tested with very low-birth-weight infants (VLBW, <1500g) in 3 level-4 NICUs for 2 years at 2 sites and for 1 year at a third site. The authors calculated the ASI per antibiotic days and DOT per patient days for all admitted VLBW infants <32 weeks gestational age. The site with the highest DOT per patient days was found to have the lowest ASI per antibiotic days and the site with the highest mortality and infection rates were found to have the highest ASI per antibiotic days. Antibiotic utilization varied by center.
AHRQ-funded; HS026742.
Citation: Sullivan BA, Panda A, Wallman-Stokes A .
Antibiotic spectrum index: a new tool comparing antibiotic use in three NICUs.
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2022 Nov;43(11):1553-57. doi: 10.1017/ice.2021.467..
Keywords: Antibiotics, Medication, Newborns/Infants, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Critical Care, Antimicrobial Stewardship
Chiotos K, Fitzgerald JC, Hayes M
Improving vancomycin stewardship in critically ill children.
The purpose of this study was to describe a quality improvement intervention to reduce the use of vancomycin in a tertiary care Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Over a period of 3 years, the researchers conducted 3 quality improvement (QI) interventions including 1) stakeholder education, 2) development of a consensus-based guideline for empiric vancomycin use, and 3) implementation of the guideline through clinical decision support. The study found that of 1276 episodes of suspected bacterial infection, a total of 19 cases of bacteremia (1.5%) due to organisms requiring vancomycin therapy were identified, including 6 MRSA bacteremias. Over the 3-year period of the QI project, overall vancomycin DOT per 1000 patient days in the PICU decreased from a baseline mean of 182 DOT per 1000 patient days to 109 DOT per 1000 patient days (a 40% reduction). The study concluded that the intervention reduced overall vancomycin use in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit without evidence of harm.
AHRQ-funded; HS026393.
Citation: Chiotos K, Fitzgerald JC, Hayes M .
Improving vancomycin stewardship in critically ill children.
Pediatrics 2022 Apr;149(4):e2021052165. doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-052165..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Critical Care, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Antibiotics, Medication, Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
Conway JA, Kharayat P, Sanders RC
Ketamine use for tracheal intubation in critically ill children is associated with a lower occurrence of adverse hemodynamic events.
Tracheal intubation in critically ill children with shock poses a risk of hemodynamic compromise. Ketamine has been considered the drug of choice for induction in these patients, but limited data exist. In this study, the authors investigated whether the administration of ketamine for tracheal intubation in critically ill children with or without shock was associated with fewer adverse hemodynamic events compared with other induction agents. They also investigated if there was a dose dependence for any association between ketamine use and adverse hemodynamic events.
AHRQ-funded; HS021583; HS022464; HS024511.
Citation: Conway JA, Kharayat P, Sanders RC .
Ketamine use for tracheal intubation in critically ill children is associated with a lower occurrence of adverse hemodynamic events.
Crit Care Med 2020 Jun;48(6):e489-e97. doi: 10.1097/ccm.0000000000004314..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Critical Care, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Medication
Greene RA, Zullo AR, Mailloux CM
Effect of best practice advisories on sedation protocol compliance and drug-related hazardous condition mitigation among critical care patients.
This study’s goal was to determine whether best practice advisories improved sedation protocol compliance and could mitigate propofol-related hazardous conditions in adult ICUs. Two adult ICUs at two academic medical centers that shared the same sedation protocol were used to identify adults admitted between 2016 to January 31 2018 who received a continuous infusion of propofol. A total of 1,394 patients were included in the study cohort. The best practice advisory improved sedation protocol compliance and resulted in providers discontinuing propofol an average of 16.6 hours sooner than pre-best practice advisory.
AHRQ-funded; HS022998.
Citation: Greene RA, Zullo AR, Mailloux CM .
Effect of best practice advisories on sedation protocol compliance and drug-related hazardous condition mitigation among critical care patients.
Crit Care Med 2020 Feb;48(2):185-91. doi: 10.1097/ccm.0000000000004116..
Keywords: Critical Care, Medication, Medication: Safety, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Guidelines, Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
Stoops C, Stone S, Evans E
Baby NINJA (Nephrotoxic Injury Negated by Just-in-Time Action): reduction of nephrotoxic medication-associated acute kidney injury in the neonatal intensive care unit.
The purpose of this study was to test if acute kidney injury (AKI) is preventable in patients in the neonatal intensive care unit and if infants at high-risk of nephrotoxic medication-induced AKI can be identified using a systematic surveillance program previously used in the pediatric non-intensive care unit setting. The authors concluded that a systematic surveillance program to identify high-risk infants can prevent nephrotoxic-induced AKI and has the potential to prevent short and long-term consequences of AKI in critically ill infants.
AHRQ-funded; HS023763.
Citation: Stoops C, Stone S, Evans E .
Baby NINJA (Nephrotoxic Injury Negated by Just-in-Time Action): reduction of nephrotoxic medication-associated acute kidney injury in the neonatal intensive care unit.
J Pediatr 2019 Dec;215:223-28.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.08.046..
Keywords: Newborns/Infants, Medication, Medication: Safety, Patient Safety, Kidney Disease and Health, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Critical Care, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Prevention, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events
Carayon P, Wetterneck TB, Cartmill R
Medication safety in two intensive care units of a community teaching hospital after electronic health record implementation: sociotechnical and human factors engineering considerations.
This study examined the impact of electronic health record (EHR) implementation in two intensive care units (ICUs). The authors assessed 1254 consecutive admissions before and after an EHR implementation. They identified 4063 medication-related events either pre-implementation (2074 events) or post-implementation (1989 events). The overall potential for harm due to medication errors decreased post-implementation, but only 2 of the 3 error rates were significantly lower post-implementation. They observed reductions in rates of medication errors per admission at the stages of transcription, dispensing, and administration. In the ordering stage, 4 error types decreased post-implementation (orders with omitted information, error-prone abbreviations, illegible orders, failure to renew orders) and 4 error types increased post-implementation (orders of wrong drug, orders containing a wrong start or stop time, duplicate orders, orders with inappropriate or wrong information).
AHRQ-funded; HS015274; HS000083.
Citation: Carayon P, Wetterneck TB, Cartmill R .
Medication safety in two intensive care units of a community teaching hospital after electronic health record implementation: sociotechnical and human factors engineering considerations.
J Patient Saf 2021 Aug 1;17(5):e429-e39. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000358.
AHRQ-funded; HS015274; HS000083..
AHRQ-funded; HS015274; HS000083..
Keywords: Medication: Safety, Medication, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Critical Care, Patient Safety, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Barbash IJ
Cognitive impairment, anesthesia, and critical illness: learning from the past to gain perspective on the future.
This study examined the link between cognitive impairment, ICU admission and anesthesia. The author’s hypothesis was that patients with cognitive impairment would be more likely to undergo surgical procedures. However, analysis using data from the Mayo Clinical Study on Aging on 1,977 cognitive normal patients, 387 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 72 patients with established dementia found that patients with MCI were more likely to undergo anesthesia and those with dementia were less likely to undergo procedural anesthesia. The author hypothesizes this may be linked to impaired decision-making of the patient and the risk-benefit analysis of performing surgery on patients with established dementia. However, ICU admissions were increased in patients with MCI and dementia.
AHRQ-funded; HS025455.
Citation: Barbash IJ .
Cognitive impairment, anesthesia, and critical illness: learning from the past to gain perspective on the future.
Mayo Clin Proc 2018 Nov;93(11):1537-39. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2018.09.007..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Critical Care, Medication, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Neurological Disorders
Mahmoud L, Zullo AR, Thompson BB
Outcomes of protocolised analgesia and sedation in a neurocritical care unit.
Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study of 1197 mechanically ventilated patients admitted to a 12-bed neurocritical care unit (NCCU) over four years in order to evaluate the effect of an analgesia-based sedation protocol on medication use and costs in the NCCU. The protocol resulted in increased in fentanyl use and decreased in propofol use, but their findings indicate no effect on healthcare utilization, healthcare costs, or in-hospital mortality. Based on these results, the researchers suggest that similar NCCUs should consider using population-specific protocols to manage analgesia and sedation.
AHRQ-funded; HS022998.
Citation: Mahmoud L, Zullo AR, Thompson BB .
Outcomes of protocolised analgesia and sedation in a neurocritical care unit.
Brain Inj 2018;32(7):941-47. doi: 10.1080/02699052.2018.1469167..
Keywords: Care Management, Brain Injury, Critical Care, Healthcare Costs, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Medication, Neurological Disorders, Outcomes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Johnson JK, Robinson GL, Pineles LL
Carbapenem MICs in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in critical care patients from 2001 to 2009.
Carbapenem antibiotics are used as a first line of therapy against ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae. The researchers examined a cohort of critical care patients for gastrointestinal colonization with carbapenem-resistant ESBL-producing strains (CR-ESBL strains). They found that 10 percent of the isolates were resistant to at least one carbapenem antibiotic.
AHRQ-funded; HS021068.
Citation: Johnson JK, Robinson GL, Pineles LL .
Carbapenem MICs in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in critical care patients from 2001 to 2009.
Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2017 Apr;61(4):e01718-16. doi: 10.1128/aac.01718-16.
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Keywords: Antibiotics, Critical Care, Medication, Intensive Care Unit (ICU)