Preparing children for day case nuclear medicine procedures

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nuclear Medicine
• Healthcare Auditing
• Patient Care Standards

Background:

• Nuclear medicine procedures are increasingly common for pediatric patients.
• Day case attendance requires specific standards for efficient and safe patient management.
• Auditing existing standards is crucial for identifying areas of improvement in pediatric care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To audit locally developed standards for pediatric nuclear medicine procedures.
• To assess the effectiveness of current practices in a day case setting.
• To identify areas for improvement in patient preparation, procedural efficiency, and staff training.

Main Methods:

• Prospective audit of 210 pediatric patients undergoing day case nuclear medicine procedures.
• Data collected over 18 months by ward and nuclear medicine staff using audit sheets.
• Evaluation of information provision, procedural preparation, cannulation success rates, sedation use, and scan delays.

Main Results:

• Most families received adequate information and notice; surface analgesia and play preparation were commonly offered.
• Cannulation success rates were 58% on the first attempt and 88% after three attempts.
• Median scan delay was 15 minutes (71% within 20 minutes), primarily due to logistic (43%) and cannulation (35%) issues.

Conclusions:

• The audit led to practice changes, including enhanced nurse training for cannulation and improved departmental scheduling.
• Play preparation is vital, with minimal need for sedation in pediatric nuclear medicine.
• The established standards provide a benchmark for future comparative audits across different units.