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Development of guidelines for nurse-led discharge of children presenting with toxic ingestion

Lorraine Lawton1

  • 1Whittington Hospital, London. Lorraine.Lawton@nhs.net

Nursing Children and Young People
|January 15, 2013
PubMed

Insights

A new nurse-led discharge pathway for children with accidental toxic ingestions significantly reduced hospital time, treatment duration, and costs. This initiative also enhanced the overall patient experience in the pediatric emergency department.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Healthcare Management
  • Toxicology

Background:

  • Accidental toxic ingestions are common in children presenting to emergency departments.
  • Existing discharge processes can lead to prolonged hospital stays and increased healthcare costs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and evaluate a nurse-led discharge pathway for pediatric patients with accidental toxic ingestions.
  • To assess the impact of this pathway on hospital stay duration, treatment time, costs, and patient experience.

Main Methods:

  • Development of specific guidelines for a nurse-led discharge pathway.
  • Implementation in a pediatric emergency department setting.
  • Retrospective analysis of key performance indicators before and after pathway implementation.

Main Results:

  • Significant reductions in average time in hospital and time to treatment.
  • Demonstrated decrease in overall healthcare costs associated with these cases.
  • Reported improvement in patient and family experience with the emergency service.

Conclusions:

  • A nurse-led discharge pathway is effective in managing pediatric accidental toxic ingestions.
  • This model improves efficiency, reduces costs, and enhances patient satisfaction.
  • The pathway offers a scalable solution for similar emergency department protocols.

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