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[Assessment of an educational intervention regarding blood cultures as process indicators in an emergency department
N W Genoud1, M Alonso Serena2, M H Díaz3
1Sección de Infectología, Clínica Médica, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Central de Emergencias de Adultos, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to describe 2 process indicators related to taking blood cultures (BC) in an Adult Emergency Department of a tertiary university hospital in Buenos Aires,and to describe the changes after a series of educational activities for health professionals was implemented during May 2016 as regards the appropriate indication of BC and the proper collection technique.
Materials And Methods:
A retrospective cohort study was designed to assess its effectiveness, which consecutively included all patients admitted during 2015-2016. The BC request rate was used as a process indicator, and the percentage of contaminated BCs and the true positives rate were used as quality indicators. Both were measured monthly and prospectively during the period of study.
Results:
The annual adjusted rate of BC requests was 4.9% (95% CI 4.8-5) in 2015 and 2.9% (95% CI 2.8-2.9) in 2016. The rate of false positive (contaminated) BCs was 4.5% in 2015 and 4.3% after the educational intervention. The true positive BCs were 8.3% in 2015 and 12% post-intervention.
Conclusions:
These findings prove how important and effective the educational interventions are.
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