Improving assessment of children with suspected respiratory tract infection in general practice

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• General Practice
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are common in children presenting to general practice, particularly during winter.
• Effective risk stratification is essential to identify children requiring urgent care and to avoid unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions.
• Antibiotic resistance is a growing concern, necessitating judicious antibiotic use in pediatric URTI management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate quality improvement strategies to enhance the assessment and documentation of children with URTIs in primary care.
• To improve the accuracy of clinical assessment by ensuring consistent measurement of vital signs.
• To enhance patient safety by standardizing the discussion and documentation of safety netting advice for parents.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement project focused on refining consultation processes for pediatric URTI cases.
• Implementation of standardized protocols for documenting heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR) during consultations.
• Introduction of a structured approach for discussing and documenting safety netting information provided to parents.

Main Results:

• The documentation rate of HR and RR for children with URTI increased from 57% to 100%.
• The discussion and documentation of safety netting information improved significantly, rising from 48% to 96%.
• These improvements were achieved through the application of quality improvement methodologies.

Conclusions:

• Quality improvement strategies effectively enhanced the safety and efficiency of assessing children with URTIs in general practice.
• Consistent documentation of vital signs and provision of safety netting are crucial components of high-quality pediatric URTI care.
• The project demonstrated a successful model for improving clinical practice in primary care settings for common childhood illnesses.