A Quality Improvement Initiative: Developing a Multi-Disciplinary Team for Infective Endocarditis

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Infective Endocarditis
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• Current guidelines lack specific models for developing multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs).
• A quality improvement framework was utilized to design an MDT for infective endocarditis (IE).

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a model for developing an MDT for IE patients.
• To identify areas for improvement in IE patient care pathways.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of IE patients (January-December 2016) meeting modified Duke criteria (age >18).
• Data collected included primary service, specialty teams, surgical indications, and outcomes.
• Analysis focused on identifying missed opportunities and reasons for non-surgical management.

Main Results:

• 29/82 patients met inclusion criteria.
• Surgery was indicated for 72.4% of patients; 42.9% underwent surgery.
• Missed opportunities were identified in 22.2% of cases, particularly in left-sided IE, leading to higher mortality (66.67%).

Conclusions:

• Quality improvement and team development tools are effective for establishing an IE MDT.
• The developed MDT aims to improve surgical management for indicated IE cases.