Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 6, 2025

A Murine Model of Fetal Exposure to Maternal Inflammation to Study the Effects of Acute Chorioamnionitis on Newborn Intestinal Development
08:50

A Murine Model of Fetal Exposure to Maternal Inflammation to Study the Effects of Acute Chorioamnionitis on Newborn Intestinal Development

Published on: June 24, 2020

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Reducing Time to First Dose of Antibiotic: The Example of Asymptomatic Neonates Exposed to Chorioamnionitis

Samuel Ajayi1, Folasade Kehinde2,3, David Cooperberg3,4

  • 1Division of Neonatology, Hendrick Medical Center, Abilene, Tex.

Pediatric Quality & Safety
|May 12, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Timely antibiotic delivery to neonates exposed to chorioamnionitis was improved by 40% using multipronged interventions. This enhanced care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) reduced the time to first antibiotic dose, improving outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal intensive care
  • Infectious disease management
  • Quality improvement initiatives

Background:

  • Timely antibiotic administration is critical for neonatal sepsis outcomes.
  • Infants exposed to maternal chorioamnionitis are at increased risk for sepsis.
  • Current delivery times for antibiotics in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) may not meet optimal targets.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To reduce the average time from admission to the first antibiotic dose by at least 30%.
  • To increase the percentage of neonates receiving antibiotics within 1 hour of NICU arrival to 50%.
  • To implement and evaluate multipronged interventions for timely medication delivery in at-risk neonates.

Main Methods:

  • A study involving 135 infants (≥34 weeks gestational age) exposed to chorioamnionitis.
  • Utilized plan-do-study-act cycles to identify and address barriers to timely antibiotic administration.
  • Employed X-bar/S control charts and P charts for monthly process measure monitoring.

Main Results:

  • Reduced the mean time to the first antibiotic dose by 40% (from 130 to 78 minutes).
  • Increased the percentage of infants receiving antibiotics within 60 minutes from 5.8% to 36.3%.
  • Observed significant improvements in blood culture acquisition time and the interval between IV access and antibiotic delivery.

Conclusions:

  • Multipronged interventions effectively improve timely antibiotic delivery to neonates in the NICU.
  • The study demonstrated successful quality improvement in medication administration for infants exposed to chorioamnionitis.
  • Optimized medication delivery times are achievable and beneficial for high-risk neonatal populations.

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