Improving Post-procedure Outcomes With Clinical Care Pathway for Enteral Access

Area of Science:

• Clinical Nutrition
• Healthcare Management
• Patient Outcomes

Background:

• Hospitalized patients often require enteral access for nutritional support.
• Variability in care pathways can impact patient outcomes and resource utilization.
• Optimizing enteral access management is crucial for effective patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of an enteral access clinical pathway (EACP) on key performance indicators.
• To assess changes in nutritionist consults, emergency department (ED) presentations, hospital readmissions, and length of stay post-EACP implementation.
• To determine the effectiveness of a standardized pathway in improving care for patients with enteral access.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective cohort study comparing patients before (baseline) and after (performance) EACP implementation.
• Analysis included patients with short-term access (STA), long-term access (LTA), and short-to-long-term conversions (SLT).
• Data collected on nutrition consults, ED revisits, hospital readmissions, and length of stay for approximately 5,000 patients across two six-month periods.

Main Results:

• The performance group showed a higher likelihood of receiving a nutrition consult (52.4% vs 48.0%, P < .01).
• Patients in the performance group were less likely to re-present to the ED (31.9% vs 42.6%, P < .001) and less likely to be readmitted (31.0% vs 41.6%, P < .001).
• These results indicate significant improvements in care delivery and patient outcomes following EACP introduction.

Conclusions:

• The enteral access clinical pathway (EACP) is associated with improved patient care and resource management.
• The EACP facilitates increased expert nutritional support and enhances discharge planning for hospitalized patients.
• Standardized clinical pathways can effectively optimize enteral access management and positively influence patient outcomes.