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Evaluating a Sepsis Screening Tool in the Outpatient Setting

  • 0Ashley Miles.
Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing +

|

August 12, 2025

|

August 12, 2025

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

A best practice advisory (BPA) for sepsis in cancer patients initially had many false alarms. Adjusting the heart rate criteria significantly improved accuracy, enhancing early sepsis detection and management.

Area Of Science

  • Oncology
  • Critical Care Medicine
  • Health Informatics

Background

  • Sepsis identification in cancer patients is difficult due to varied symptoms.
  • Early sepsis detection is crucial for prompt intervention.
  • A best practice advisory (BPA) was implemented to aid sepsis identification.

Purpose Of The Study

  • Evaluate the effectiveness of an outpatient sepsis BPA.
  • Assess BPA's reliability in prompting sepsis workups for cancer patients.
  • Improve sepsis detection and management in adult cancer patients.

Main Methods

  • Implemented an outpatient sepsis BPA using systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria.
  • BPA triggered alerts when two or more criteria were met.
  • Adjusted heart rate threshold to improve BPA accuracy.

Main Results

  • Initial BPA implementation yielded a 92% false-positive rate (253/275 alerts).
  • Adjusting the heart rate threshold from >90 to >100 bpm reduced false positives by nearly 50%.
  • Improved BPA specificity for identifying at-risk patients while maintaining true sepsis detection.

Conclusions

  • The adjusted BPA demonstrates improved accuracy in identifying sepsis among outpatient cancer patients.
  • Refining BPA criteria enhances its utility for early sepsis detection.
  • Optimized BPAs can improve sepsis management in vulnerable cancer populations.

Keywords:

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