Collaborative quality improvement for neonatal intensive care. NIC/Q Project Investigators of the Vermont Oxford Network.

OBJECTIVE: To make measurable improvements in the quality and cost of neonatal intensive care using a multidisciplinary collaborative quality improvement model. DESIGN: Interventional study. Patient demographic and clinical information for infants with birth weight 501 to 1500 g was collected using the Vermont Oxford Network Database for January 1, 1994 to December 31, 1997. SETTING: Ten self-selected neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) received the intervention. They formed 2 subgroups (6 NICUs working on infection, 4 NICUs working on chronic lung disease). Sixty-six other NICUs served as a contemporaneous comparison group. PATIENTS: Infants with birth weight 501 to 1500 g born at or admitted within 28 days of birth between 1994 and 1997 to the 6 study NICUs in the infection group (n = 3063) and the 66 comparison NICUs (n = 21 509); infants with birth weight 501 to 1000 g at the 4 study NICUs in the chronic lung disease group (n = 738). INTERVENTIONS: NICUs formed multidisciplinary teams that worked together under the direction of a trained facilitator over a 3-year period beginning in January 1995. They received instruction in quality improvement, reviewed performance data, identified common improvement goals, and implemented "potentially better practices" developed through analysis of the processes of care, literature review, and site visits. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The rates of infection after the third day of life with coagulase-negative staphylococcal or other bacterial pathogens for infants with birth weight 501 to 1500 g, and the rates of oxygen supplementation or death at 36 weeks' adjusted gestational age for infants with birth weight 501 to 1000 g. RESULTS: Between 1994 and 1996, the rate of infection with coagulase-negative staphylococcus decreased from 22.0% to 16.6% at the 6 project NICUs in the infection group; the rate of supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks' adjusted gestational age decreased from 43.5% to 31.5% at the 4 NICUs in the chronic lung disease group. There was heterogeneity in the effects among the NICUs in both project groups. The changes observed at the project NICUs for these outcomes were significantly larger than those observed at the 66 comparison NICUs over the 4-year period from 1994 to 1997. CONCLUSION: We conclude that multidisciplinary collaborative quality improvement has the potential to improve the outcomes of neonatal intensive care.

Economic implications of neonatal intensive care unit collaborative quality improvement.

OBJECTIVE: To make measurable improvements in the quality and cost of neonatal intensive care using a multidisciplinary collaborative quality improvement model. DESIGN: Interventional study. Data on treatment costs were collected for infants with birth weight 501 to 1500 g for the period of January 1, 1994 to December 31, 1997. Data on resources expended by hospitals to conduct this project were collected in a survey for the period January 1, 1995 to December 31, 1996. SETTING: Ten self-selected neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) received the intervention. They formed 2 subgroups (6 NICUs working on infection, 4 NICUs working on chronic lung disease). Nine other NICUs served as a contemporaneous comparison group. PATIENTS: Infants with birth weight 501 to 1500 g born at or admitted within 28 days of birth between 1994 and 1997 to the 6 study NICUs in the infection group (N = 2993) and the 9 comparison NICUs (N = 2203); infants with birth weight 501 to 1000 g at the 4 study NICUs in the chronic lung disease group (N = 663) and the 9 comparison NICUs (N = 1007). INTERVENTIONS: NICUs formed multidisciplinary teams which worked together to undertake a collaborative quality improvement effort between January 1995 and December 1996. They received instruction in quality improvement, reviewed performance data, identified common improvement goals, and implemented "potentially better practices" developed through analysis of the processes of care, literature review, and site visits. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Treatment cost per infant is the primary economic outcome measure. In addition, the resources spent by hospitals in undertaking the collaborative quality improvement effort were determined. RESULTS: Between 1994 and 1996, the median treatment cost per infant with birth weight 501 to 1500 g at the 6 project NICUs in the infection group decreased from $57 606 to $46 674 (a statistical decline); at the 4 chronic lung disease hospitals, for infants with birth weights 501 to 1000 g, it decreased from $85 959 to $77 250. Treatment costs at hospitals in the control group rose over the same period. There was heterogeneity in the effects among the NICUs in both project groups. Cost savings were maintained in the year following the intervention. On average, hospitals spent $68 206 in resources to undertake the collaborative quality improvement effort between 1995 and 1996. Two thirds of these costs were incurred in the first year, with the remaining third in the second year. The average savings per hospital in patient care costs for very low birth weight infants in the infection group was $2.3 million in the post-intervention year (1996). There was considerable heterogeneity in the cost savings across hospitals associated with participation in the collaborative quality improvement project. CONCLUSION: Cost savings may be achieved as a result of collaborative quality improvement efforts and when they occur, they appear to be sustainable, at least in the short run. In high-cost patient populations, such as infants with very low birth weights, cost savings can quickly offset institutional expenditures for quality improvement efforts.

Acute airway injury during high-frequency jet ventilation and high-frequency oscillatory ventilation.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS: We compared tracheal histologic injury patterns, airway pressure (Paw) requirements, and in vivo and in vitro estimate of airway humidification in 13 adult cats with normal lungs mechanically ventilated for 16 hr. Six animals were treated with high-frequency jet ventilation at 400 breaths/min and seven animals with high-frequency oscillatory ventilation at 900 breaths/min. RESULTS: Peak airway pressure, Paw, mean Paw, and end-expiratory pressure requirements were significantly higher for high-frequency oscillatory ventilation as compared with high-frequency jet ventilation for similar gas exchange (p less than .01). While in vivo estimates of airway humidification suggested progressively greater H2O delivery into the respirator circuit, and therefore the airway, with higher frequencies, the in vitro study suggested similar relative humidities of the delivered gases during both types of mechanical ventilation. Tracheal injury, measured using a semiquantitative scoring system, was scored similarly for both ventilators studied despite the higher pressure requirements seen with the high-frequency oscillator. CONCLUSIONS: In this animal model, high-frequency ventilation using either jet or oscillation techniques produced similar inflammatory tracheal damage despite differences in Paw exposure and humidity.

Neonatal transcutaneous arterial oxygen saturation monitoring.

Transcutaneous arterial oxygen saturation (TcSaO2) and directly measured oxygen saturation values from 25 neonates with a variety of respiratory problems were compared. At arterial oxygen saturations above 60 per cent, TcSaO2 measurements were accurate and reliable. However, SaO2 values less than 60 per cent were significantly overestimated by TcSaO2, so careful laboratory confirmation of low SaO2 values is necessary. The use, accuracy, and limitations of this noninvasive transcutaneous technique for measuring arterial hemoglobin-oxygen saturation are discussed.

Necrotizing tracheobronchitis: a complication of high-frequency ventilation.

The tracheobronchial histopathologic findings in eight neonates who died after treatment with high-frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) were compared with those in eight similar infants who died after treatment with conventional mechanical ventilation. The HFJV and conventionally treated groups were matched as closely as possible for birth weight, gestational age, and duration of mechanical ventilation. A 4-point, nine-variable histologic scoring system was used to grade tissue changes in the trachea, carina, and mainstem bronchi. The patients who received HFJV had significantly more histologic damage in their tracheas, carinas, and right and left mainstem bronchi. At all levels of the airway examined, HFJV was associated with more inflammation, greater losses of ciliated epithelium, and more mucus within the lumen of the airway than was conventional mechanical ventilation.

High-frequency ventilation and tracheal injuries.

Recent reports linking serious tracheal injuries to various forms of high-frequency ventilation prompted this study. We compared the tracheal histopathology seen following standard-frequency, conventional mechanical ventilation with that seen following high-frequency, conventional mechanical ventilation, and two different forms of high-frequency jet ventilation. Twenty-six adult cats were examined. Each was mechanically ventilated for 16 hours. Seven received standard-frequency, conventional mechanical ventilation at 20 breaths per minute. Seven received high-frequency, conventional mechanical ventilation at 150 breaths per minute. Six received high-frequency jet ventilation at 250 breaths per minute via the Instrument Development Corporation VS600 jet ventilator (IDC). Six received high-frequency jet ventilation at 400 breaths per minute via the Bunnell Life Pulse jet ventilator (BLP). A semiquantitative histopathologic scoring system graded tracheal tissue changes. All forms of high-frequency ventilation produced significant inflammation (erosion, necrosis, and polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration) in the trachea in the region of the endotracheal tube tip. Conventional mechanical ventilation produced less histopathology than any form of high-frequency ventilation. Of all of the ventilators examined, the BLP, the ventilator operating at the fastest rate, produced the greatest loss of surface cilia and depletion of intracellular mucus. IDC high-frequency jet ventilation and high-frequency, conventional mechanical ventilation produced nearly identical histologic injuries. In this study, significant tracheal damage occurred with all forms of high-frequency ventilation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Neonatal high-frequency jet ventilation: four years' experience.

During a 4-year period, 34 neonates were treated with high-frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) using two different HFJV systems. Twenty-three of the neonates had severe pulmonary air leaks, five had congenital left-sided diaphragmatic hernias, and six had end-stage respiratory failure without pulmonary air leaks. The two HFJV systems performed similarly in all pathologic conditions. Following HFJV, arterial blood gas values improved in 28 of the 34 patients (82%). Eleven patients (32%) ultimately survived. Of 23 patients with pulmonary air leaks, 17 (74%) improved, nine (39%) survived. One infant with diaphragmatic hernia and one with end-stage respiratory failure survived. Ten of 12 patients (85%) who died following eight or more hours of HFJV had significant tracheal histopathology in the region of the endotracheal tube tip. The lesions ranged from moderate erythema to severe necrotizing tracheobronchitis with total tracheal obstruction. HFJV can be useful in the treatment of severe pulmonary air leaks in neonates and may prove useful in the treatment of congenital diaphragmatic hernias. However, HFJV produces inflammatory injuries in the proximal trachea. More clinical and laboratory studies are needed to define the relative risks and benefits of this new therapy.