Assessment of Mesenteric Tissue Saturation, Oxygen Saturation, and Heart Rate Pre- and Post-Blood Transfusion in Very Low-Birth-Weight Infants Using Abdominal Site Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.

BACKGROUND: Preterm infants often receive blood transfusions during hospitalization. Although transfusions are intended to enhance oxygen delivery, previous studies found decreases in tissue and mesenteric oxygen saturation during and after blood transfusions without changes in vital signs and hemoglobin oxygen saturation. PURPOSE: To study the effect of blood transfusions on regional mesenteric tissue oxygen saturation (rSO2), hemoglobin saturation of oxygen (SpO2), and heart rate (HR) in premature infants. METHOD: A prospective, observational, nonrandomized study using a repeated-measures design was done to evaluate changes in physiologic variables (HR, SpO2, rSO2) before, during, and after a blood transfusion in premature infants. RESULTS: A convenience sample of 30 infants with a mean gestational age of 25.5 (2.1) weeks was recruited. Repeated-measures analysis of variance found no significant differences in HR (P = .06) and SpO2 (P = .55) over time. However, significant differences occurred in rSO2 over the 3 time periods (P < .001). The rSO2 increased during the transfusion from 40.3% to 41.5%, but decreased to 34.9% in the posttransfusion period. Pairwise comparisons revealed statistically significant mean rSO2 differences between pretransfusion and posttransfusion (P < .001), and during transfusion to posttransfusion (P < .001) periods. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH: This study supports previous findings of perfusion changes during blood transfusions in preterm infants. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Measuring mesenteric tissue oxygenation during blood transfusion in very low-birth-weight infants can potentially add another physiologic parameter to guide further clinical assessment and interventions during transfusions.

Two Hours of Teamwork Training Improves Teamwork in Simulated Cardiopulmonary Arrest Events.

PURPOSE/AIM: Teamwork during cardiopulmonary arrest events is important for resuscitation. Teamwork improvement programs are usually lengthy. This study assessed the effectiveness of a 2-hour teamwork training program. DESIGN: A prospective, pretest/posttest, quasi-experimental design assessed the teamwork training program targeted to resident physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists. METHODS: Participants took part in a simulated cardiac arrest. After the simulation, participants and trained observers assessed perceptions of teamwork using the Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM) tool (ratings of 0 [low] to 4 [high]). A debriefing and 45 minutes of teamwork education followed. Participants then took part in a second simulated cardiac arrest scenario. Afterward, participants and observers assessed teamwork. RESULTS: Seventy-three team members participated-resident physicians (25%), registered nurses (32%), and respiratory therapists (41%). The physicians had significantly less experience on code teams (P < .001). Baseline teamwork scores were 2.57 to 2.72. Participants' mean (SD) scores on the TEAM tool for the first and second simulations were 3.2 (0.5) and 3.7 (0.4), respectively (P < .001). Observers' mean (SD) TEAM scores for the first and second simulations were 3.0 (0.5) and 3.7 (0.3), respectively (P < .001). Program evaluations by participants were positive. CONCLUSIONS: A 2-hour simulation-based teamwork educational intervention resulted in improved perceptions of teamwork behaviors. Participants reported interactions with other disciplines, teamwork behavior education, and debriefing sessions were beneficial for enhancing the program.