Sustained increase in annual transcranial Doppler screening rates in children with sickle cell disease: A quality improvement project.

INTRODUCTION: Individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) at increased risk for stroke should undergo annual stroke risk assessment using transcranial Doppler (TCD) screening between the ages of 2 and 16. Though this screening can significantly reduce morbidity associated with SCD, screening rates at Boston Children's Hospital (and nationwide) remain below the recommended 100% screening adherence rates. METHODS: Three plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles were designed and implemented. The Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (SMART) aim of our quality improvement (QI) initiative was to sustainably increase the proportion of eligible patients receiving a TCD within 15 months of their last TCD to greater than 95%. An interrupted time series (ITS) analysis was performed, comparing TCD adherence rates from PDSA Cycle 1 to those from PDSA Cycles 2 and 3. RESULTS: Mean TCD adherence increased across all three PDSA cycles, from a baseline of 67% in the first cycle (January 2015 to September 2020) to 92% in the third cycle (May 2021 to March 2023). In the ITS analysis of TCD adherence rates, there was a significant difference in the final TCD adherence rate achieved compared to the rate predicted, with a total estimated increase in adherence of 17.9% being attributable to the interventions from PDSA Cycles 2 and 3. DISCUSSION: Although other QI initiatives had demonstrated ability to increase adherence to TCD screening for patients with SCD, this is the first QI project to collect data over such a prolonged period of time to demonstrate a sustained increase in screening rates throughout the intervention (an 8-year period).

Reducing ambulatory central line-associated bloodstream infections: A family-centered approach.

BACKGROUND: Ambulatory central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) cause significant morbidity and mortality, especially in pediatric oncology. Few studies have had interventions directed toward caregivers managing central lines (CL) at home to reduce ambulatory CLABSI rates. We aimed to reduce and sustain our ambulatory CLABSI rate by 25% within 3 years of the start of a quality improvement intervention. PROCEDURE: Plan-do-study-act cycles were implemented beginning April 2016. The main intervention was a family-centered CL care skill development curriculum for external CLs. Training began upon hospital CL insertion, followed by an ambulatory teach-back program to achieve home caregiver CL care independence. Other changes included: standardizing ambulatory nurse CL care practice (audits, a train the nurse trainer process, and workshops for independent home care agencies); developing aids for trainers and caregivers; providing supplies for clean surfaces; wide dissemination of the program; and minimizing opportunities of CLABSI (e.g., standardizing timing of CL removal). The outcome measure was the ambulatory CLABSI rate (excluding mucosal barrier injury laboratory-confirmed bloodstream infection), compared pre intervention (January 2015 to March 2016) to post intervention, including 2 years of sustainability (April 2016 to June 2023), using statistical process control charts. We estimated the total number of CLABSI and associated healthcare charges prevented. RESULTS: The ambulatory CLABSI rate decreased by 52% from 0.25 to 0.12 per 1000 CL days post intervention, achieved within 27 months; 117 CLABSI were prevented, with $4.2 million hospital charges and 702 hospital days avoided. CONCLUSIONS: Focusing efforts on home caregivers CL care may lead to reduction in pediatric oncology ambulatory CLABSI rates.

Tolerability of ifosfamide-containing regimen in patients with high-risk renal and INI-1-deficient tumors.

BACKGROUND: Outcomes for children with high-risk renal (HRR) and INI-1-deficient (INI-) tumors are unacceptably poor. Concerns about excessive toxicity-as many are infants and/or undergo nephrectomy-have resulted in decreased chemotherapy dosing and omission of the nephrotoxic drug ifosfamide in collaborative group studies. As cause of death for children with these cancers remains overwhelmingly more from progressive disease rather than treatment toxicity, we examined the tolerability of an intensive ifosfamide-containing regimen. PROCEDURE: Retrospective review of children with HRR/INI- tumors treated at a single institution with vincristine, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide alternating with ifosfamide, carboplatin, etoposide (VDC-ICE) from 2006-2016. The primary outcome was regimen tolerability, including kidney injury and grade 3-5 nonhematologic toxicities. RESULTS: Fourteen patients with a median age of 1.7 years (range: 0.1-10.5) treated with VDC-ICE were identified. Diagnosis included malignant rhabdoid tumor (n = 9) (primary renal [n = 2]); diffuse anaplastic Wilms tumor (n = 3); clear cell sarcoma of the kidney (n = 1); and anaplastic chordoma (n = 1). All children with primary renal tumors (43%) underwent complete (n = 5) or partial nephrectomy (n = 1) before chemotherapy. Nine (64%) completed all intended cycles of chemotherapy; n = 5 (36%) did not due to disease progression. Unplanned hospitalizations occurred in 13 (93%) patients, most commonly for febrile neutropenia. No patient experienced severe organ toxicity, diminished renal function, treatment discontinuation due to toxicities, or treatment-related death. CONCLUSIONS: In children with HRR/INI- tumors, VDC-ICE chemotherapy was well-tolerated without excessive toxicities, even amongst young patients with solitary kidneys. Concerns about toxicity should not preclude an intensive ifosfamide-containing regimen from use in future trials in this population.

Improving Home Caregiver Independence With Central Line Care for Pediatric Cancer Patients.

OBJECTIVE: Home caregivers (eg parents) of pediatric patients with cancer with external central lines (CL) must carefully maintain this device to prevent complications. No guidelines exist to support caregiver skill development, assess CL competency, follow-up after initial CL teaching, and support progress over time. We aimed to achieve >90% caregiver independence with CL care within 1 year through a family-centered quality improvement intervention. METHODS: Drivers to achieve CL care independence were identified using surveys and interviews of patient or caregivers, a multidisciplinary team with patient or family representatives, and piloting clinic return demonstrations (teach-backs). A family-centered CL care skill-learning curriculum, with a postdischarge teach-back program, was implemented using plan-do-study-act cycles. Patients or caregivers participated until independent with CL flushing. Changes included: language iterations to maximize patient or caregiver engagement, developing standardized tools for home use and for teaching and evaluating caregiver proficiency on the basis of number of nurse prompts required during the teach-back, earlier inpatient training, and clinic redesign to incorporate teach-backs into routine visits. The proportion of eligible patients whose caregiver had achieved independence in CL flushing was the outcome measure. Teach-back program participation was a process measure. Statistical process control charts tracked change over time. RESULTS: After 6 months of quality improvement intervention, >90% of eligible patients had a caregiver achieve independence with CL care. This was sustained for 30 months postintervention. Eighty-eight percent of patients (n = 181) had a caregiver participate in the teach-back program. CONCLUSION: A family-centered hands-on teach-back program can lead to caregiver independence in CL care.

Developing the Key Driver Diagram by Analyzing Home Central Line Caregiver Proficiency Factors.

Caregivers of pediatric oncology and stem cell transplant patients often care for central lines (CLs) at home. Methods to achieve caregiver CL care proficiency, and interventions designed with caregiver input are lacking. Methods: Caregivers of pediatric oncology and stem cell transplant patients patients with an external CL or removed within 2 weeks were eligible for a survey assessing knowledge, the value of training strategies, and comfort. We mapped responses (n = 79) and acceptability/challenges of introducing a pilot caregiver CL teach-back clinic program onto the capability, opportunity, motivation behavioral (COM-B) model of change to identify drivers of caregiver CL care proficiency. A working group, including caregivers, refined and approved a final driver diagram. Results: Survey: Ninety-four percent of caregivers answered knowledge questions correctly (capability); 95% considered hands-on training helpful (opportunity); 53% were not very comfortable with CL care (motivation). Teach-back: Seventy-nine percent of caregivers were interested in a teach-back as additional training; 38% participated (opportunity); 20% refused participation due to being overwhelmed/not having time (motivation). Thirty-three percent of participants had a CL proficiency assessment (capability). Drivers of home caregiver CL care proficiency included: support for the caregiver's physical capability to perform CL care; enabling the CL care nurse trainer role; facilitating and increasing training opportunities, and engaging caregivers early and continuously to motivate proficiency development appropriately. Conclusions: An approach centered on caregivers as main stakeholders can identify drivers to co-design an intervention for improved home CL care delivery. A standardized process to train and evaluate caregivers with multiple hands-on opportunities might be beneficial.

Preventable harm because of outpatient medication errors among children with leukemia and lymphoma: A multisite longitudinal assessment.

BACKGROUND: There is little longitudinal information about the type and frequency of harm resulting from medication errors among outpatient children with cancer. We aimed to characterize rates and types of medication errors and harm to outpatient children with leukemia and lymphoma over 7 months of treatment. METHODS: We recruited children taking medications at home for leukemia or lymphoma from three pediatric cancer centers. Errors were identified by chart review, in-home medication review, observation of administration, and interviews. Physician reviewers confirmed error (Fleiss' κ = 0.95), harm (Fleiss' κ = 0.82), and suggested interventions. Generalized linear mixed models with random effects were used to account for clustering by site. RESULTS: Among 131 children taking 1669 medications with 367 home visits, 408 errors were identified, including 242 with potential for harm and 39 with harm (1.0 harm per 1000 patient-days [95% CI, 0.1-9.8]). Ten percent of children were injured by errors and 42% had errors with potential for harm. Twenty-six percent of caregivers reported that miscommunication led to missed doses or overdoses at home. Children on >13 medications had significantly more serious medication errors than those on fewer medications (77% vs 61%; p = .05). Physician reviewers judged that improved communication among caregivers and between caregivers and clinicians may have prevented the most harm (66%). CONCLUSIONS: In this longitudinal study, 10% children with leukemia or lymphoma experienced adverse drug events because of outpatient medication errors. Improvements addressing communication with and among caregivers should be codeveloped with families and based on human-factors engineering. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: In this longitudinal study, medication errors in the clinic, pharmacy, or at home among children with leukemia or lymphoma over a 7-month period were common, and 10% suffered harm because of errors. Children on >13 medications had significantly more serious medication errors than those on fewer medications (77% vs 61%; p = .05). Physician reviewers judged that improved communication among caregivers and between caregivers and clinicians may have prevented the most harm (66%). Improvements addressing communication with and among caregivers should be codeveloped with families and based on human-factors engineering.

Missed diagnosis of cancer in primary care: Insights from malpractice claims data.

BACKGROUND: In the ambulatory setting, missed cancer diagnoses are leading contributors to patient harm and malpractice risk; however, there are limited data on the malpractice case characteristics for these cases. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine key features and factors identified in missed cancer diagnosis malpractice claims filed related to primary care and evaluate predictors of clinical and claim outcomes. METHODS: We analyzed 2155 diagnostic error closed malpractice claims in outpatient general medicine. We created multivariate models to determine factors that predicted case outcomes. RESULTS: Missed cancer diagnoses represented 980 (46%) cases of primary care diagnostic errors, most commonly from lung, colorectal, prostate, or breast cancer. The majority (76%) involved errors in clinical judgment, such as a failure or delay in ordering a diagnostic test (51%) or failure or delay in obtaining a consult or referral (37%). These factors were independently associated with higher-severity patient harm. The majority of these errors were of high severity (85%). CONCLUSIONS: Malpractice claims involving missed diagnoses of cancer in primary care most often involve routine screening examinations or delays in testing or referral. Our findings suggest that more reliable closed-loop systems for diagnostic testing and referrals are crucial for preventing diagnostic errors in the ambulatory setting.

Role of Adverse Events in Unscheduled Hospitalizations Among Patients With Solid Tumors Who Receive Medical Oncology Treatment.

PURPOSE: The development of strategies to prevent or mitigate cancer treatment-related adverse events (AEs) is necessary to improve patient experience, safety, and cost containment. To develop a strategy to easily identify and mitigate AEs, we sought to understand the frequency and severity of those that resulted in hospitalizations. METHODS: We retrospectively characterized hospitalizations of ambulatory adult patients with solid tumor cancers within 30 days of chemotherapy administration using medical record data abstraction. Hospitalizations were categorized as caused by cancer symptoms, a noncancer medical condition, or a medical oncology treatment-related AE. Severity of the treatment-related AE hospitalization was rated using the National Patient Safety Agency risk assessment matrix scale. RESULTS: Between May and October 2016, 116 patients experienced 197 hospitalizations (per-patient mean, 1.7 AEs; range, 1 to 7 AEs). Sixty-six percent (n = 130) of hospitalizations were related to cancer symptoms, whereas 19.3% (n = 38) were treatment-related AE hospitalizations. The median length of stay of hospitalizations that resulted from an AE was 6 days (interquartile range, 3 to 9 days), and 36.8% had more than 1 AE. GI symptoms accounted for 48.1% of AEs, and neutropenic fever accounted for 11.1%. Sixty-one percent of treatment-related AE hospitalizations were characterized as moderate severity. CONCLUSION: Hospitalizations in patients with solid tumors as a direct result of their medical oncology care treatment are not uncommon. These findings argue for novel approaches, such as automated trigger tools, to identify and manage complications of medical oncology treatment before hospitalization is needed. Improved outpatient management of cancer symptoms may have a dramatic impact on hospitalizations for patients with cancer.

A Quality Improvement Initiative to Increase and Sustain Influenza Vaccination Rates in Pediatric Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Influenza vaccination of pediatric oncology and stem cell transplant (SCT) patients is crucial due to high risk of complications. Achieving high vaccination rates to prevent illness is often limited by competing demands and intensive treatment. A quality improvement (QI) initiative beginning influenza season 2012-2013 aimed to achieve and sustain high vaccination rates in active patients > 6 months of age, receiving cancer therapy or SCT within 6 months before or at any time during the season, and > 100 days after allogeneic SCT. METHODS: We identified key drivers and barriers to success from an initially developed vaccination process that proved to be burdensome. Change ideas were implemented through multiple tests of change during the QI initiative. Iterations within and across 4 subsequent seasons included patient identification through chemotherapy orders, provider education, incorporating vaccination into routine work-flow, continuous data analysis and feedback, and use of new reporting technology. RESULTS: Initial vaccination rates were < 70%, increasing to 89% after the QI initiative began and subsequently sustained between 85% and 90%. Active patients were significantly more likely to be vaccinated during the initiative (odds ratio, 3.7; 95% CI, 2.9-4.6) as compared with the first 2 seasons. CONCLUSIONS: High influenza vaccination rates can be achieved and maintained in a pediatric oncology/SCT population using strategies that correctly identify patients at highest risk and minimize process burden.