The Association of Organizational Culture and Quality Improvement Implementation With Neonatal Outcomes in the NICU.

INTRODUCTION: Studies of adult patient populations suggest that organizational culture is associated with quality improvement (QI) implementation, as well as patient outcomes. However, very little research on organizational culture has been performed in neonatal patient populations. METHOD: This combined cross-sectional survey and retrospective cohort study assessed employee perceptions of organizational culture and QI implementation within 18 Canadian neonatal intensive care units. The associations between these data and neonatal outcomes in extremely preterm infants (born at < 29 weeks' gestation) were then assessed using multivariable analyses. RESULTS: Perceptions of unit culture and QI implementation varied according to occupation and age. Higher hierarchical culture was associated with increased survival without major morbidities (odds ratio, 1.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.06), as were higher QI implementation scores (odds ratio range, 1.20-1.36 by culture type). DISCUSSION: Our data suggest that organizational culture, particularly hierarchical culture, and level of QI implementation may play a role in neonatal outcomes.

Adverse events among children in Canadian hospitals: the Canadian Paediatric Adverse Events Study.

BACKGROUND: Limited data are available on adverse events among children admitted to hospital. The Canadian Paediatric Adverse Events Study was done to describe the epidemiology of adverse events among children in hospital in Canada. METHODS: We performed a 2-stage medical record review at 8 academic pediatric centres and 14 community hospitals in Canada. We reviewed charts from patients admitted from April 2008 through March 2009, evenly distributed across 4 age groups (0 to 28 d; 29 to 365 d; > 1 to 5 yr and > 5 to 18 yr). In stage 1, nurses and health records personnel who had received training in the use of the Canadian Paediatric Trigger Tool reviewed medical records to detect triggers for possible adverse events. In stage 2, physicians reviewed the charts identified as having triggers and described the adverse events. RESULTS: A total of 3669 children were admitted to hospital during the study period. The weighted rate of adverse events was 9.2%. Adverse events were more frequent in academic pediatric centres than in community hospitals (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 2.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.65-5.39). The incidence of preventable adverse events was not significantly different between types of hospital, but nonpreventable adverse events were more common in academic pediatric centres (adjusted OR 4.39, 95% CI 2.08-9.27). Surgical events predominated overall and occurred more frequently in academic pediatric centres than in community hospitals (37.2% v. 21.5%, relative risk [RR] 1.7, 95% CI 1.0-3.1), whereas events associated with diagnostic errors were significantly less frequent (11.1% v. 23.1%, RR 0.5, 95% CI 0.2-0.9). INTERPRETATION: More children have adverse events in academic pediatric centres than in community hospitals; however, adverse events in the former are less likely to be preventable. There are many opportunities to reduce harm affecting children in hospital in Canada, particularly related to surgery, intensive care and diagnostic error.

Reflections on knowledge translation in Canadian NICUs using the EPIQ method.

The Canadian Neonatal Network conducted a trial of Evidence-Based Practice for Improving Quality (EPIQ) between 2002 and 2005. Improved neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) outcomes established credibility for quality improvement. We surveyed team members and physician leaders to examine critical success factors and barriers to improvement during EPIQ. Respondents agreed that EPIQ had a high utility, was effectively implemented and was a major learning opportunity. The collaborative nature of the project was key to success. Respondents identified the need for additional training and resources in quality improvement. Better communication between clinicians and senior leaders is required to support quality improvement in NICUs.

Normal adrenal function in an infant following a pregnancy complicated by maternal adrenal cortical carcinoma and mitotane exposure.

Maternal adrenal cortical carcinoma in pregnancy is rare. We report a case of an infant born to a mother with a history of adrenal cortical carcinoma. The pregnancy was complicated by fetal exposure to mitotane and dexamethasone. Despite the potential teratogenic exposures, there was no evidence of adrenal dysfunction in the infant. Growth and development at 12 months of age are normal and prognosis appears favorable. The long-term impact of fetal exposure to mitotane and glucocorticoid requires further investigation.

Description of the development and validation of the Canadian Paediatric Trigger Tool.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the process of developing and validating the Canadian Association of Paediatric Health Centres Trigger Tool (CPTT). METHODS: Five existing trigger tools were consolidated with duplicate triggers eliminated. After a risk analysis and modified Delphi process, the tool was reduced from 94 to 47 triggers. Feasibility of use was tested, reviewing 40 charts in three hospitals. For validation, charts were randomly selected across four age groups, half medical/half surgical diagnoses, from six paediatric academic health sciences centres. 591 charts were reviewed by six nurses (for triggers and adverse events (AEs)) and three physicians (for AEs only). The incidence of trigger- and AE-positive charts was documented, and the sensitivity and specificity of the tool to identify charts with AEs were determined. Identification of AEs by nurses and physicians was compared. The positive predictive value (PPV) of each trigger was calculated and the ratio of false- to true-positive AE predictors analysed for each trigger. RESULTS: Nurses rated the CPTT easy to use and identified triggers in 61.1% (361/591; 95% CI 57.2 to 65.0) of patient charts; physicians identified AEs in 15.1% (89/ 591, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.43). Over a third of patients with AEs were neonates. The sensitivity and specificity were 0.88 and 0.44, respectively. Nurse and physician AE assessments correlated poorly. The PPV for each trigger ranged from 0 to 88.3%. Triggers with a false/true-positive ratio of >0.7 were eliminated, resulting in the final 35-trigger CPTT. CONCLUSIONS: The CPTT is the first validated, comprehensive trigger tool available to detect AEs in children hospitalised in acute care facilities.

Five years of learning from analysis of clinical occurrences in pediatric care using the London Protocol.

A Protocol for the Investigation of Clinical Incidents (1999) was piloted on a Winnipeg high-risk neonatal service in 2001, and was subsequently adopted as the investigative tool of choice at the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA). The paper describes the pilot and subsequent experience with the updated London Protocol (2004) in the WRHA Child Health Program. Themes include: tightly coupled systems; multiplicity of contributory factors; medication safety; predominance of "near misses"; authority gradient; professional accountability; partnerships; and implementation challenges. The London Protocol is an invaluable tool for review of critical occurrences and near misses. To maximize impact on patient safety, healthcare organizations must involve partners and develop expertise in human factors and change management.

Actuarial survival of a large Canadian cohort of preterm infants.

BACKGROUND: The increased survival of preterm and very low birth weight infants in recent years has been well documented but continued surveillance is required in order to monitor the effects of new therapeutic interventions. Gestation and birth weight specific survival rates most accurately reflect the outcome of perinatal care. Our aims were to determine survival to discharge for a large Canadian cohort of preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and to examine the effect of gender on survival and the effect of increasing postnatal age on predicted survival. METHODS: Outcomes for all 19,507 infants admitted to 17 NICUs throughout Canada between January 1996 and October 1997 were collected prospectively. Babies with congenital anomalies were excluded from the study population. Gestation and birth weight specific survival for all infants with birth weight < 1,500 g (n = 3419) or gestation < or = 30 weeks (n = 3119) were recorded. Actuarial survival curves were constructed to show changes in expected survival with increasing postnatal age. RESULTS: Survival to discharge at 24 weeks gestation was 54%, compared to 82% at 26 weeks and 95% at 30 weeks. In infants with birth weights 600-699, survival to discharge was 62%, compared to 79% at 700-799 g and 96% at 1,000-1,099 g. In infants born at 24 weeks gestational age, survival was higher in females but there were no significant gender differences above 24 weeks gestation. Actuarial analysis showed that risk of death was highest in the first 5 days. For infants born at 24 weeks gestation, estimated survival probability to 48 hours, 7 days and 4 weeks were 88 (CI 84, 92)%, 70 (CI 64, 76)% and 60 (CI 53, 66)% respectively. For smaller birth weights, female survival probabilities were higher than males for the first 40 days of life. CONCLUSION: Actuarial analysis provides useful information when counseling parents and highlights the importance of frequently revising the prediction for long term survival particularly after the first few days of life.