Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28241909›Full record

ArticleThe Permanente journal2017

Reducing Unnecessary Postoperative Complete Blood Count Testing in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Maya Dewan, Jorge Galvez, Tracey Polsky, Genna Kreher, Blair Kraus, Luis Ahumada, John Mccloskey, Heather Wolfe

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Permanente journal, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Maya DewanInstructor in the Division of Critical Care Medicine at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in OH. maya.dewan@cchmc.org.
Jorge GalvezAssistant Professor of Anesthesia and Critical Care at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in PA. galvezj@email.chop.edu.
Tracey PolskyAssistant Director of the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in PA. polskyt@email.chop.edu.
Genna KreherHealthcare Data Analyst in the Office of Quality and Safety at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in PA. kreherg@email.chop.edu.
Blair KrausImprovement Advisor in the Office of Quality and Safety at the The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in PA. krausb@email.chop.edu.
Luis AhumadaInformation Scientist in the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in PA. ahumada@email.chop.edu.
John MccloskeyChief of the Division of Pediatric Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, MD. jmcclos2@jhmi.edu.
Heather WolfeAssistant Professor of Anesthesia and Critical Care at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in PA. wolfeh@email.chop.edu.
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia · USCincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center · USJohns Hopkins University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

contextComplete blood count (CBC) testing commonly occurs to determine the need for blood transfusions after surgical procedures. Many clinicians believe postoperative CBCs are "routine."

objectiveTo decrease unnecessary routine CBC testing in a low-risk cohort of postoperative patients in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia by 50% in 6 months.

designQuality-improvement study. Data from our institution regarding frequency of ordering laboratory studies and transfusion requirements were collected for prior quality-improvement work demonstrating the safety and feasibility of avoiding routine postoperative CBCs in this cohort. Baseline survey data were gathered from key stakeholders on attitudes about and utilization of routine postoperative laboratory testing. Patient and clinician data were shared with all PICU clinicians. Simple Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles involving education, audit, and feedback were put into place.

main outcome measuresPercentage of postoperative patients receiving CBCs within 48 hours of PICU admission. Balancing measures were hemoglobin level below 8 g/dL in patients for whom CBCs were sent and blood transfusions up to 7 days postoperatively for any patients in this cohort.

resultsSustained decreases below our 50% goal were seen after our interventions. There were no hemoglobin results below 8 g/dL or surgery-related blood transfusions in this cohort within 7 days of surgery. Estimated hospital charges related to routine postoperative CBCs decreased by 87% during 6 postintervention months.

conclusionA simple approach to a systemic problem in the PICU of unnecessary laboratory testing is feasible and effective. By using local historical data, we were able to identify a cohort of patients for whom routine postoperative CBC testing is unnecessary.

Indexed as

Intensive Care Units, PediatricPostoperative CarePostoperative PeriodPractice Patterns, Physicians'Quality ImprovementAttitudeBlood Cell CountBlood TransfusionChildHemoglobinsHospital CostsHospitals, PediatricHumansPennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaRiskHemoglobins

Identifiers

PMID28241909
PMCPMC5283785
OpenAlexW2559761481

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.