TY - JOUR
T1 - The sustained impact of an evidenced-based clinical pathway for acute appendicitis
AU - Warner, Brad W.
AU - Rich, Kate A.
AU - Atherton, Harry
AU - Andersen, Charlotte L.
AU - Kotagal, Uma R.
PY - 2002/2
Y1 - 2002/2
N2 - Appendicitis is a frequent pediatric surgical condition for which there is great variability among practitioners regarding diagnosis and postoperative management. With this in mind, the authors designed and implemented an evidence-based appendicitis clinical pathway at their institution. Establishment of the pathway resulted in decreased hospital cost, reduced hospital stay, and fewer unnecessary laboratory tests. The purpose of the current study was to determine the sustainability of the pathway beyond its initial implementation phase. The authors showed that several, but not all, favorable outcomes of the pathway were sustained. These data suggest that a clinical pathway for appendicitis at the authors' institution results in sustained beneficial effects in some but not all outcome parameters. Ongoing monitoring of pathway compliance, continued education of practitioners and nursing personnel, and identification of key pathway team member(s) responsible for the pathway system might result in a greater long-term impact of these guidelines.
AB - Appendicitis is a frequent pediatric surgical condition for which there is great variability among practitioners regarding diagnosis and postoperative management. With this in mind, the authors designed and implemented an evidence-based appendicitis clinical pathway at their institution. Establishment of the pathway resulted in decreased hospital cost, reduced hospital stay, and fewer unnecessary laboratory tests. The purpose of the current study was to determine the sustainability of the pathway beyond its initial implementation phase. The authors showed that several, but not all, favorable outcomes of the pathway were sustained. These data suggest that a clinical pathway for appendicitis at the authors' institution results in sustained beneficial effects in some but not all outcome parameters. Ongoing monitoring of pathway compliance, continued education of practitioners and nursing personnel, and identification of key pathway team member(s) responsible for the pathway system might result in a greater long-term impact of these guidelines.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0036154125&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1053/spsu.2002.29364
DO - 10.1053/spsu.2002.29364
M3 - Article
C2 - 11815939
AN - SCOPUS:0036154125
SN - 1055-8586
VL - 11
SP - 29
EP - 35
JO - Seminars in pediatric surgery
JF - Seminars in pediatric surgery
IS - 1
ER -