Case Studies
Preventing Infections in Newborns
Central line-associated bloodstream infections cause serious illness and death. Front-line caregivers in 100 neonatal intensive care units in nine states—caring for 8,400 newborn patients—used prevention practice checklists and improved communication to prevent an estimated 131 CLABSIs and up to 41 deaths, while avoiding more than $2 million in health care costs. They used the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program to improve safety culture and consistently implement catheter insertion and maintenance guidelines. CUSP is customizable and helps hospitals understand and apply the science of safety and improve teamwork and communications. When the project began, participating NICUs had an overall infection rate of 2.043 per 1,000 central line days. After 11 months, the rate was reduced to 0.855 per 1,000 central line days, a relative reduction of 58 percent. For this project, the AHA's Health Research & Educational Trust partnered with the Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina and the Missouri Center for Patient Safety to support hospitals in Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wisconsin. The NICU project is part of a larger effort funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to implement CUSP to prevent CLABSI nationwide.
Central line-associated bloodstream infections cause serious illness and death. Front-line caregivers in 100 neonatal intensive care units in nine states—caring for 8,400 newborn patients—used prevention practice checklists and improved communication to prevent an estimated 131 CLABSIs and up to 41 deaths, while avoiding more than $2 million in health care costs. They used the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program to improve safety culture and consistently implement catheter insertion and maintenance guidelines. CUSP is customizable and helps hospitals understand and apply the science of safety and improve teamwork and communications. When the project began, participating NICUs had an overall infection rate of 2.043 per 1,000 central line days. After 11 months, the rate was reduced to 0.855 per 1,000 central line days, a relative reduction of 58 percent. For this project, the AHA's Health Research & Educational Trust partnered with the Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina and the Missouri Center for Patient Safety to support hospitals in Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wisconsin. The NICU project is part of a larger effort funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to implement CUSP to prevent CLABSI nationwide.
For more information, go to www.ahrq.gov/qual/clabsi-neonatal/