What question did this study set out to answer?

Audit pediatric intravenous fluid prescribing practices for surgical patients against local institutional protocols and national safety guidelines.

April 22, 2012Archives of Disease in Childhood

To National Patient Safety Agency or not to National Patient Safety Agency: an audit on the current trends in paediatric intravenous fluid prescribing for surgical patients

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Population

25 pediatric surgical patients on two general surgical wards, average age 4 years and 4 months, 60% female…

Comparison

Intravenous fluid prescribing practices vs Local and national guidelines

Design

Other

Follow-up

5 days

Authors

JBJunaid E BirminghamBirmingham Children's Hospital

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Non-adherence to pediatric IV fluid guidelines warrants practice review; leaves open whether education reduces hyponatremia risk.

Key Points

Audit pediatric intravenous fluid prescribing practices for surgical patients against local institutional protocols and national safety guidelines.
Conducted a retrospective review of drug charts and electronic biochemical records across two general surgical wards during a five-day period (N=25 patients across 17 consultant teams).
Assessed prescribed fluid type, infusion rate, potassium concentration, electrolyte monitoring frequency (sodium and potassium), and patient weight tracking.
Overall, 75% of patients (n=19/25) failed to meet local and national audit standards, with 92% prescribed an incorrect fluid type postoperatively relative to local guidance, despite 100% compliance with national peri-operative fluid choice guidelines.
Infusion rates were incorrectly prescribed in 44% of cases without documented rationale, 35% of patients received no sodium or potassium monitoring, and 0% were re-weighed daily while receiving intravenous fluids.
Among patients who developed an episode of low serum sodium, 28% had no subsequent modification made to their prescribed fluid type.

Structured PICO

Population

25 pediatric surgical patients on two general surgical wards, average age 4 years and 4 months, 60% female, average weight 16.25 kg.

Intervention

Intravenous fluid prescribing practices

Comparator

Local (Birmingham Children's Hospital) and national guidelines

Outcome

Compliance with local and national guidelines for intravenous fluid prescribing

An audit of pediatric surgical patients revealed significant inconsistencies in IV fluid prescribing, highlighting a need for improved training to adhere to guidelines and prevent hospital-acquired hyponatremia.

Cite This Study

Junaid E Birmingham (2012) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a720d018031ec7bb1dd36a3 https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2012-301728.19

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To National Patient Safety Agency or not to National Patient Safety Agency: an audit on the current trends in paediatric intravenous fluid prescribing for surgical patients

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Structured PICO

Cite This Study

To National Patient Safety Agency or not to National Patient Safety Agency: an audit on the current trends in paediatric intravenous fluid prescribing for surgical patients

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Structured PICO

Cite This Study

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