Reducing the Door to Needle Time for Antibiotics in Suspected Neutropenic Sepsis using a Dedicated Clinical Pathway

Improving door-to-needle times for patients with suspected neutropenic sepsis

Neutropenic sepsis is a potentially life-threatening complication of chemotherapy and has an associated mortality of 2% to 21%. Patients can deteriorate rapidly and are usually advised to attend their local emergency department (ED) for urgent assessment and antibiotic therapy within one hour of arrival. Delivery of this emergency care is, however, inconsistent, and at times suboptimal, due to a lack of awareness of the condition and of clinical expertise. This article discusses a collaborative project between an acute oncology service and an ED, which has improved and sustained compliance with this standard through a range of initiatives, including revised and integrated sepsis guidelines, education, sepsis champions and a fast-track patient pathway. A transformational leadership approach, which embraced collaborative working and fostered motivation by creating ownership of the project by the ED team, has been instrumental in its success.

Implementation of a Pathway for the Treatment of Fever and Neutropenia in Pediatric Patients With Cancer

Fever and neutropenia is an oncologic emergency. Time-to-antibiotics (TTA) refers to the amount of time from initial provider evaluation for fever and neutropenia to intravenous antibiotic administration. Research supports that rapid time-to-antibiotics (RTTA) is associated with improved patient outcomes. This quality improvement project evaluated the success of implementing an RTTA pathway in pediatric oncology patients with fever and neutropenia. The setting was an advanced practice nurse-managed pediatric ambulatory infusion center where patients with fever and neutropenia were often evaluated and treated. In order to improve TTA, a multidisciplinary pathway was implemented with a goal of TTA that was less than 60 minutes from initial provider evaluation. Implementation of the RTTA pathway included discussion of shared expectations with the pharmacy and education departments and discussion of shared expectations with the bedside nurses and advanced practice nurses staffing the unit. Additionally, a preliminary lab test was utilized. Success of the implementation was evaluated through 2 measures: TTA and nurses' knowledge of fever and neutropenia and the importance of RTTA. The aims of this project were to improve TTA as well as nurses' knowledge of fever and neutropenia and the importance of RTTA, and both these aims were successfully attained.