Development and Feasibility of a Real-Time Clinical Decision Support System for Traumatic Brain Injury Anesthesia Care

Usability and Acceptability of Clinical Decision Support Based on the KIIDS-TBI Tool for Children with Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries and Intracranial Injuries

BACKGROUND

 The Kids Intracranial Injury Decision Support tool for Traumatic Brain Injury (KIIDS-TBI) tool is a validated risk prediction model for managing children with mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) and intracranial injuries. Electronic clinical decision support (CDS) may facilitate the clinical implementation of this evidence-based guidance.

OBJECTIVE

 Our objective was to evaluate the acceptability and usability of an electronic CDS tool for managing children with mTBI and intracranial injuries.

METHODS

 Emergency medicine and neurosurgery physicians (10 each) from 10 hospitals in the United States were recruited to participate in usability testing of a novel CDS prototype in a simulated electronic health record environment. Testing included a think-aloud protocol, an acceptability and usability survey, and a semi-structured interview. The prototype was updated twice during testing to reflect user feedback. Usability problems recorded in the videos were categorized using content analysis. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

 Among the 20 participants, most worked at teaching hospitals (80%), freestanding children's hospitals (95%), and level-1 trauma centers (75%). During the two prototype updates, problems with clarity of terminology and navigating through the CDS interface were identified and corrected. Corresponding to these changes, the number of usability problems decreased from 35 in phase 1 to 8 in phase 3 and the number of mistakes made decreased from 18 (phase 1) to 2 (phase 3). Through the survey, participants found the tool easy to use (90%), useful for determining a patient's level of care (95%), and likely to improve resource use (90%) and patient safety (79%). Interview themes related to the CDS's ability to support evidence-based decision-making and improve clinical workflow proposed implementation strategies and potential pitfalls.

CONCLUSION

 After iterative evaluation and refinement, the KIIDS-TBI CDS tool was found to be highly usable and useful for aiding the management of children with mTBI and intracranial injuries.

Feasibility and indicator outcomes using computerized clinical decision support in pediatric traumatic brain injury anesthesia care

BACKGROUND

Traumatic brain injury anesthesia care is complex. The use of clinical decision support to improve pediatric trauma care has not been examined.

AIMS

The aim of this study was to examine feasibility, reliability, and key performance indicators for traumatic brain injury anesthesia care using clinical decision support.

METHODS

Clinical decision support was activated for patients under 19 years undergoing craniotomy for suspected traumatic brain injury. Anesthesia providers were prompted to adhere to process measures via on-screen alerts and notified in real time of abnormal monitor data or laboratory results (unwanted key performance indicator events). Process measures pertained to arterial line placement and blood gas draws, neuromuscular blockade, hypotension, anemia, coagulopathy, hyperglycemia, and intracranial hypertension. Unwanted key performance indicators were: hypotension, hypoxia, hypocarbia, hypercarbia, hypothermia, hyperthermia, anesthetic agent overdose; hypoxemia, coagulopathy, anemia, and hyperglycemia. Anesthesia records, vital signs, and alert logs were reviewed for 39 anesthetic cases (19 without clinical decision support and 20 with clinical decision support).

RESULTS

Data from 35 patients aged 11 months to 17 years and 77% males were examined. Clinical decision support reliably identified 39/46 eligible anesthetic cases, with 85% sensitivity and 100% specificity, and was highly sensitive, detecting 89% of monitor key performance indicator events and 100% of reported lab key performance indicator events. There were no false positive alerts. Median event duration was lower in the "with clinical decision support" group for 4/7 key performance indicators. Second insult duration was lower for duration of hypocarbia (by 44%), hypotension (29%), hypothermia (12%), and hyperthermia (15%).

CONCLUSION

Use of clinical decision support in pediatric traumatic brain injury anesthesia care is feasible, reliable, and may have the potential to improve key performance indicator outcomes. This observational study suggests the possibility of clinical decision support as a strategy to reduce second insults and improve traumatic brain injury guideline adherence during pediatric anesthesia care.

Implementation strategies in pediatric neurocritical care

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Brain-directed critical care for children is a relatively new area of subspecialization in pediatric critical care. Pediatric neurocritical care teams combine the expertise of neurology, neurosurgery, and critical care medicine. The positive impact of delivering specialized care to pediatric patients with acute neurological illness is becoming more apparent, but the optimum way to implement and sustain the delivery of this is complicated and poorly understood. We aim to provide emerging evidence supporting that effective implementation of pediatric neurocritical care pathways can improve patient survival and outcomes. We also provide an overview of the most effective strategies across the field of implementation science that can facilitate deployment of neurocritical care pathways in the pediatric ICU.

RECENT FINDINGS

Implementation strategies can broadly be grouped according to six categories: planning, educating, restructuring, financing, managing quality, and attending to the policy context. Using a combination of these strategies in the last decade, several institutions have improved patient morbidity and mortality. Although much work remains to be done, emerging evidence supports that implementation of evidence-based care pathways for critically ill children with two common neurological diagnoses - status epilepticus and traumatic brain injury - improves outcomes.

SUMMARY

Pediatric and neonatal neurocritical care programs that support evidence-based care can be effectively structured using appropriately sequenced implementation strategies to improve outcomes across a variety of patient populations and in a variety of healthcare settings.