Class of 2006 Abstract / Objectives: To develop and evaluate a data collection form that could be used to assess the influence of heparin administration on the septic severity index score in patients with Candida blood stream infections. Methods: A data collection form was developed to evaluate the influence of heparin administration on the septic severity index score in patients with Candida blood stream infections. This form was assessed using rating scales for ease of use, applicability of data collection items and availability of data in charts. Results: Data from 10 patient charts was used to assess the instrument. Patient demographics were similar. The strengths of the form included applicability of 9 out of 10 items in the instrument. Four out of 10 items were rated low for ease of use. In addition, 7 out of 10 pertinent data items were not documented in the charts. Conclusion: An extensive reworking of the data collection form as described in the discussion section was required. The form is ready to be implemented if the proposed study should be performed.

Abstract Central venous access devices (CVADs) have become essential interventions for pediatric patients. However, their use is associated with serious complications. The most common and potentially preventable complication is catheter related blood steam infections (CRBSIs). Despite the implementation of interventions that have been shown to decrease their risk, CRBSIs still occur. Pediatric nurses were surveyed regarding their knowledge and application of recommended CVAD care practices, and their perspectives on possible factors that could contribute to the incidence of CRBSIs. Donabedian’s (1966) Structure-Process-Outcome Model guided the study. A cross-sectional, descriptive and exploratory mixed-methods survey design was used. The convenience sample consisted of 93 pediatric nurses. Findings indicate areas of concern related to adherence to CVAD care guidelines and situations that could interfere with the provision of recommended CVAD care. The primary factor identified was the use of improper technique by members of the healthcare team and the patients’ families.

(Thesis: M.S.P.H.) PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / INTRODUCTION: Although serious complications of invasive bedside procedures are rare they can be life threatening. Interest in identifying and preventing complications of bedside procedures has been heightened recently in light of such complications increasingly being linked to hospital reimbursement. In part I of this thesis we present the validation of ICD-9-CM codes for identification of the two most common complications associated with central venous catheterization. In part II we determine the impact of the development of a medical procedure service (MPS) on patient safety surrounding bedside procedures and resident education. METHODS: Part I: Cases of iatrogenic pneumothorax and central line associated blood stream infections (CLABSI) identified by ICD-9-CM codes in discharge data provided by Boston University Medical Center to the University HealthSystem Consortium were compared with those revealed by medical record abstraction of central venous catheters placed between 7/10-12/11. Part II: Retrospective cohort analysis of consecutive adults admitted to the internal medicine service who underwent a bedside medical procedure between 7/10-12/11 comparing characteristics and outcomes of procedures performed by the MPS versus primary services. RESULTS: Part I: The ICD-9-CM code for iatrogenic pneumothorax (512.1) had a sensitivity of 66.7%, specificity of 100%, positive predictive value of 100% and negative predictive value of 99.5%. The ICD-9-CM codes for CLABSI (999.31 and 999.32) had a sensitivity of 41.7%, specificity of 98.0%, positive predictive value of 20.0% and negative predictive value of 99.3%. Part II: We evaluated 1707 bedside procedures (548 by MPS, 1159 by primary services). While the MPS was more likely to successfully complete procedures (95.8% vs. 92.8%, p=0.02) and to use best practice safety process measures (95.4% vs. 51.0%, p<0.0001), the composite rate of major complications was similar (1.6% vs. 1.9%, p=0.71). CONCLUSIONS: Complications associated with invasive beside procedures are rare. The low sensitivity and variable positive predictive value of ICD-9-CM codes for detection of complications of central venous catheterization limits their use for internal quality improvement purposes. While use of a medical procedure service was associated with increased use of evidence based process measures, it did not significant affect the rate of major complications associated with bedside procedures. / 2031-01-01

Central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are one of the most fatal types of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) and their economic impact is significant. Although some studies have found no signification reduction in CLABSI rates with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) bathing; good evidence exists to support the use of CHG bathing as an intervention to reduce CLABSIs (Bleasdale et al., 2007; Climo et al., 2009; Climo et al., 2013; Montecalvo et al., 2012). CHG bathing performance may influence the effectiveness of the CHG bathing protocol. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a targeted educational approach involving simulation on the delivery by nursing assistants of a CHG bathing protocol. The study aims were (1) to compare the effectiveness of removal of simulated skin microbes by nursing assistants who receive training for a CHG bathing protocol with simulation training to simulated skin microbe removal by nursing assistants who receive training for a CHG bathing protocol without simulation training and (2) to examine the influence of a demographic factor, years of practice as a nursing assistant on the percentage of simulated microbes present following performance of bathing. Thirty nursing assitant volunteered for this study and were randomized to either the intervention group (training for a 2% CHG cloth bathing protocol with simulation training) or the control group (training for a 2% CHG cloth bathing protocol without simulation training). For aim (1) an independent t-test (inferential tests of group differences) was used to examine if there was any difference between the intervention group and the control group on the percentage of microbes remaining on the mannequin post bathing. For aim (2) a Pearson correlation was computed to assess the relationship between years of practice as a nursing assistant and the percentage of microbes remaining post bathing. Results showed no statistically significant differences between the two groups on demographc factors. For aim (1) the t-test revealed a statistically significant (p < .001) difference between the intervention group and the control group on the percentage of simulated microbes remaining on the mannequin post bathing. For aim (2) there was no correlation between the years of practice as a nursing assistant and the amount of microbes left on the mannequin post bathing (p=.709). This study provided an innovative method of assessing the percentage of simulation microbes remaining on the mannequin and made it possible to quantitatively measure bathing performance. Monitoring the compliance with CHG bathing is an important component when evaluating the effectiveness of a CHG bathing protocol. The findings of this study suggest that simulation training was an added benefit to the nursing assistants who received it, as they performed better than those who did not receive simulation training.

A review of the literature on blood stream infections caused by contaminated intravenous infusates which are prepared in clinical care settings found that this common nursing procedure poses at times a significant and life-threatening risk to patients. The guidance and regulations surrounding the preparation of intravenous drugs in clinical care settings suggests that this procedure is extremely complex and poses many different potential hazards to patients. This thesis set out to determine how the infection risks are being addressed in practice by asking the questions: ‘What is the system of intravenous drug preparation in clinical care settings in NHS Scotland?’ and, ‘How does it work in practice?’ Several data sources were utilised: six locations, in specialities where the literature identified significant outbreaks had occurred, were examined for potential contamination risk. Observations (78) of infusate preparations were undertaken and, where available, written procedures were compared with observed practices. Finally, analyses were made of 71 questionnaires, completed by the nurses who prepare intravenous drugs, regarding their opinions of the procedures’ safety and when they perform redundancy checks. The conclusion of this study is that the system of preparing intravenous drugs in clinical care settings by nurses is, as a consequence of potential infusate contamination, error-prone and unreliable. The reasons for this conclusion are now detailed. o Due to a lack of mandatory environmental standards, and the provision of poor environments, there is a risk of infusate contamination from environmental sources and consequently, a risk to patients of infusate-related blood stream infections (IR-BSI). o Some in use equipment poses contamination risks to patients’ infusates. Equipment that could reduce the contamination risk is not always available and in some instances such safety-enhancing equipment has been removed. o There are no complete written procedures which mirror what is done in practice. At present, from a human-factors perspective, it is not easy for the nurse to do the right thing, or to be sure exactly what is the right thing to do. o The procedure, in practice, has the required elements of an aseptic procedure, but the execution of the procedure is more often not performed aseptically. o The procedure of intravenous drug preparation as observed is mainly an interrupted aseptic procedure and as such the recommencement of the aseptic procedure requires repeated hand hygiene. o The nurses’ opinions of safety vary, as did their assessment of the infection risk to their patients, but it is clear that intravenous drug preparation is not a much-loved nursing procedure and some nurses find it very stressful. o There is no asepsis quality control built into the system. Aseptic steps are the least likely to be performed as a redundancy check compared to the mandatory checks of ‘right patient, right drug and right dose’. o The information available to the nurses, from the drug companies, from the makers of equipment and from national agencies does not identify with sufficient clarity the infection risks, or detail how to negate them. Suggestions for improvement to the six procedures and environments are clear once the procedure steps are colour-coded as either aseptic or non-aseptic; validity testing of these improvements is however, still needed. The systems’ vulnerabilities observed in this research appear to stem from a chain of external influences including an underestimation of the problem size and the actions needed to prevent it in evidence-based guidelines and mandatory guidance. This leads to poor recognition of the risk of IR-BSI in clinical practice. The problem of infusate contamination causing IR-BSIs is further compounded by the fact that it is not caused by a single organism and does not always present as a disease in real time, that is, over the lifetime of the infusion. As a consequence, this presents surveillance difficulties in terms of definitions, data collection and analysis. Finally, although the diagnosis of a blood stream infection for an individual patient remains relatively easy, it is not easy to recognise a contaminated infusate as the origin of the problem. All these challenges make both the recognition of the problem and agreement on prevention strategies, extremely challenging. In summary, the main conclusion of this thesis is that the preparation of infusates in clinical care settings, which occurs approximately 3,000,000 times a year in NHSScotland, is from an aseptic perspective, error-prone and unreliable. Recommendations to optimise patient safety include, changing the procedure locally and, with the utmost urgency, the production of minimum environmental standards. The results of this study are relevant to all hospitals in Scotland and throughout the United Kingdom where the current regulations apply and similar procedures are performed.

Increased systemic infections and growing resistance of Candida species in immunosuppressed people have prompted research for additional treatment options. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the potential of lemongrass, oregano, and thyme essential oils tested individually, combined, and combined with the antifungal agents fluconazole and caspofungin to kill Candida albicans isolates in a controlled laboratory setting. This study was grounded on the theoretical concepts of the epidemiologic triangle model. The experimental data collected were used to investigate risk factors related to age, gender, race, and comorbidities. Kill rates of lemongrass, oregano, and thyme essential oils individually and combined, kill rates of fluconazole, caspofungin, and the kill rates when the antifungals were each combined with the 3 essential oils were compared using 117 isolates recovered from bloodstream infections between January 2009 through August 1, 2017. The data collected were analyzed using 2-way repeated ANOVAS. According to study results, there were statistically significant increases in kill rates when the isolates were exposed to any of the combinations of essential oils tested. Using binomial and multinomial regression to analyze age, gender, race, and comorbidities resulted in the age group 25-34, kidney failure, and solid organ tumor cancer all being statistically significantly associated with an increased risk for Candida albicans bloodstream infections, and multiple organ failure negatively associated with the risk. Health care practitioners can use the results of this study to reduce the number of patients becoming infected with life-threatening yeast infections, which could reduce the costs associated with infections.

VitalSmarts® Crucial Conversations™ general program theory might be a possible countermeasure addressing organizational culture and communication factors affecting quality and safety. This practice inquiry reports: a VitalSmarts® Crucial Conversations™ general program logic model, a major medical center's Crucial Conversations™ historical implementation program logic model, a clinical exemplar central line associated blood stream infection program logic model; and, findings that describe the fidelity of the major medical center's Crucial Conversations™ historical implementation and clinical exemplar central line associated blood stream infection program logic model to the VitalSmarts® Crucial Conversations™ general program logic model. The results demonstrated there was no fidelity between the major medical center's Crucial Conversations™ program logic model and the VitalSmarts® Crucial Conversations™ general program logic model. The clinical exemplar CLABSI program logic model and VitalSmarts® Crucial Conversations™ general program logic model fidelity differed in intended outcomes. The results might suggest that program adaptability along with program fidelity are factors that influence program strength, and these factors must be uniquely balanced within organizational dynamics to realize intended outcomes. The formative evaluation and program logic model might be a feasible methodology and applicable tool for exploring quality and safety within complex adaptive systems, such as organizational culture, where constraints possibly could exclude more rigorous scientific methodologies until factors are more understood.