Publication:

PICU admission order set: a quality improvement initiative in a developing country

Background Multiple studies have shown that standardized admission order sets (AOSs) in general as well as specific clinical diseases improved adherence to evidence-based patient management, minimized variability, improved workflow, and augmented patient safety. These order sets are intended to provide a framework for treating patients and planning a course of care. The objective of this study is to assess the implementation of SAOS in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of a new public-sector hospital in Pakistan.

Methods A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on all children (age: 1 month to 15 years) admitted to PICU from October to December 2022. All admission orders were paper-written based on the mnemonic "AD CAVA DIMPLS". All data were collected on Microsoft Excel and descriptive statistics were applied.

Results A total of 932 admissions were done during the first three months. The most common age and admitting diagnosis were one-year-old and lower respiratory tract diseases respectively. The overall adherence to AOS was 71.68%. Nine components of AOS [AD CAVA DIM] had 90.77% appropriate utilization.

Conclusions We observed a very high rate of implementation of AOS in our PICU.