Reducing Emergency Department Length of Stay in Critically Injured Pediatric Trauma Patients: A Quality Improvement Initiative

Background Efficient transfer of adult trauma patients to the intensive care unit (ICU) is associated with decreased emergency department (ED) length of stay (ED LOS) and improved patient outcomes. While well studied in adults, quality improvement (QI) initiatives focused on the rapid transfer of pediatric trauma patients are lacking. We report the effect of institutional system changes directed at expediting the transfer of pediatric trauma patients to the pediatric ICU (PICU). Methods This initiative commenced in 2013. Preliminary data regarding ED LOS for pediatric trauma patients were collected from January through December 2012 as the pre-implementation cohort. Using the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) framework of QI, the first PDSA cycle was implemented in January 2013. In subsequent PDSA cycles, we implemented the mandatory attendance of the PICU charge nurse and the PICU attending physician to all highest-level pediatric trauma activations. Throughout, ED LOS was collected and mapped on a run chart. ED LOS and variance were compared between all cycles of implementation. Results One hundred and fifty-one pediatric patients arrived or were upgraded to the highest-level pediatric trauma activation and admitted to the PICU from 2012 through 2019. We observed a decrease in median ED LOS of 105 minutes between the pre- and post-implementation groups. With each PDSA cycle, we observed a decrease in median ED LOS and variation. Conclusion The inclusion of the PICU charge nurse and attending physician at highest-level pediatric trauma activations facilitated more rapid access to the PICU with decreased ED LOS.