Ventilator Acquired Pneumonia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ventilator Acquired Pneumonia - Research Paper Example Ventilator is a machine assembled mechanically to transmit breathable air in and out of lungs. The ventilator provides a mechanism of air exchange for patients with breathing difficulties or unable to breath. Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a type of pneumonia that occurs after forty-eight hours when patients have received mechanical ventilation and intubated. Pneumonia is ranked second in most common nosocomial disease in the critically ill patients. More than 86% of nosocomial pneumonias are related to mechanical ventilation hence termed as ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The infection has major causes believed to be Acinetobacter spp, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (Datta, 2013). According to the study, that was done from April 1, 2006 to January 31, 2008 at Radius Special Hospital in USA; it showed that for every twenty-three cases of VAP infection, 19 casualties were associated with 157 LTACH. The above translates to an infection rate of 14.6%, which corresponded to 1.67 cases in 1000 ventilator days. Microbial data proves that 91% of the patients who reported to the hospital had VAP infection. Patients with critically conditions which are intubated for more than 24 hours are at 6-21 times risk to develop VAP in USA. Mortality and morbidity associated with the VAP development are high, with the rates of mortality, which ranges from 20-41% (Datta, 2013). VAP increases critical care, ventilator days and hospital length of stay. There are two ways of managing VAP. One is based on semiquantitative or nonquantitative cultures and clinical criteria. The other utilizes quantitative measures of the respiratory specimens. The principal organisms responsible for the VAP infection are Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacteriaceae. Etiologic agents are differing according to the patient’s population in an intensive care unit, prior antimicrobial

Improving Perioperative Care through IT Research Paper

Improving Perioperative Care through IT - Research Paper Example This has also been as a result of the complex nature of surgical information systems, implementation challenges, resources to make them work as well the lack of sound practices required to automate perioperative systems yet it is believed that whatever enhancements will greatly improve care delivery process and the quality of care in the long term. Case studies: Adoption and success Recent adoption on implementation of IT through perioperative health care has been evident in two hospitals which are Basset Healthcare located in Cooperstown, New York and the University of Connecticut Health Care Center in Farmington, Connecticut. In both cases automation has been adopted and this has resulted in notable improvements in patient’s safety as well as clinical productivity and process efficiency (David Green 821). It has been reported that there have been improvements as a result of automated perioperative system at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital which is the Basset Healthcare’ s core patient facility that yielded a 33% turnaround time improvements and a supply cost reduction of $200 per case. As for University of Connecticut Health Center there has been strong enhancement in the efficiency of anesthesia management following its implementation of surgical information system just a few years after Bassett’s adoption of the same. This is more specifically in charge capture for billing which has since shown improvement. Perioperative technology: what it entails The technology that is required for the perioperative environment must be supported from a holistic point of view. In this case each component must be integrated with a larger set of technology that will be used in or throughout the perioperative process this is inclusive of perioperative information technology and clinical facilities (Karen A. Wager 253). To facilitate this, data sharing must be enabled in this case all perioperative data and knowledge bases must share common metadata. It is al so paramount that the technology supports all clinical and administrative data for perioperative care, from the initial identification of surgical case all through surgery, recovery and ongoing outcome analysis. Database that support these processes must be modernized so as support all types of data, and equipment usage in the surgical process. Clinician’s workflow must also be enhanced to make it easier, faster and less complicated. Data entry should be facilitated at once with real time precision and facilitate sharing ubiquitously as needed (Kenneth Laudon 92). This must be made possible by high level of surgical equipment and software application interoperability throughout the entire perioperative process. Data interoperability is important so as to reduce cases of data redundancy as well as errors. The use of management information systems should facilitate automated data entry without the need for manual re-entry so as to enhance clinical acceptance and accuracy of dat a by minimizing user workloads and errors in transcription. To better illustrate how the perioperative requirements have been less addresses we have to consider the much anticipates software support computerized physician order entry (CPOE) which was created with the sole intent of making possible direct, online order entry by physicians (Paul J. St. Jacques & Minear). CPOE software is highly focused for