title: Hospital cuts length of stay for vent patients by 34%.
abstract: By implementing an innovative set of ventilator protocols, case managers at Nash General Hospital in Rocky Mount, NC, have cut length of stay for ventilator patients by 34%, reduced the average duration of mechanical ventilation by 38%, and saved the hospital an average of $35,000 in charges per ventilator patient. Elements of the protocol include using pulse oximetry in place of autologous blood gases when possible, performing a chest X-ray and initiating tube feeding immediately after the patient is placed on the ventilator, taking sputum cultures to determine a baseline for organism growth and the need for antibiotics, and weaning the patient at certain oxygen levels. Ventilator collaborative team members are also examining the possibility of adding a kinetic therapy element to the protocols.
mesh_terms: D019090:Case Management; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009657:North Carolina; D012122:Ventilators, Mechanical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*