title: Reducing Unnecessary Postoperative Complete Blood Count Testing in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
abstract: Complete blood count (CBC) testing commonly occurs to determine the need for blood transfusions after surgical procedures. Many clinicians believe postoperative CBCs are "routine."
  
  
  
  To decrease unnecessary routine CBC testing in a low-risk cohort of postoperative patients in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia by 50% in 6 months.
  
  
  
  Quality-improvement study. Data from our institution regarding frequency of ordering laboratory studies and transfusion requirements were collected for prior quality-improvement work demonstrating the safety and feasibility of avoiding routine postoperative CBCs in this cohort. Baseline survey data were gathered from key stakeholders on attitudes about and utilization of routine postoperative laboratory testing. Patient and clinician data were shared with all PICU clinicians. Simple Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles involving education, audit, and feedback were put into place.
  
  
  
  Percentage of postoperative patients receiving CBCs within 48 hours of PICU admission. Balancing measures were hemoglobin level below 8 g/dL in patients for whom CBCs were sent and blood transfusions up to 7 days postoperatively for any patients in this cohort.
  
  
  
  Sustained decreases below our 50% goal were seen after our interventions. There were no hemoglobin results below 8 g/dL or surgery-related blood transfusions in this cohort within 7 days of surgery. Estimated hospital charges related to routine postoperative CBCs decreased by 87% during 6 postintervention months.
  
  
  
  A simple approach to a systemic problem in the PICU of unnecessary laboratory testing is feasible and effective. By using local historical data, we were able to identify a cohort of patients for whom routine postoperative CBC testing is unnecessary.
authors.affiliation: Instructor in the Division of Critical Care Medicine at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in OH. maya.dewan@cchmc.org.
authors.forename: Maya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dewan
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Anesthesia and Critical Care at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in PA. galvezj@email.chop.edu.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Galvez
authors.affiliation: Assistant Director of the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in PA. polskyt@email.chop.edu.
authors.forename: Tracey
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Polsky
authors.affiliation: Healthcare Data Analyst in the Office of Quality and Safety at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in PA. kreherg@email.chop.edu.
authors.forename: Genna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kreher
authors.affiliation: Improvement Advisor in the Office of Quality and Safety at the The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in PA. krausb@email.chop.edu.
authors.forename: Blair
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kraus
authors.affiliation: Information Scientist in the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in PA. ahumada@email.chop.edu.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ahumada
authors.affiliation: Chief of the Division of Pediatric Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, MD. jmcclos2@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mccloskey
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Anesthesia and Critical Care at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in PA. wolfeh@email.chop.edu.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wolfe
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D001772:Blood Cell Count / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D002648:Child; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D015278:Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; D010414:Pennsylvania; D015143:Philadelphia; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011184:Postoperative Period; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D058996:Quality Improvement; D012306:Risk; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019564:Unnecessary Procedures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins