title: Evaluation of a Nurse-Initiated Acute Gastroenteritis Pathway in the Pediatric Emergency Department.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is a common illness treated in the emergency department. Delays in initiating rehydration for children with mild or moderate dehydration from AGE can lead to prolonged ED visits and increased resource utilization that do not provide prognostic value or support family-centered care. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to promote early oral rehydration therapy (ORT) for persons with AGE in an attempt to reduce unnecessary resource utilization and length of stay (LOS).
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective quality improvement project used a nurse-initiated waiting room ORT pathway for patients 6 months to 21 years of age who presented to the emergency department with diarrhea with or without vomiting. Outcomes related to nurse-initiated ORT, intravenous fluid use, laboratory studies or diagnostic imaging, and LOS were measured before and after implementation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 643 patients for whom the pathway was initiated, 392 received nurse-initiated care. The proportion of intravenous fluid use was 10.2% lower (odds ratio [OR], 0.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.27-0.68) and laboratory test ordering was 7.4% lower (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.43-0.94) in patients receiving nurse-initiated care. Time to discharge after provider examination was 46 minutes faster in the nurse-initiated care group (P < .001), resulting in an overall LOS reduction by 40 minutes (P < .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurse autonomy in using an AGE pathway facilitates evidence-based practice, improves ED efficiency, and decreases resource utilization and LOS. Future research should focus on family satisfaction and ED revisits within 72 hours of discharge.
authors.affiliation: Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD. Electronic address: beckyanncarson@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Rebecca A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Carson
authors.affiliation: Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Shawna S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Mudd
authors.affiliation: Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: P Jamil
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Madati
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016529:Emergency Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D005440:Fluid Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D058996:Quality Improvement; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Acute gastroenteritis; Nurse-initiated pathway; Oral rehydration