Cardiogenic shock care improves after nurse education: 5 study notes

Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital-Plano in Texas cut times of cardiogenic shock diagnosis in half after implementing a quality improvement project that included nurse education and an electronic shock team alert, according to a study published Dec. 1 in Critical Care Nurse. 

For the study, researchers from the heart hospital, Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Research Institute and the University of Texas at Arlington measured cardiogenic shock diagnosis and transfer acceptance rates from before and after the quality improvement project was implemented. 

Here a five notes on their findings:

1. Preintervention data from 25 patients was collected in April and May 2021, and postintervention data from 45 patients was collected in April and May 2022.
   
   
2. The hospital designed the SALUDE algorithm to identify signs of cardiogenic shock including systolic blood pressure, arrhythmias, laboratory values, urine output, drips (intravenous infusions) and examination results. Nurse educators, directors and managers taught nurse team members to use the algorithm and to activate the shock team when one or two changes occur.
   
   
3. The hospital also developed an electronic mass notification alert through the communication platform Everbridge. The alert sends email and text message notifications to shock team member phones when a patient is diagnosed with cardiogenic shock.
   
   
4. In the preintervention group, the mean time to diagnosis of cardiogenic shock for inpatients was 17.98 hours, with a standard deviation of 28.39 hours. In the postintervention group, the mean time to diagnosis for inpatients was 8.15 hours, with a standard deviation of 12.26 hours.
   
   
5. In the preintervention group, the mean acceptance time for transfer patients with cardiogenic shock was 7.29 hours with a standard deviation of 23 hours. In the postintervention group, the mean acceptance time was .40 hours with a standard deviation of .37 hours. 

"Early recognition of patients with cardiogenic shock allows for prompt treatment initiation," the study authors wrote. "Timely intervention can save lives and improve patient outcomes."

Read the full study here.