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FRIDAY, Oct. 2, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Greater nurse staffing and intensivist hours are associated with significantly lower rates of sepsis, according to a study published online Oct. 1 in Critical Care Nurse<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Jane M. Flanagan, Ph.D., R.N., from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and colleagues evaluated the association between various hospital-related factors and rates of sepsis after surgery in 53 Massachusetts hospitals with intensive or critical care units and 25 hospitals with step-down units.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that sepsis rates were significantly lower when nurses cared for fewer patients and when intensivist hours were greater. There was an association of higher rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infection and higher numbers of step-down patients cared for by nurses with a significantly higher rate of sepsis. An analysis of physician staffing showed that higher rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infection and wound dehiscence after surgery, greater hospitalist hours, and greater physician hours were all associated with a significantly higher sepsis rate. Greater intensivist hours were associated with a lower sepsis rate.<\/p>\n
“Our findings indicated that staffing influences sepsis rates, but not causally or solely,” Flanagan said in a statement. “Beyond staffing numbers, different roles may contribute to better collaboration and communication between nurses and the providers to whom they would report their concerns for early signs of sepsis.”<\/p>\n