Background Prone positioning improves mortality in patients intubated with acute respiratory distress syndrome and has been proposed as a treatment for non-intubated patients with COVID-19 outside the ICU. However, there are substantial patient and operational barriers to prone positioning on acute floors. Our objective was to increase the frequency of prone positioning among acute care patients with COVID-19. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of all adult patients admitted to the acute care floors with COVID-19 respiratory failure. We used a run chart to quantify the frequency of prone positioning over time. For the subset of patients assisted by a dedicated physical therapy team, we compared oxygen before and after positioning. Our initiative consisted of four separate interventions: (1) nursing, physical therapy, physician, and patient education; (2) optimization of supply management and operations; (3) an acute care prone positioning team; and (4) electronic health record optimization. Results From March 9, 2020 to August 26, 2020, 176/875 (20.1%) patients were placed in prone position. Among these, 43 (24.4%) were placed in prone position by the physical therapy team. Only 2/94 (2%) eligible patients admitted in the first two weeks of the pandemic were ever documented in prone position. After launching our initiative, weekly frequency peaked at 13/28 (46.4%). Mean oxygen saturation was 91% prior to prone positioning versus 95.2% after ( p < 0.001) in those positioned by physical therapy. Conclusion A multidisciplinary quality improvement initiative increased frequency of prone positioning by proactively addressing barriers in knowledge, equipment, training, and information technology.

Introduction The purpose of this study was to assess the hospital quality measures and outcomes of operative hip fracture patients before and after implementation of an anesthesiology department protocol assigning decision for a preoperative transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) to the hospitalist co-managing physician. Materials and Methods Demographics, injury details, hospital quality measures, and outcomes were reviewed for a consecutive series of patients presenting to our institution with an operative hip fracture. In May of 2019, a new protocol assigning the responsibility to indicate a patient for preoperative TTE was mandated to the co-managing hospitalist at the institution. Patients were split into pre-protocol and post-protocol cohorts. Linear regression modeling and comparative analyses were conducted with a Bonferroni adjusted alpha as appropriate. Results Between September 2015 and June 2021, 1002 patients presented to our institution and were diagnosed with a hip fracture. Patients in the post-protocol cohort were less likely to undergo a preoperative echocardiogram, experienced a shorter time (days) to surgery, shorter length of stay, an increase in amount of home discharges, and lower complication risks for urinary tract infection and acute blood loss anemia as compared to those in the pre-protocol cohort. There were no differences seen in inpatient or 30-day mortality. Multivariable linear regression demonstrated a patient’s comorbidity profile (Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI)) and their date of presentation (pre- or post-protocol), were both associated with (P<0.01) a patients' time to surgery. Conclusion A standardized preoperative work flow protocol regarding which physician evaluates and determines which patients require a preoperative TTE allows for a streamlined perioperative course for hip fracture patients. This allows for a shortened time to surgery and length of stay with an increase in home discharges and was associated with a reduced risk of common index hospitalization complications including UTI and anemia.

Background: There may be disagreement among stakeholders on the need for preoperative cardiac screening for elderly hip fracture patients. Purpose: We sought to assess preoperative workup perceptions among physicians for hip fracture patients across specialties, specifically considering a patient’s cardiovascular risk. Methods: A case-based survey was distributed to 50 physicians in each of the 4 departments involved in preoperative patient care: orthopedic surgery (OS), anesthesiology (A), cardiology (C), and hospital medicine (HM). The survey asked about which clinical presentations required a cardiology consult, as well as about further preoperative imaging and laboratory work. Single score intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to compare agreement. Results: Of the 200 surveys sent out, 33 responses (16.5% response rate) were received. Between all specialties, there was 72% agreement about preoperative cardiology consult need (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.063 or poor) and 71% agreement about preoperative transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) need (ICC = 0.188 or poor). Within each specialty (A, C, HM, OS) ICCs measuring agreement for the need for cardiology consult were 0.812 (good), 0.561 (moderate), 0.457 (poor), and 0.414 (poor), respectively, and for the need for preoperative TTE were 0.852 (good), 0.441 (poor), 0.848 (good), and 0.188 (poor), respectively. Common preoperative testing requested included complete blood count, basic metabolic panel in all cases, and electrocardiogram with troponins if perioperative acute coronary syndrome symptoms were present. Conclusion: This survey suggests that there may be varying levels of agreement within specialties and poor agreement between specialties on the need for cardiology consultation and preoperative imaging for hip fracture patients. This suggests the need for established, reliable preoperative workup protocols with input from different specialties to streamline preoperative care for patients before hip fracture surgery.