Reducing Unplanned Extubations Across a Children’s Hospital Using Quality Improvement Methods

Abstract

Introduction Children who require an endotracheal (ET) tube for care during critical illness are at risk of unplanned extubations (UE), or the unintended dislodgement or removal of an ET tube that can lead to significant patient harm. A proposed national benchmark is 1 UE per 100 ventilator days. We aimed to reduce the rate of UEs in our intensive care units (ICUs) from 1.20 per 100 ventilator days to below the national benchmark within 2 years. Methods We identified several key drivers including ET securement standardization, safety culture, and strategies for high-risk situations. We employed quality improvement methodologies including apparent cause analysis and plan-do-study-act cycles to improve our processes and outcomes. Results Over 2 years, we reduced the rate of UEs hospital-wide by 75% from 1.2 to 0.3 per 100 ventilator days. We eliminated UEs in the pediatric ICU during the study period, while the UE rate in the neonatal ICU also decreased from 1.2 to 0.3 per 100 ventilator days. Conclusion We demonstrated that by using quality improvement methodology, we successfully reduced our rate of UE by 75% to a level well below the proposed national benchmark.