A standardized postoperative order set significantly reduced unnecessary paging between pediatric, orthopedic and nursing teams caring for children after spinal fusion surgery for idiopathic scoliosis, according to a Sept. 2 study published in Cureus.
Researchers at Park Ridge, Ill.-based Advocate Children’s Hospital surveyed pediatric residents on how often they were paged before and after the order set was rolled out. After implementation, paging related to pain management dropped significantly, along with paging about drain output and pediatric-to-orthopedic communication regarding blood pressure concerns. Interdisciplinary communication between pediatrics, orthopedics and nursing improved overall.
Hospital length of stay also trended shorter after the change (3.91 days pre-implementation vs. 3.71 days post), though that difference did not reach statistical significance. The study’s authors say the findings support using structured, diagnosis-specific order sets to improve care coordination in pediatric spinal fusion cases, while noting the sample size was small: 58 patients before implementation and just 14 after.
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