Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
12-4-2023
Upload Date
2024
First Advisor
Linda Latting
Abstract
Sepsis is a serious life-threatening condition that kills hundreds of thousands of patients every year and is a major leading cause of death. Sepsis is a medical emergency where early identification and prompt treatment are crucial for survival. Despite assessment tools for early recognition, a delay in antibiotic therapy remains. A sepsis alert (Code Sepsis) in the emergency department could improve sepsis care, spare countless lives, and save billions of dollars nationwide, annually. The implementation of a Code Sepsis will trigger a team to deliver immediate treatment and ensure one hour antibiotic administration times. The John Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice (JHNEBP) Model guides this quality improvement project. A quantitative analysis using a chi-square test was conducted to compare pre- and post-sepsis alert antibiotic administration times to determine a sepsis alert’s effectiveness in delivering one-hour antibiotics. Prior to the sepsis alert, 10/50 patients received antibiotics within one hour. After the sepsis alert was implemented, 29/50 patients received antibiotics within one hour. There was a statistically significant increase in the rate of antibiotic administration times within one hour in the intervention group post-sepsis alert sample. These results provide clear evidence that a sepsis alert is a nursing intervention that plays a crucial role in the timely administration of antibiotics for septic patients in the emergency department.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Givens, Kristie, "Sepsis Criteria on Triage (SCOT): Sepsis Alert" (2023). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 40.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/40
