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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.
Sec. Regulatory Science
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1430853
This article is part of the Research Topic Errors and Biases in Modern Healthcare: Public Health, Medico-legal and Risk Management Aspects View all articles

Quality Improvement in Neonatal Care through Enhanced Patient Safety and Clinical Risk Management: a before-and-after study about neonatal sepsis

Provisionally accepted
Davide Ferorelli Davide Ferorelli Vito M. Goffredo Vito M. Goffredo Elena Graziano Elena Graziano Maurizio Mastrapasqua Maurizio Mastrapasqua Michele Telegrafo Michele Telegrafo Annachiara Vinci Annachiara Vinci Paolo Visci Paolo Visci *Marcello Benevento Marcello Benevento Fiorenza Zotti Fiorenza Zotti Alessandra Foglianese Alessandra Foglianese Raffaella Panza Raffaella Panza Biagio Solarino Biagio Solarino Alessandro Dell'Erba Alessandro Dell'Erba Nicola Laforgia Nicola Laforgia
  • University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction Neonatal sepsis, classified into early-onset and late-onset based on symptom timing, poses significant risks of morbidity and mortality, especially in low birth weight infants. Effective clinical risk management protocols are crucial in reducing these risks. Methods This before-and-after study evaluated the impact of a newly implemented clinical risk management protocol in the Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Policlinico Hospital-University of Bari. The study included 399 neonates over three years, comparing pre- and post-protocol outcomes. Data collection focused on maternal and neonatal demographics, infection rates, and hospital stay lengths. Statistical analysis included t-tests, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests, and logistic regression models. Results The study found no significant differences in neonatal pathologies or demographics between pre- and post-protocol groups. However, post-protocol implementation showed a notable reduction in umbilical venous catheter (UVC) infections (p=0.018) and improved hospital stay lengths. Blood and urine cultures did not show significant changes in microbial patterns post-protocol. Discussion The findings underscore the effectiveness of structured clinical risk management protocols in enhancing neonatal outcomes, particularly in reducing specific infection risks. Despite the study's limitations, including its observational nature and sample size, the results advocate for broader adoption and further research on these protocols in diverse healthcare settings. The positive outcomes highlight the importance of continuous clinical risk management efforts in high-risk neonatal environments.

    Keywords: Neonatal sepsis, Clinical risk management, Patient Safety, Quality Improvement, Neonatal care

    Received: 10 May 2024; Accepted: 12 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ferorelli, Goffredo, Graziano, Mastrapasqua, Telegrafo, Vinci, Visci, Benevento, Zotti, Foglianese, Panza, Solarino, Dell'Erba and Laforgia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Paolo Visci, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

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