Eileen T Lake

Publications (2)30.03 Total impact

• Article: Nurse Staffing and NICU Infection Rates.

  Jeannette A Rogowski, Douglas Staiger, Thelma Patrick, Jeffrey Horbar, Michael Kenny, Eileen T Lake
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  ABSTRACT: IMPORTANCE There are substantial shortfalls in nurse staffing in US neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) relative to national guidelines. These are associated with higher rates of nosocomial infections among infants with very low birth weights. OBJECTIVE To study the adequacy of NICU nurse staffing in the United States using national guidelines and analyze its association with infant outcomes. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. Data for 2008 were collected by web survey of staff nurses. Data for 2009 were collected for 4 shifts in 4 calendar quarters (3 in 2009 and 1 in 2010). SETTING Sixty-seven US NICUs from the Vermont Oxford Network, a national voluntary network of hospital NICUs. PARTICIPANTS All inborn very low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants, with a NICU stay of at least 3 days, discharged from the NICUs in 2008 (n = 5771) and 2009 (n = 5630). All staff-registered nurses with infant assignments. EXPOSURES We measured nurse understaffing relative to acuity-based guidelines using 2008 survey data (4046 nurses and 10 394 infant assignments) and data for 4 complete shifts (3645 nurses and 8804 infant assignments) in 2009-2010. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES An infection in blood or cerebrospinal fluid culture occurring more than 3 days after birth among VLBW inborn infants. The hypothesis was formulated prior to data collection. RESULTS Hospitals understaffed 32% of their NICU infants and 92% of high-acuity infants relative to guidelines. To meet minimum staffing guidelines on average would require an additional 0.11 of a nurse per infant overall and 0.39 of a nurse per high-acuity infant. Very low-birth-weight infant infection rates were 16.5% in 2008 and 13.9% in 2009. A 1 standard deviation-higher understaffing level (SD, 0.11 in 2008 and 0.08 in 2009) was associated with adjusted odds ratios of 1.39 (95% CI, 1.19-1.62; P < .001) in 2008 and 1.39 (95% CI, 1.18-1.63; P < .001) in 2009. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Substantial NICU nurse understaffing relative to national guidelines is widespread. Understaffing is associated with an increased risk for VLBW nosocomial infection. Hospital administrators and NICU managers should assess their staffing decisions to devote needed nursing care to critically ill infants.
  JAMA pediatrics. 03/2013;
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  Available from: jama.jamanetwork.com

  Article: Association between hospital recognition for nursing excellence and outcomes of very low-birth-weight infants.

  Eileen T Lake, Douglas Staiger, Jeffrey Horbar, Robyn Cheung, Michael J Kenny, Thelma Patrick, Jeannette A Rogowski
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  ABSTRACT: Infants born at very low birth weight (VLBW) require high levels of nursing intensity. The role of nursing in outcomes for these infants in the United States is not known. To examine the relationships between hospital recognition for nursing excellence (RNE) and VLBW infant outcomes. Cohort study of 72,235 inborn VLBW infants weighing 501 to 1500 g born in 558 Vermont Oxford Network hospital neonatal intensive care units between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2008. Hospital RNE was determined from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The RNE designation is awarded when nursing care achieves exemplary practice or leadership in 5 areas. Seven-day, 28-day, and hospital stay mortality; nosocomial infection, defined as an infection in blood or cerebrospinal fluid culture occurring more than 3 days after birth; and severe (grade 3 or 4) intraventricular hemorrhage. Overall, the outcome rates were as follows: for 7-day mortality, 7.3% (5258/71,955); 28-day mortality, 10.4% (7450/71,953); hospital stay mortality, 12.9% (9278/71,936); severe intraventricular hemorrhage, 7.6% (4842/63,525); and infection, 17.9% (11,915/66,496). The 7-day mortality was 7.0% in RNE hospitals and 7.4% in non-RNE hospitals (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.87; 95% CI, 0.76-0.99; P = .04). The 28-day mortality was 10.0% in RNE hospitals and 10.5% in non-RNE hospitals (adjusted OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.80-1.01; P = .08). Hospital stay mortality was 12.4% in RNE hospitals and 13.1% in non-RNE hospitals (adjusted OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.81-1.01; P = .06). Severe intraventricular hemorrhage was 7.2% in RNE hospitals and 7.8% in non-RNE hospitals (adjusted OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.77-1.00; P = .045). Infection was 16.7% in RNE hospitals and 18.3% in non-RNE hospitals (adjusted OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.75-0.99; P = .04). Compared with RNE hospitals, the adjusted absolute decrease in risk of outcomes in RNE hospitals ranged from 0.9% to 2.1%. All 5 outcomes were jointly significant (P < .001). The mean effect across all 5 outcomes was OR, 0.88 (95% CI, 0.83-0.94; P < .001). In a subgroup of 68,253 infants with gestational age of 24 weeks or older, the ORs for RNE for all 3 mortality outcomes and infection were statistically significant. Among VLBW infants born in RNE hospitals compared with non-RNE hospitals, there was a significantly lower risk-adjusted rate of 7-day mortality, nosocomial infection, and severe intraventricular hemorrhage but not of 28-day mortality or hospital stay mortality.
  JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association 04/2012; 307(16):1709-16. · 30.03 Impact Factor