A nurse-led root cause analysis intervention helped lower hypoglycemia rates in a critical care unit, according to a study published in Critical Care Nurse.
Researchers examined the analysis process developed by an interdisciplinary critical care unit team at a university-affiliated teaching hospital. The process, which was led daily by nurses, involved real-time analysis of each episode of hypoglycemia in the unit.
The researchers studied 2,429 admissions before the analysis intervention was implemented and 2,608 admissions after it was implemented.
The percentage of patients with hypoglycemia reduced substantially after the process was implemented — 6.15 percent to 3.78 percent pre-and post-intervention, respectively.
Researchers also found that mean blood glucose level decreased post-implementation among people without diabetes, but it did not change significantly among diabetics.