SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Cauti and Clabsi Reduction With Simple Documentation in Physician Notes

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This project evaluated whether a simple EMR “dotphrase” placed in physician progress notes could help reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI). The intervention was implemented at one hospital campus and not the other, which served as a control. The dotphrase was designed to remind clinicians about central lines and Foley catheters, with the goal of encouraging earlier removal of these devices.<br /><br />The study compared infection counts and device-day totals across the two campuses over several months. For CLABSI, the dotphrase campus had fewer line days overall and a small number of infections, while the non-dotphrase campus had more line days and a similar low infection count. For CAUTI, the dotphrase campus also showed fewer Foley days and fewer infections than the campus where the dotphrase was not used. Baseline demographics between groups were broadly similar, although there were some differences in age, gender, and BMI.<br /><br />The authors conclude that documentation prompts in progress notes may influence clinician behavior and support earlier removal of catheters and central lines, potentially lowering infection risk. They emphasize that the intervention is low-cost, easy to implement, and may be a practical infection-prevention strategy. However, they note that more research is needed to confirm the benefit and determine how much the dotphrase itself contributed to the observed differences.

Asset Subtitle

Lintu Ramachandran

Meta Tag

Author List Lintu Ramachandran, Luqman Baloch

Category Innovations

Concept Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection

Concept Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infection

Concept Saved Dot Phrase

Concept Indwelling Catheter

Concept Indwelling Central Venous Line

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Javon Bea Hospital

Presenting Author Lintu Ramachandran

Track Quality Improvement

Keywords

EMR dotphrase

catheter-associated urinary tract infection

CLABSI

physician progress notes

device removal

central line

Foley catheter

infection prevention

hospital campus study

clinical documentation prompt

Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection

Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infection

Saved Dot Phrase

Indwelling Catheter

Indwelling Central Venous Line