This handout helps to clarify some of the questions and challenges that may require specific education during implementation of the SRC. It is important to engage help from your IT Department to help with integration of the calculator into the EMR workflow as much as possible, and to make sure that information from the EMR is flowing appropriately to calculator fields. Several CASC Steering Committee members implemented the SRC at their own hospital sites. Below are a number of suggestions and linked resources to help others with implementation of this tool. Follow the latest innovations in the world of geospatial data with our monthly newsletter, discover real cases and learn about company’s news and promos.

The main goal was to significantly decrease the rate of sepsis workups and antibiotic treatments without increasing the risk of sepsis and mortality. Douglas Maurer, DO/MPH/FAAFPDoug is currently is the Program Director of the Madigan Faculty Development Fellowship at Fort Lewis, WA. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. His research interests include medical simulation, prevention of obesity and evidence based medicine at the point of care. Breastfeeding rates at discharge were 89% for infants remaining with their mothers in the newborn nursery.

Early Onset Sepsis App Calculator Review: Ensures Early Identification of Newborns at Risk for Sepsis

For all these reasons, it is important to avoid unnecessary antibiotics administration to patients during the early post-natal period . However, the clinical diagnosis of sepsis is challenging for neonatologists because many signs of sepsis are nonspecific and are observed with other non-infectious conditions . On the other side, low-level bacteremia (4 colony-forming units/mL or less), inadequate blood specimens or maternal antibiotic treatment before or during delivery may result in negative blood cultures . It has been estimated that the incidence of culture-negative EOS is 6 to 16 times higher than that of culture-confirmed EOS . Total white blood cell count with its subcomponents and platelet count have also shown a poor predictive accuracy, and the specificity and selectivity of genetic biomarkers are yet to be fully evaluated . Protein biomarkers demonstrate high specificity and sensitivity and include C-reactive protein and Procalcitonin , which are the most commonly used protein biomarkers for the diagnosis of sepsis and monitoring of antibiotic therapy .

• All these infants underwent a standard neonatal septic evaluation requiring laboratory work and peripheral IV placement and were treated empirically with ampicillin and gentamicin for a minimum of 48 hours.
• For advanced problem solving, the F-715SG hosts a total of 250 functions and features.
• Implementation of a risk-stratification system for thesWe high-risk infants based on the early onset sepsis calculator may decrease NICU admissions and antibiotics exposure in well-appearing neonates.
• This tool is based on the Neonatal Early-Onset Sepsis Calculator by Kaiser Permanente.

We attribute significantly higher breastfeeding rates at newborn discharge to rooming-in with the mother for the duration of the newborn hospitalization. Therefore, we prevented disruption of the mother–infant dyad by implementing the sepsis calculator. Before using the Kaiser EOS calculator, some providers would treat based on screening laboratory results , whereas other providers would empirically treat all newborns with exposure to maternal chorioamnionitis. The primary outcome measure was the monthly rate of NICU admissions for sepsis evaluation/treatment in infants older than 35 weeks gestation born to mothers with chorioamnionitis. Secondary outcomes included monthly rates of sepsis amongst at-risk infants and breastfeeding rates at discharge for infants admitted to the NICU as compared with those who remained in the newborn nursery. This study was the basis for the development of the EOSC and provides a linear regression model that uses duration of rupture of membranes, administration of IAP and the presence of epidural anaesthesia as predictors of highest maternal temperature.

These differences become smaller during the first day of life, as the EOSC depends heavily on signs of clinical illness. Other reports have found that the higher sensitivity of both guidelines comes at the cost of more antibiotic overtreatment of healthy newborns. The EOSC relies more heavily on signs of clinical illness, resulting in a more specific approach and a substantial reduction in unnecessary EOD treatments. However, with the EOSC, more initially well-appearing patients will receive delayed treatment. Previous studies showed no short-term adverse consequences when waiting for clinical signs to develop before starting antibiotic treatment.

Implementation Guidance

These points were chosen based on previously described and recommended timeframes for EOSC use. Group B Streptococcus early-onset disease and observation of well-appearing newborns. Epidemiology of neonatal group B streptococcal disease in the Netherlands before and after introduction of guidelines for prevention. These national EOD prevention guidelines come with two important limitations.

Two studies from Italy and Norway showed that serial examination, performed by midwives, bedside nursing staff and physicians, may reduce antibiotic overexposure even more than the EOSC, with no evidence of worse short-term outcomes. A new method for determining which newborns need antibiotic therapy is the “EOS calculator”. Developed in the United States, this method uses a combination of detailed information about 5 maternal risk factors and the presence of clinical neonatal symptoms to calculate an individual EOS risk and treatment advice. Suspicion of EOS is often based on risk factors and nonspecific clinical symptoms, such as maternal fever during labor or rapid breathing in the newborn. The combination of the difficulty to recognize EOS in time and the risk of serious consequences of EOS not treated timely has resulted in a low threshold for the start of empirical antibiotic therapy.

What providers would benefit from this App?

The timing of examinations to record clinical signs are the same in risk and non-risk infants. To overcome concerns in recognizing early and mild signs of sepsis due to individual variability of clinical assessment and differences in skills, we decided to combine universal SPE with the EOS calculator. In P3, two EOS cases were diagnosed by means of the SPE form since newborns were asymptomatic with a low EOS risk score at birth.

Within our hospital system, all infants born to mothers with chorioamnionitis were directly admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit for evaluation and treatment of presumed sepsis for a minimum of 48 hours, regardless of clinical appearance. Implementation of a risk-stratification system for thesWe high-risk infants based on the early onset sepsis calculator may decrease NICU admissions and antibiotics exposure in well-appearing neonates. We identified 88 EOD patients born at a gestational age ≥34 weeks from the NOGBS study . All patients had a positive blood culture and 11 (13%) also had a positive CSF culture .

To facilitate communication of EOS risk factors, we developed a “pink card,” which outlined maternal antepartum risk factors for EOS. We tracked the proper notification of the pediatric team and frequency/accuracy of pink card utilization by the L&D staff. Vice versa, the more specific approach of the EOSC results in less antibiotic overtreatment at the cost of later treatment of actual EOD patients. Potential strategies to improve EOD identification in well-appearing newborns are the evaluation of acute phase reactant biomarkers like C-reactive protein and ferritin, and the molecular detection of EOD-specific pathogens in cord blood. Our findings are in line with the retrospective study by Morris et al., who found a sensitivity of 39% for the EOSC compared to 56% for the former NICE guideline in the first hours after birth.

At the start of the study, the initial newborn bath occurred upon admission to the postpartum unit. Even infants who are not at risk for sepsis may have temperature instability after their first bath. Therefore, the decision was made to delay initial bathing until 24 hours of life (Fig. 3; PDSA cycle 6).

This tool is based on the Neonatal Early-Onset Sepsis Calculator by Kaiser Permanente. Login to iMedicalApps in order to view the following video review of Early-Onset Sepsis .

Another strength is the prospective character of the cohort study and the relatively high number of culture-positive EOD cases. First, we retrospectively determined the clinical condition of each newborn. It was occasionally difficult to determine the exact duration of symptoms that is required for the ‘equivocal’ category of infant’s clinical condition for the EOSC. Second, in some patients, antibiotics were started shortly after birth.

The F-715SG also gives plenty of advanced warning to indicate when the battery power is running low. When not used or touched for 7 minutes, the ‘auto power-off’’ function switches the calculator off, conserving battery resources further. Ideal for learning, examination and homework problem-solving tasks, the F-715SG Scientific calculator has an extra large 2-line LCD display.

• From June 2015 to June 2016, there were 312 at-risk infants identified and evaluated on the EOS calculator.
• As our rate of EOS workup and antibiotic treatment was higher than the data reported in the literature, we decided to revise our protocol according to recent guidelines.
• Therefore, we do not have data related to out-of-system hospital readmissions.
• Risk factors for early-onset neonatal sepsis include maternal, perinatal, and neonatal factors .
• We looked at all hospital readmissions regardless of readmission diagnosis to exclude cases of missed sepsis.

To investigate whether the use of the EOS calculator reduces antibiotic exposure in newborns with suspected EOS in the first 24 hours after birth. The calculator also includes information about the evolving newborn clinical condition during the first 2 to 4 hours after birth. This study enrolled a total of 3002 newborn infants ≥35 weeks GA born consecutively at the same institution in Milan throughout three 4-month periods between November 2016 and March 2020.

Berardi A., Buffagni A.M., Rossi C., Vaccina E., Cattelani C., Gambini L., Baccilieri F., Varioli F., Ferrari F. eos calculator app examinations, a simple and reliable tool for managing neonates at risk for early-onset sepsis. An app that could save a life by alerting providers to infants’ who may be at risk for early-onset sepsis and ensuring proper management for this potentially lethal diagnosis. Balancing measures included the number of infants per month who were well at birth and became equivocal or clinically ill with sepsis requiring transfer to the NICU and the monthly rate of readmission for sepsis. For each patient, treatment advice was determined retrospectively at 4, 12 and 24 h after birth.

Both CRP and PCT have a physiologic increase over the first 24–48 h of life; baseline concentrations of both markers are mainly affected by birth weight and gestational age . On these basis, different attempts have been done to establish the appropriate cut-off values of both PCT and CRP . Umbilical blood PCT and CRP have also been tested for EOS diagnosis; cut-off values were different among studies (0.5–2 ng/ml for PCT and 1–10 mg/l for CRP) . The EOS calculator is a validated computer tool freely available on the internet . The combination of different risks and clinical statuses correspond to different workup and treatment protocols . Recent publications demonstrated that the EOS calculator, compared to conventional management strategies, shows lower relative risks for empirical antibiotic therapy without affecting safety .

The proportion of https://www.beaxy.com/ with antibiotic treatment advice by the EOSC was compared to that of the Dutch and NICE guidelines using the McNemar’s test. CM developed our protocol for treatment decision-making of neonatal early-onset sepsis. CM, TC, SE, MM and CA analyzed and interpreted the patient data and critically revised the manuscript. The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators.

Use the guidance below to optimize blood culture collection whenever it is indicated. When empiric antibiotics are recommended by the SRC, draw a blood culture, and utilize ampicillin and gentamicin. Vaccina E., Luglio A., Ceccoli M., Lecis M., Leone F., Zini T., Toni G., Lugli L., Lucaccioni L., Iughetti L., et al. Brief comments on three existing approaches for managing neonates at risk of early-onset sepsis.

Know the risks and potential benefits of clinical studies and talk to your health care provider before participating. Berardi XRP A., Bedetti L., Spada C., Lucaccioni L., Frymoyer A. Serial clinical observation for management of newborns at risk of early-onset sepsis. As our rate of EOS workup and antibiotic treatment was higher than the data reported in the literature, we decided to revise our protocol according to recent guidelines. Several approaches have been suggested for the management of newborns at-risk for EOS, but the recent literature highlighted some limitations that are consistent with the results we found in this study. Combining the EOS Calculator and the Universal SPE approach was effective at minimizing some of the risks without increasing any adverse effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate if the combination of the latter two validated strategies could reduce their individual limitations.

Median gestational age was 39 3 + 7 weeks (IQR 37+3–40+4 weeks, range 34+1–41+6). In 67 (76%) patients symptoms were present at 24 h after birth, of whom 24 (36%) were classified as clinically ill directly after birth. However, early antibiotic treatment might have prevented the development of symptoms, as these patients were treated directly after birth based on the presence of maternal risk factors incorporated in the Dutch guideline. All 13 included studies compared management guided by the EOS calculator with conventional management strategies and used the rate of empirical antibiotics prescribed for suspected EOS as a main outcome. All studies found a lower RR for antibiotic therapy, favoring use of the EOS calculator (range, 3%-60%) .