DIABETIC KETOACIDOSIS CRITICAL CARE PATHWAY IMPLEMENTATION: INCORPORATION INTO EMR SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASES LENGTH OF STAY

We discuss the implementation and outcomes of a diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) critical care pathway (CCP) at a 462-bed teaching hospital. A multi-disciplinary team implemented a DKA CCP that was translated into 3 computerized physician order entry (CPOE) order sets corresponding to the phases of DKA care. Historical and postintervention data were obtained via automated queries of the electronic medical record (EMR) and further analyzed by manual chart review. Average length of stay decreased from 104.3 to 72.9 hours (P = .0003) after implementation of a DKA CCP. Outcome data supports the use of a DKA CCP at our institution. DKA = diabetic ketoacidosis CCP = critical care pathway EMR = electronic medical record CPOE = computerized physician order entry ICD-9 = International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision LoS = length of stay SQL = standard query language.