Date
6-19-2024
Department
School of Nursing
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Chair
Debbie Maddox
Keywords
sepsis, emergency department, multidisciplinary or interprofessional team, sepsis huddle, sepsis teams
Disciplines
Nursing
Recommended Citation
Hamlett, Rebecca Caldwell, "Closing the Sepsis Communication Gap in the ED: An Integrative Review" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5725.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5725
Abstract
Many patients experiencing sepsis seek care in the Emergency Department (ED), making the ED their first interaction with the healthcare system. Unfortunately, these individuals often face significant delays in receiving life-saving treatment interventions. In 2021, the Surviving Sepsis Campaign revised their sepsis guidelines to recommend implementing standard operating procedures for managing septic patients. The purpose of this integrative review was to examine the impact of an ED sepsis huddle on enhancing communication among all ED personnel regarding potential septic patients. Ultimately, the goal is to activate a multidisciplinary or intercollaborative team, expedite treatment, and fulfill sepsis communication gaps. This integrative review employed a framework developed by Whittemore and Knafl in 2005, tailored for use within the field of nursing. Melnyk’s Hierarchical Levels of Evidence was used to analyze the findings from the 21 articles included in this review. These results were subsequently organized into a literature matrix. Lastly, a PRISMA flowchart was used to visually display the evaluation and selection of the literature. The research strongly recommends establishing a protocol standardizing the care of the septic patient to ensure the early involvement of an interprofessional collaborative team. This process will improve communication from sepsis recognition to provider involvement and ensure compliance with sepsis bundles and ultimately, it will improve patient outcomes.
