Date of Graduation

Spring 5-20-2022

Document Access

Project/Capstone - Global access

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

College/School

School of Nursing and Health Professions

Program

MSN project

First Advisor

Lisa Brozda

Abstract

Postpartum (PP) hemorrhage is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality (AWHONN, 2021). In each of the past three years, the percentage of PP hemorrhage has increased at Hospital X. The PP unit at Hospital X performs around 4,500 total deliveries each year. While the standard of care for PP blood loss is to specifically measure blood in milliliters as Quantifying Blood Loss (QBL) for Labor and Delivery (L&D), it is not yet the standard of care in the 24 hours postpartum after delivery (ACOG, 2019). This quality improvement project involved educating nurses about measuring blood loss – specifically past the initial measuring in L&D – using the Triton Scale and proper documentation of QBL onto EPIC, the hospital’s electronic patient record system (EPIC). This included creating an instructional video for the Triton Scale, flyers on how to document QBL, emails of changes and implementation, and surveys on nurses’ feedback for QBL implementation. Data collection focused on daily auditing of the nurses’ QBL documentation for the first two voids of a vaginal delivery, QBL for the first four hours of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS), and the first eight hours ERAS with ambulation. If a patient hemorrhages, the focus shifts to determine when the nurse notified the Medical Doctor (MD) or Obstetric (OB) rapid response. QBL compliance increased by 96% among all nurses in the PP unit. While QBL compliance increased, it was not statistically significant; however, important steps towards attaining this goal were found. Nurses have demonstrated significant improvements in the ability to use the Triton scale and the ability to properly document their findings if PP hemorrhage is suspected. Therefore, it is recommended to continue QBL measurements for another two months before re-evaluating the effectiveness of this Quality Improvement (QI) project in early recognition of PP hemorrhage.

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