Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment Commons^™

Optimizing A Clostridium Difficile Screen For Intensive Care Unit Admissions, Mary Katherine V. Natour, Jennifer Smith

Graduate Publications and Other Selected Works - Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Background: Clostridium difficile infection is one of the most common healthcare-associated infections. Careful screening upon hospital admission enables clinicians to mitigate the spread and sequelae of this illness through early intervention and isolation but this screening must be accurate and highly sensitive to maximize benefit.

Local problem: The site for this project, an ICU in Tennessee, currently employs a highly sensitive but nonspecific tool to detect CDI. This has resulted in low accuracy, low staff compliance, low patient morale, and unnecessarily high personal protective equipment (PPE) costs.

Methods: Levin’s evidence-based practice improvement model was chosen to guide this project from …