Acute pancreatitis is one of the most common reasons for GI patients to be hospitalized. As AGA published in it’s acute pancreatitis clinical guideline, these patients benefit from early, goal-directed therapy. Cornerstones of acute pancreatitis therapy include early fluid resuscitation, nutritional support and treatment of underlying causes.
Based on our clinical guidelines, the AGA quality team shares three important quality measures to study in hospitalized patients with acute pancreatitis. By tracking these measures, you can assess how your care lines up with recommended treatment protocols, identify opportunities to improve, and ultimately reduce hospital length of stay and overall health care costs.
Quality measures to track:
1. Percentage of patients aged 18 years and older with a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis who receive oral feeding within 24 hours of admission to the hospital.
2. Percentage of patients aged 18 years and older who are hospitalized with acute pancreatitis and are eligible for enteral feeding but receive parenteral nutrition. (This measure captures the frequency of deviations from the standard of care.)
3. Percentage of patients aged 18 years and older with a diagnosis of acute biliary pancreatitis who undergo cholecystectomy during the same hospital admission.
Here are sample outcome metrics to track to evaluate your performance:
- Hospital length of stay for patients admitted with acute pancreatitis.
- Secondary infection rate in patients admitted with acute pancreatitis.
- Overall mortality rate in patients admitted with acute pancreatitis.
Use our measure implementation flow charts:
Learn more about AGA’s quality measures and view our complete list of quality resources.
