Doctor of Nursing Practice Program

• Committee Chair Name & Credentials:
  Debbie Arnow, DNP, RN, NEA-BC
• Committee Member Name & Credentials:
  Kim Steanson, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC/AC

DNP Project Abstract

Screening for Sepsis in the Pediatric Urgent Care Center

Purpose
This project aimed to identify the benefit of implementing the Cook Children's Medical Center Sepsis Screening Scoring Tool ( CCMS SSST) on at-risk patients presenting to the Cook Children's Fort Worth Urgent Care Center (CC FTW UCC) with fever or other symptoms of infection.

Methods
A retrospective study was conducted on patients seen at CC FTW UCC from 6/1/20-6/1/21. These patients were transferred to Cook Children's Medical Center Emergency Department (CCMC ED) for higher care.  The SSST was applied to 369 EMRs. The patients at risk for sepsis scored greater than four.

Results
The majority of the records reviewed, 349 (94.5%), had a negative sepsis score. Of those patients that scored positive for sepsis, 19 (5.1%), 10 ( 2.7%) were admitted to an inpatient bed from the emergency department (ED), and nine (2.4%) were discharged home from the ED.

Implications for Practice
Sepsis is a medical emergency in which early screening and identification of this disease are crucial to decreasing tissue damage, organ failure, and death (McClelland H, 2014). The CCMC SST showed that clinicians benefit from using it as a supportive tool to identify pediatric patients at risk for sepsis who present to the UCC with fever or other infectious symptoms.