Volume-based Feeds: A Quality Improvement Project for Better Nutrition.

Abstract

This quality improvement project at a single institution aimed to increase the proportion of prescribed tube feeds delivered to adult patients in the burn population with greater than 20% affected TBSA. A retrospective chart review was performed on all adult patients with burns from January 2018 to July 2022 with greater than 20% TBSA burns to compare quantitative measures such as length of stay, change in weight, and mean tube feeds delivered over hospitalization. Prospective data collection began in August 2022, when the first intervention was implemented, and continued until July 2023 in the same patient population to serve as a postintervention cohort. Using a multidisciplinary approach, the team implemented 8 interventions, which increased the mean proportion of tube feeds delivered to patients from 43% to 78%, marking a significant increase in nutrition delivered to patients, which is critical for wound healing following burn injuries.