An initiative led by Dr. Ammar Saadoon Alishlash is helping children with acute chest syndrome.
Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is a respiratory disease that starts suddenly, progresses rapidly and is the leading cause of death in children with sickle cell disease in the U.S. and other countries. However, in the last three years, since Children’s of Alabama instituted a standardized ACS protocol, there have been no ACS-related deaths among the hospital’s patients included in the protocol.
Children’s admits as many as 100 children with ACS every year, and the new protocol has improved outcomes among these patients, decreasing the average number of inpatient days from seven to four (a 42% drop) and reducing ICU admissions and mortality.
“We did not expect such significant results,” pediatric pulmonologist Ammar Saadoon Alishlash, M.D., the leader of the initiative, said. When the initiative began, it was up to each child’s physician whether to follow the protocol or standard procedure because it wasn’t clear if the protocol would actually improve outcomes. “But now we’re pushing to have all patients diagnosed with acute chest syndrome be put on the protocol,” he said.
The protocol is based on the latest evidence on the management of ACS. It includes order sets for tests and medications that are embedded in the electronic medical record, which makes it possible for the patient to receive appropriate care in the emergency room rather than waiting until they’re admitted. It also provides three order sets depending on where the child is in the hospital: in the emergency department, the hematology floor or the ICU. “Each has a specific set of orders designed for that specific population to improve outcomes wherever they are in the hospital,” Alishlash said. The standardization also reduces variation in how physicians treat the patients, which is one reason for the improved outcomes, he said. The protocol involves initiating therapy early in the emergency department before the condition progresses. The main interventions include oxygen supplementation and respiratory support.
To further improve ACS outcomes, Alishlash, who leads the pediatric pulmonary sickle cell disease program at Children’s and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is performing clinical and laboratory research on the condition. He received a National Institutes of Health grant to study the effects of environmental exposures on its development and to test novel therapies. He has also identified risk factors for ACS, including low oxygen levels during sleep and an association between where the child lives and the condition. “To prevent death in these small children is a great achievement,” he said. “Hopefully it will dramatically improve outcomes in our sickle cell patient community.”
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