OBJECTIVES: 

To determine if the implementation of automated clinical decision support (CDS) with embedded minor severe community-acquired pneumonia (sCAP) criteria was associated with improved ICU utilization among emergency department (ED) patients with pneumonia who did not require vasopressors or positive pressure ventilation at admission.

DESIGN: 

Planned secondary analysis of a stepped-wedge, cluster-controlled CDS implementation trial.

SETTING: 

Sixteen hospitals in six geographic clusters from Intermountain Health; a large, integrated, nonprofit health system in Utah and Idaho.

PATIENTS: 

Adults admitted to the hospital from the ED with pneumonia identified by: 1) discharge International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision codes for pneumonia or sepsis/respiratory failure and 2) ED chest imaging consistent with pneumonia, who did not require vasopressors or positive pressure ventilation at admission.

INTERVENTIONS: 

After implementation, patients were exposed to automated, open-loop, comprehensive CDS that aided disposition decision (ward vs. ICU), based on objective severity scores (sCAP).

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: 

The analysis included 2747 patients, 1814 before and 933 after implementation. The median age was 71, median Elixhauser index was 17, 48% were female, and 95% were Caucasian. A mixed-effects regression model with cluster as the random effect estimated that implementation of CDS utilizing sCAP increased 30-day ICU-free days by 1.04 days (95% CI, 0.48–1.59; p < 0.001). Among secondary outcomes, the odds of being admitted to the ward, transferring to the ICU within 72 hours, and receiving a critical therapy decreased by 57% (odds ratio [OR], 0.43; 95% CI, 0.26–0.68; p < 0.001) post-implementation; mortality within 72 hours of admission was unchanged (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.56–2.01; p = 0.82) while 30-day all-cause mortality was lower post-implementation (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.52–0.96; p = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS: 

Implementation of electronic CDS using minor sCAP criteria to guide disposition of patients with pneumonia from the ED was associated with safe reduction in ICU utilization.