Decompensated cirrhosis: targeted training of acute medical teams to improve quality of care in first 24 hours

Abstract

Background: A quality improvement project in a secondary care centre was initiated to investigate and evaluate the impact of staff education and the use of the British Society of Gastroenterology/British Association for the Study of the Liver cirrhosis care bundle in improving care of patients admitted to hospital with decompensated liver cirrhosis. Method: A staff training programme was implemented, involving around 30 health professionals consisting of consultants, junior doctors, physician associates and nurses from the acute medical unit. A review of electronic documentation and analysis of key clinical parameters, pre- and post-intervention, was carried out. Results: The data show that the intervention has led to an improvement in patient management and clinical outcomes. Conclusion: This project illustrates that collaboration between hepatology and medical teams, with emphasis on education and training, benefits patients who present to hospital with decompensated liver cirrhosis.