Ventriculostomy supply cart decreases time-to-external ventricular drain placement in the emergency department

BACKGROUND: Minimizing time-to-external ventricular drain (EVD) placement in the emergency department (ED) is critical. We sought to understand factors affecting time-to-EVD placement through a quality improvement initiative. METHODS: The use of process mapping, root cause analyses, and interviews with staff revealed decentralized supply storage as a major contributor to delays in EVD placement. We developed an EVD “crash cart” as a potential solution to this problem. Time-to-EVD placement was tracked prospectively using time stamps in the electronic medical record (EMR); precart control patients were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: The final cohorts consisted of 33 precart and 18 postcart cases. The mean time-to-EVD in the precart group was 99.09 min compared to 71.88 min in the postcart group (two-tailed t-test, P = 0.023). Median time-to-EVD was 92 min in the precart group compared to 64 min in the postcart group (rank sum test, P = 0.0165). Postcart patients trended toward improved outcomes with lower modified Rankin score scores at 1 year, but this did not reach statistical significance (two-tailed t-test, P = 0.177). CONCLUSION: An EVD “crash cart” is a simple intervention that can significantly reduce time-to-EVD placement and may improve outcomes in patients requiring an EVD.