Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Inappropriate Viral Testing within the Pediatric Emergency…

StudyPediatric quality & safety· 2026

Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Inappropriate Viral Testing within the Pediatric Emergency Department.

Cherisse Mecham, Rachel Kortman, Emma Albrecht … Cecilia Monteilh

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Pediatric Emergency MedicineStudyClinical practiceQ2IF 1.1

Order-entry indication requirement cut inappropriate respiratory viral panel testing in pediatric ED

Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Inappropriate Viral Testing within the Pediatric Emergency Department.

Cherisse Mecham … Cecilia Monteilh

Pediatric quality & safety · 2026

Background

The American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Emergency Medicine's Choosing Wisely Campaign includes recommendations discouraging comprehensive viral panel testing in children with suspected respiratory viral illness.

Purpose

This project aimed to reduce the percentage of pediatric emergency department visits with respiratory pathogen panels orders from 11.9% to 9% over a 6-month viral respiratory season.

Methods

We conducted four major interventions over 2 plan-do-study-act cycles.

n = 43,283 patient

Results

Respiratory pathogen panels orders fell sharply and stayed low the next season

11.9%

Baseline

6.8%

Intervention

More results

The project had sustained cost savings of over $300,000 in respiratory pathogen panels testing each year.

The decrease in respiratory pathogen panels orders did not lead to an increase in the cumulative use of other viral tests.

“

Conclusion

This quality improvement initiative significantly improved and sustained comprehensive viral polymerase chain reaction testing practices in the pediatric emergency department without increasing the use of alternative respiratory viral testing.

Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Inappropriate Viral Testing within the Pediatric Emergency Department.

Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Inappropriate Viral Testing within the Pediatric Emergency Department.

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