Study title

United Kingdom

Individual

Organization

Event/process

A retrospective data analysis was performed on mechanically ventilated adult patients admitted to a single cancer centre ITU between February 2017 to December 2018. An ideal sample size of 369 patients was calculated using the Sample Size Calculation for Population Proportion Estimation. Based on the approximation that four patients per week are ventilated in this centre's ITU, this timeframe was chosen in order to generate an adequate number of records. Demographic data and reason for ITU admission was obtained from patients’ electronic records. To measure if early enteral nutrition (EN) was administered appropriately and without interruption as per guidelines, information on the following was extracted from data: -Route and type of nutrition given-Time taken to initiate feed post admission-Reasons why EN was not initiated or was delayed-Number of occasions and length of time EN, if started, was disrupted. Records were analysed to find clinical reasons why EN may have been delayed or omitted as listed in the exclusion criteria. Due to time constraints the first 211 records were analyzed and from these 64 cases were included.One focus group took place due to limited resources. Five participants from the same team within the unit were involved. There were three band 6's and two band 5's, providing an equal spread of experience within the group. The focus group took place in a private room. Stimulus open, non-leading questions were used as a tool to guide the discussion. Notes were made during the focus group by an observer to capture body language and other behavioural factors. The discussion was recorded using the Hospital Trust's Dictaphone and transcribed verbatim independently. This was stored in a password protected file.