Nutrition for Neonates with Congenital Heart Disease Clinical Pathway — CICU

Goals and Metrics

  • Minimize weight loss and increase overall caloric intake over the course of patient hospitalization
  • Optimize post-operative caloric intake, with aim to achieve ≥ 100 kcal/kg/day by POD 4 through discharge
  • Decrease time to:
    • Initiate post-operative parenteral nutrition (PN)
    • Attain goal calories
  • Minimize interruptions of enteral nutrition and PN
  • Promote positive transition to oral feeding
Total Caloric Intake Goals*:
Parenteral and Enteral
Post-op Day kcal/kg/day
1 45-50
2 50-75
3 75-100
≥ 4 ≥ 100

*Goals exclude patients on parenteral nutrition ONLY.
Parenteral only goals as per dietitian recommendations.

Metrics

Increase

  • Percent of patient days for which patients receive ≥ 100 kcal/kg/day
  • Number of patients that attain ≥ 100 kcal/kg/day by post-op day 4
  • Improve weight-for-age z-score change over the length of stay

Decrease

  • Number of days to achieve ≥ 100 kcal/kg/day per patient

Balancing Measures

  • CLABSI rate
  • NEC rate
  • Ventilator-free days