The specs are very clear that unless there is MD/APN/PA documentation of 
another etiology for the elevated bili (and not infection) we have to use it as 
organ dysfunction.  The only abnormal values that don't require the 
documentation are related to elevated creatinine for an ESRD patient, an 
elevated INR/PT/PTT for a patient on warfarin therapy, and per the CMS webinar 
last week, starting with July 1, 2016 discharges, a patient with hypotension 
related to administration of BP meds.
So if there is no documentation that the elevated bili was due to obstruction, 
I would use it as evidence of organ dysfunction-
Pam

Pamela Anderson, BSN, RN
Clinical Data Abstractor
Loyola University Health System
Center for Clinical Excellence
Maguire Center | Bldg 105-3909 | Maywood, IL 60153
(O) 708-216-5544 | (F) 708-216-7867 | (E) [email protected]

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-----Original Message-----
From: Sepsisgroups [mailto:[email protected]] On 
Behalf Of Belfi, Karen
Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2016 2:49 PM
To: Dena Videtic
Cc: Murray, Sandra; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Sepsis Groups] [EXTERNAL] RE: Sepsis Question on organ dysfunction

Yes but the guidelines don't tell us to see if the elevated bili is due to 
liver failure. The presence of an elevated bili is enough to say yes for organ 
dysfunction for the purposes of the measure.

Karen Belfi, RN, MSN
Quality Outcomes Coordinator
Lankenau Medical Center


On Jul 6, 2016, at 12:42 PM, Dena Videtic 
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:

Yes but in this case the total bilirubin does not necessarily indicate liver 
failure. Total bilirubin can be elevated due to gallstones and biliary 
obstruction. I would continue to look for documentation of organ dysfunction or 
Severe Sepsis.

Dena
Dena Videtic RN BSN
Quality Indicators
Doctors Hospital
786-308-3315

From: Belfi, Karen [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2016 10:28 AM
To: Dena Videtic <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>; 
Murray, Sandra 
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>; 
'[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>'
 
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Subject: RE: Sepsis Question on organ dysfunction

Following the guidelines, we don’t need physician documentation that the 
patient has severe sepsis.
We need the 3 criteria of infection, 2 SIRS, and organ dysfunction.
While the criteria  we need to use for the measure isn’t without its faults, 
it’s what we have to work with currently.
IN Q&As, we’ve been told to use the organ dysfunction unless there’s 
physician/APN/PA documentation that the lab is related to a different condition.
Here are a couple examples:

Question 215: How will we tell if labs are related to chronic organ 
dysfunction? Are we to assume?
Answer 215: If there is documentation indicating the abnormal lab is due to or 
may be due to a chronic condition or medication that is acceptable. The measure 
also provides two examples that are acceptable, creatinine >2 for a patient 
with end stage renal disease, and an INR > 1.5 for a patient on Warfarin.


Question 315: On slide 34 it says not to include evidence of organ dysfunction 
that is considered chronic. Is the documentation of ESRD in the patient's 
history enough or does the physician need to specifically link the two in 
his/her documentation?
Answer 315: An association does not need to be documented for Creatinine >2 for 
a patient with end stage renal disease, and INR >1.5 for a patient on Warfarin, 
because those are included in the Severe Sepsis Present. For other conditions 
and medications, there should be documentation indicating the association.



Karen Belfi, RN, MSN
Quality Outcomes Coordinator
Lankenau Medical Center
484-476-8092
Pager: 5240
<image001.png>

From: Sepsisgroups [mailto:[email protected]] On 
Behalf Of Dena Videtic
Sent: Tuesday, July 05, 2016 8:13 AM
To: Murray, Sandra; 
'[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>'
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [Sepsis Groups] Sepsis Question on organ dysfunction

Sandra,
This is a good question. From an abstraction point of view, I would look for 
physician documentation that the patient has Severe Sepsis because as nurses, 
it is not in our scope of practice to diagnose patients. The bilirubin could be 
elevated due to a biliary obstruction. An interesting article was published in 
April about the subjectivity of sepsis diagnosis even among physicians. If 
you’re interested it is called: ‘Diagnosing Sepsis is Subjective and Highly 
Variable: A Survey of Intensivists Using Case Vignettes” 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4822273/


Dena Videtic RN BSN
Quality Indicators
Doctors Hospital
Coral Gables, FL
786-308-3315

From: Sepsisgroups [mailto:[email protected]] On 
Behalf Of Murray, Sandra
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2016 2:26 PM
To: 
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Subject: [Sepsis Groups] Sepsis Question on organ dysfunction

Would you count a t.bili of 9.3 as organ dysfunction if patient comes in with 
abdominal pain, meets the SIRS criteria and the CT shows pt to have acute 
cholecystitis?


Sandra Murray, RN, BSN | Heart Failure & Sepsis Program Coordinator Performance 
Improvement-Patient Safety and Risk T 817.848.4963 | M 682.367.3032 
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>

<image002.png>

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