Comparison of Clinical Outcomes of Hospitalized Pediatric Patients with Acute Diarrhea before and after Implementation of Clinical Pathway in The Hospital

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of clinical pathway implementation in pediatric patients with acute diarrhea with mild-moderate dehydration on clinical outcomes by measuring the length of stay at North Jakarta Education Hospital. This study is a quantitative study using a retrospective cohort case study method. The samples in this study were pediatric patients with a diagnosis of acute diarrhea with mild-moderate dehydration who were hospitalized at the North Jakarta Education Hospital for the period January-December 2020 and January-December 2021 before and after the implementation of the clinical pathway, totaling 274 patients. The results showed that there were no differences in clinical outcomes before and after the clinical pathway for pediatric patients with acute diarrhea with dehydration; 270 patients (98.5%) went home and recovered, and 4 patients (2.5%) with worsening symptoms due to comorbidities suffered. Length of stay of pediatric patients with dehydration after clinical pathway showed no difference in length of stay compared to before clinical pathway implementation. Still, there was a slight reduction in the length of stay after implementing the clinical pathway. Based on the study’s results, there was increased adherence to recommended medications such as zinc and antipyretic was decreased. It can be concluded that the application of the clinical pathway in inpatient patients with acute diarrhea with dehydration has increased the effectiveness of drug use as recommended, although not significantly change in clinical outcomes due to recovery rates. The results showed a no significant decreased in the length of hospital stay after the application of the clinical pathway, although a slight trend suggests for further investigation.