Background: A root cause analysis (RCA) is a structured method used to address problems. It seeks to identify the root causes of problems, and proposes solutions to achieve an ultimate goal. This study sought to investigate the effects of an RCA in treating elderly patients with acute pancreatitis (AP).
Methods: 94 patients with AP, who had been admitted to our hospital from January 2019 to January 2020, were enrolled in the study. The patients were divided into two groups using the random number table method. Each group comprised 47 patients. The control group received routine care, while the observation group underwent RCA care. The clinical efficacy, patients' negative emotions before and after the intervention, the incidence of complications, and patients' levels of satisfaction with the nursing they received were compared between the two groups.
Results: The total clinical effective rate of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). The Hamilton Anxiety Scale and Hamilton Depression Scale scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group after the 2-week intervention (P<0.05). The incidence of total complications in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). The observation group's level of satisfaction with the nursing they received was higher than that of the control group (P<0.05).
Conclusions: The RCA method can improve clinical efficacy, relieve negative emotion, reduce the incidence of complications, and improve the level of satisfaction with nursing of elderly patients with AP. It is worthy of promotion.
Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100045908.
Keywords: Root cause analysis (RCA); acute pancreatitis (AP); complications; efficacy; negative emotion; old age; satisfaction.