Development of a Critical Pathway and Its Application for the Management of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

In order to provide a systematic and standardized treatment course for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH), a critical pathway(CP) program was developed and the result of its primary application analyzed. This was a quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent groups design. The CP was applied to 26 SAH patients and control group consisted of patients with similar features. Application of CP turned out to be useful in many features; the score of quality of nursing was improved significantly. Complication rate decreased significantly. The hospital stay, ICU stay and the waiting time prior to operation were shortened by 9.68 days, 2.65 days and 19.7 hours, respectively. The cost burden of patients was reduced considerably. Development and application of CP turned out to improve quality of medical treatment and effectiveness of medical organization in SAH patients. Continuous upgrading of CP should be performed to improve the efficiency of medical services.