An electronic alert to decrease Kayexalate ordering

Figures & data

Figure 1. Electronic alert screen shot.

Figure 2. Kayexalate ordering before and after implementation of the electronic alert (A) Number of Kayexalate orders/month, normalized to 1,000 hyperkalemia values. (B) Amount of Kayexalate ordered/month (grams), normalized to 1,000 hyperkalemia values.

Table 1. Effect of an electronic alert on Kayexalate ordering. The multivariate model is adjusted for trends in Kayexalate ordering over time.

	Univariate			Multivariate
	ß	S.E.	p values	ß	S.E.	p values
Effect of the alert on the number of Kayexalate orders	−47.0	5.4	<0.001	−12.7	7.0	0.08
Effect of the alert on the amount of Kayexalate ordered	−1446.9	140.4	<0.001	−687.5	215.6	0.004

Table 2. Effect of an electronic alert on Kayexalate ordering – limited to patients with mild hyperkalemia. Mild hyperkalemia was defined as serum potassium 4.9 to 5.4 mEq/L. The multivariate model is adjusted for trends in Kayexalate ordering over time.

	Univariate			Multivariate
	ß	S.E.	p values	ß	S.E.	p values
Effect of the alert on the number of Kayexalate orders	−35.6	4.7	<0.001	−11.6	7.6	0.14
Effect of the alert on the amount of Kayexalate ordered	−989.2	120.1	<0.001	−503.2	214.0	0.03