Graduation Semester and Year
Fall 2026
Language
English
Document Type
DNP Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Dr. Kimberly Siniscalchi
Abstract
Millions of Americans experience life-threatening hypotension. Prolonged hypotension results in acute kidney injury, myocardial injury, even cardiac arrest, and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality (Khanna et al., 2019; Schuurmans et al., 2024; Singer et al., 2022). Hypotension and its associated complications result in higher hospital costs (Keuffel et al., 2018). While there is a high incidence of hypotension among ICU patients, a smaller percentage of patients require vasopressor infusions regionally and nationally (Moin et al., 2025; Pollard et al., 2019). Local data from a community hospital within a North Texas suburb demonstrates a larger percentage of ICU patients experiencing hypotension receive vasopressor infusions. Data indicates a gap in safe and efficient treatment for hypotension. To address the problem, this quality improvement (QI) project, using a PDSA framework, aimed to reduce the number of critically ill patients experiencing hypotension that require vasopressor infusions through implementation of a push dose vasopressor bundle consisting of pre-mixed syringes of phenylephrine, pre-mixed syringes of epinephrine, and staff education over an 8-week period. Implementation of provider education for the use of push dose vasopressors resulted in a statistically significant increase in provider knowledge. While analysis of pre and post implementation infusion rates was not found to be statistically significant, most patients who received push dose vasopressors after implementation did not require an infusion.
A push dose vasopressor bundle consisting of pre-mixed syringes of phenylephrine, pre-mixed syringes of epinephrine, and staff education demonstrated usefulness by improving provider knowledge and establishing a safe, efficient, and standardized approach to the use of push dose vasopressors for adult patients experiencing hypotension.
Keywords
push dose vasopressors (PDP), hypotension, cardiac arrest, phenylephrine, epinephrine, critical care
Disciplines
Critical Care Nursing
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Dailey, Jennifer Ann, "Push Dose Vasopressors for the Treatment of Hypotension" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects. 34.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/nursing_dnpprojects2/34