Hospital pediatrics最新文献

Background and objectives: Croup and bronchiolitis are common reasons for hospitalization in children, and the role of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on utilization outcomes for these conditions is not well understood. To compare health care utilization including the rates of hospitalization, readmission, length of stay, and ICU admission for croup and bronchiolitis in children with and without evidence of concurrent SARS-CoV-2 infection over the pandemic period.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used inpatient and outpatient electronic health record data from PEDSnet institutions to examine health services use for children aged 30 days to 14 years with SARS-CoV-2 infection and diagnosed with croup or bronchiolitis. The time frame (March 2020-May 2022) was divided into predelta, delta, and omicron variant periods. Multivariable mixed effects logistic and log gamma regression models were used to calculate adjusted odds ratios for factors linked to utilization outcomes for children with versus without SARS-CoV-2 infections. Disease burden was described by variant time period.

Results: Across all time periods, among subjects with croup and bronchiolitis, 9.65% of croup patients and 3.92% of bronchiolitis patients were SARS-CoV-2-positive. The omicron variant period had the highest number of SARS-CoV-2 cases for both croup and bronchiolitis. After controlling for patient-level variables and hospital variability, we found no statistically significant differences in utilization outcomes comparing children with and without SARS-CoV-2.

Conclusions: Pediatric patients with croup and bronchiolitis and positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction testing did not exhibit a significant increase in hospital and ICU admissions, which may have implications for future staffing models and public health recommendations.

Background and objective: The financial burden of bronchiolitis-related hospitalizations in the United States surpasses $700 million annually. Procalcitonin (PCT) has garnered recent interest in pediatrics and has demonstrated the potential to decrease antibiotic usage in other illnesses. This study assessed PCT utilization trends in bronchiolitis, hypothesizing an annual increase in PCT testing.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter, retrospective cross-sectional study utilizing the Pediatric Health Information Systems database. Infants aged 2 to 23 months presenting with bronchiolitis from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2022, were included. Encounters with and without PCT testing were compared using χ2 testing and Wilcoxon rank-sum testing as appropriate. Temporal trends in PCT testing and correlations with hospital-level proportions of PCT use, antibiotic administration, and admission proportion were assessed using Spearman's ρ.

Results: There were 366 643 bronchiolitis encounters among 307 949 distinct patients across 38 hospitals during the study period. Of those, 1.5% (5517 of 366 643) had PCT testing performed. PCT usage increased more than 14-fold between 2016 and 2022 (0.2% in 2016 vs 2.8% in 2022, ρ > 0.99, P < .001). PCT use ranged from 0.01% to 8.29% across hospitals. The hospital-level proportion of PCT testing was not associated with admissions (ρ = 0.13, P = .42) or antibiotic use (ρ = 0.31, P = .06).

Conclusions: PCT testing in patients with bronchiolitis increased 14-fold between 2016 and 2022 and was not associated with decreased antimicrobial prescriptions. Further studies are needed to determine the diagnostic yield of PCT in bronchiolitis.

Objective: Postoperative communication errors contribute to patient harm and excess costs. There are no existing standards for postoperative handoff to the acute care inpatient unit. We aimed to compare the experiences and preferences of pediatric hospitalists and surgeons about the content and timing of this handoff.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional multisite survey of pediatric hospitalists and surgeons at 4 hospitals using a novel survey tool developed through a systematic 7-step process. We collected data on the perceived frequency of communication for 37 handoff elements and how essential each element was for an ideal handoff. We used 5-point Likert scales of communication frequency and essentialness. Respondents identified perceived and preferred handoff timing. Mention frequency and timing data were analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher's exact test, respectively.

Results: Seventy hospitalists (61%) and 27 surgeons (25%) responded to the survey. Over half of both hospitalist and surgeon respondents rated 13 handoff elements a 5 on the essentialness Likert scale. Surgeons perceived that 33 handoff elements were mentioned significantly more frequently than perceived by hospitalists (P < .05). Of hospitalists, 58% preferred that handoff occur immediately before the patient leaves the postanesthesia care unit. Of surgeons, 60% preferred that handoff occur immediately postoperatively.

Conclusions: The 13 core elements we identified may facilitate the development of a standardized handoff checklist for postoperative communication between surgeons and hospitalists on acute care units. Areas of future study could include checklist validation, audits of handoff practice, and qualitative research on handoff preferences.

Background: Clinical decision support (CDS) systems offer the potential to improve pediatric care through enhanced test ordering, prescribing, and standardization of care. Its augmentation with artificial intelligence (AI-CDS) may help address current limitations with CDS implementation regarding alarm fatigue and accuracy of recommendations. We sought to evaluate strengths and perceptions of CDS, with a focus on AI-CDS, through semistructured interviews of clinician partners.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using semistructured interviews of physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses at a single quaternary-care pediatric emergency department to evaluate clinician perceptions of CDS and AI-CDS. We used reflexive thematic analysis to identify themes and purposive sampling to complete recruitment with the goal of reaching theoretical sufficiency.

Results: We interviewed 20 clinicians. Participants demonstrated a variable understanding of CDS and AI, with some lacking a clear definition. Most recognized the potential benefits of AI-CDS in clinical contexts, such as data summarization and interpretation. Identified themes included the potential of AI-CDS to improve diagnostic accuracy, standardize care, and improve efficiency, while also providing educational benefits to clinicians. Participants raised concerns about the ability of AI-based tools to appreciate nuanced pediatric care, accurately interpret data, and about tensions between AI recommendations and clinician autonomy.

Conclusions: AI-CDS tools have a promising role in pediatric emergency medicine but require careful integration to address clinicians' concerns about autonomy, nuance recognition, and interpretability. A collaborative approach to development and implementation, informed by clinicians' insights and perspectives, will be pivotal for their successful adoption and efficacy in improving patient care.

Background and objectives: Failure to thrive, brief resolved unexplained event, accidental ingestion, and drowning admissions commonly involve social work (SW) consultation. Care team biases likely influence SW consultation decisions. We examined whether SW consultations varied by patient race for these diagnoses.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of children <6 years of age admitted for failure to thrive, brief resolved unexplained event, accidental ingestion, and drowning between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2020 at a single, academic, standalone children's hospital in an urban environment. The outcome was SW consultation; the predictor was patient race. We used multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for ethnicity, language, insurance, and diagnosis. We completed a supplemental chart review of a random sample of 10% of patients with SW consultation to determine the reasons that consultations were placed.

Results: We included 1199 unique patients; 64% identified as white, and 22% identified as Black. Black patients had 1.61 times higher adjusted odds of SW consultation compared with white patients (95% confidence interval 1.14-2.29). Publicly insured, compared with privately insured, patients had 6.10 times higher adjusted odds of SW consultation (95% confidence interval 4.28-8.80). Upon supplemental chart review, Black patients had SW consultations that focused more often on abuse, neglect, and safety; this was also found for publicly insured patients. There was parity in consultation for resource needs across groups.

Conclusions: Black children were more likely than white children to receive SW consultation during hospitalization, as were publicly insured children compared with their privately insured peers; in supplemental review, this was not due to differences in consultations for resource needs. The standardization of SW consultation may promote equitable care.

Objective: Firearm injuries are the leading cause of death for children in the United States. Child access prevention (CAP) laws have been passed in some states. This study examines characteristics of children with firearm injuries in states with different types of CAP laws.

Methods: The Pediatric Health Information System database was reviewed to identify all pediatric firearm injury patients between 2016 and 2021. Hospital data were categorized based on state laws as (1) no CAP laws (2) some CAP laws or (3) strict CAP laws. CAP laws that specifically outlined criminal liability for the negligent storage of firearms were considered a strict restriction, whereas any other form of CAP law was considered some restriction. χ-squared and independent-samples median testing were performed to compare restriction levels.

Results: Between 2016 and 2021, 12 853 firearm injuries were recorded in the Pediatric Health Information System database. In states with strict CAP laws, patients were significantly older (P < .001) and had a significantly higher household income (P < .001) compared with patients in states with no CAP laws. Gender, race, and the number of firearm injuries differed between the 3 restriction levels. There were less firearm injuries observed than expected in cities with strict CAP laws.

Conclusions: CAP laws are associated with a higher age and household income of pediatric firearm injury patients. Given the disparities seen between cities, a federal CAP law may best protect children nationwide.

Background and objectives: Although skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are among the most common indications for pediatric hospitalization, little is known about outpatient care received for SSTI before and after hospitalization. We assessed peri-hospitalization care for SSTI, including antibiotic exposures and their impact on hospital length of stay (LOS).

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of 1229 SSTI hospitalizations in 2019 from children aged 1-to-18 years enrolled in Medicaid from 10 US states included in the Merative Marketscan Medicaid database. We characterized health service utilization (outpatient visits, laboratory and diagnostic tests, antibiotic exposures) 14 days before and 30 days after hospitalization and evaluated the effects of pre-hospitalization care on hospital LOS with linear regression.

Results: Only 43.1% of children hospitalized with SSTI had a preceding outpatient visit with a SSTI diagnosis, 69.8% of which also filled prescription for an antibiotic. Median LOS for SSTI admission was 2 days (interquartile range 1-3). Pre-hospitalization visits with a diagnosis of SSTI were associated with a 0.7 day reduction (95% confidence interval: 0.6-0.81) in LOS (P < .001), but pre-hospital antibiotic exposure alone had no effect on LOS. Most children (81.7%) filled antibiotic prescriptions after hospital discharge and 74.5% had post-discharge ambulatory visits.

Conclusions: Although most children did not receive pre-admission care for SSTI, those that did had a shorter hospitalization. Further investigation is necessary on how to optimize access and use of outpatient care for SSTI.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a clinical practice guideline (CPG) on antibiotic use and resource utilization for pediatric preseptal cellulitis.

Methods: This retrospective quasiexperimental study included patients between the age of 2 months and 17 years admitted for preseptal cellulitis between January 2013 and December 2023. The preseptal cellulitis CPG was implemented in December 2020 using a multifaceted strategy that included buy-in from key stakeholders, education of frontline providers, the official CPG launch, and stakeholder check-ins. The primary outcome was the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, including dual/triple therapy and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) active antibiotics. The secondary outcome was resource utilization including blood testing and imaging. Outcomes were compared pre- and post-CPG implementation using the Fisher exact test and logistic regressions.

Results: Of 236 patients meeting inclusion criteria, 175 and 61 patients composed the pre- and post-CPG cohorts, respectively. Median age (interquartile range) was 4.0 (1.8-8.3) years and 46% of the population were female. Post-CPG implementation changes in empirical antibiotic use included decreases in broad-spectrum use from 100% to 66% (P < .001), dual/triple therapy from 47% to 16% (P < .001), and MRSA active agents from 86% to 26% (P < .001). There was a decrease in complete blood count and blood culture orders from 75% to 57% (P = .014) and 32% to 18% (P = .047), respectively.

Conclusions: Use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, including dual/triple therapy and MRSA active antibiotics for the treatment of pediatric preseptal cellulitis, decreased after CPG implementation.