Geographic Variation in Hospitalization for Lower Respiratory Tract Infections Across One County

Time to Clinical Stability in Children With Community-Acquired Pneumonia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Time to clinical stability (TCS) is a commonly used outcome in adults with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), yet few studies have evaluated TCS in children. Our objective was to determine the association between TCS and disease severity in children with suspected CAP, as well as factors associated with reaching early stability.

METHODS

This is a prospective cohort study of children (aged 3 months to 18 years) hospitalized with suspected CAP. TCS parameters included temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and hypoxemia with the use of supplemental oxygen. TCS was defined as time from admission to parameter normalization. The association of TCS with severity and clinical factors associated with earlier TCS were evaluated.

RESULTS

Of 571 children, 187 (32.7%) had at least 1 abnormal parameter at discharge, and none had ≥3 abnormal discharge parameters. A greater proportion of infants (90 [93%]) had all 4 parameters stable at discharge compared with 12- to 18-year-old youths (21 [49%]). The median TCS for each parameter was <24 hours. Younger age, absence of vomiting, diffusely decreased breath sounds, and normal capillary refill were associated with earlier TCS. Children who did not reach stability were not more likely to revisit after discharge.

CONCLUSIONS

A TCS outcome consisting of physiologic variables may be useful for objectively assessing disease recovery and clinical readiness for discharge among children hospitalized with CAP. TCS may decrease length of stay if implemented to guide discharge decisions. Clinicians can consider factors associated with earlier TCS for management decisions.

Gender specific data in patients with acute appendicitis: a single center perspective

BACKGROUND

The influence of sex, socioeconomic status, and other factors on outcomes from acute illness has been found recently with an increasing interest; acute appendicitis is the most frequent urgency in pediatric age. The aim of this study was to show any gender differences.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of consecutive patients who underwent surgical exploration for acute appendicitis. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were created. Patient data, demographics, characteristics, and outcomes were studied and evaluated on a gender perspective.

RESULTS

After reviewing medical charts following the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 364 patients were studied; focusing on final outcomes, it was possible to add news from a gender perspective of appendicitis: gangrenous appendicitis was associated with younger female and older female were more likely to have false positive appendicitis; female had less postoperative pain respect to age-match male for all appendicitis and males had more symptoms respect to females especially for phlegmonous and gangrenous appendicitis.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a gender difference in appendicitis; as for adult girls appear to be affected less, have fewer symptoms, and have better postoperative results.

Pursuing a Cross-Sector Approach to Advance Child Health Equity

Cross-sector partnerships are essential to ensure a safe and effective system of care for children, their caregivers, and communities. A "system of care" should have a well-defined population, vision, and measures shared by health care and community stakeholders, and an efficient modality for tracking progress toward better, more equitable outcomes. Effective partnerships could be clinically integrated, built atop coordinated awareness and assistance, and community-connected opportunities for networked learning. As opportunities for partnership continue to be uncovered, it will be vital to broadly assess their impact, using clinical and nonclinical metrics.

Geographic Variation in Acute Pediatric Mental Health Utilization

OBJECTIVE

To identify locations with higher need for acute pediatric mental health (MH) interventions or services and describe these communities' socio-demographic characteristics.

METHODS

This single-center retrospective study included patients 5 to 18 years old with an emergency department (ED) or hospital admission between 2017 and 2019 for a primary known MH diagnosis or symptoms. We extracted visit data from the electronic medical record, mapped patients to their home census tract, calculated normalized visit rates by census tract, and performed spatial analysis to identify nonrandom geographic clusters and outliers of high utilization. Census tract utilization rates were stratified into quartiles, and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics obtained from the US Census Bureau were compared using analysis of variance, chi-square tests, and multivariable analysis.

RESULTS

There were 10,866 qualifying visits across 617 census tracts. ED and hospital admission rates ranged from 2.7 to 428.6 per 1000 children. High utilization clusters localized to neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic status (p < .05). Southern regions with high utilizers were more likely to have fewer children per neighborhood, higher rates of teen births, and lower socioeconomic status. Multivariate analysis showed regions with high utilizers had fewer children per neighborhood, lower median household income, and more families that lacked computer access.

CONCLUSION

ED and hospital utilization for pediatric MH concerns varied significantly by neighborhood and demographics. Divergent social factors map onto these locations and are related to MH utilization. Leveraging geography can be a powerful tool in the development of targeted, culturally tailored interventions to decrease acute pediatric MH utilization and advance child MH equity.

Hospitalizations at United States Children's Hospitals and Severity of Illness by Neighborhood Child Opportunity Index

OBJECTIVE

To describe the association between neighborhood opportunity measured by the Child Opportunity Index 2.0 (COI) and patterns of hospital admissions and disease severity among children admitted to US pediatric hospitals.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective, cross-sectional study of 773 743 encounters for children <18 years of age admitted to US children's hospitals participating in the Pediatric Health Information System database 7/2020-12/2021.

RESULTS

The proportion of children from each COI quintile was inversely related to the degree of neighborhood opportunity. The difference between the proportion of patients from Very Low COI and Very High COI ranged from +32.0% (type 2 diabetes mellitus with complications) to -14.1% (mood disorders). The most common principal diagnoses were acute bronchiolitis, respiratory failure/insufficiency, chemotherapy, and asthma. Of the 45 diagnoses which occurred in ≥0.5% of the cohort, 22, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, asthma, and sleep apnea had higher odds of occurring in lower COI tiers in multivariable analysis. Ten diagnoses, including mood disorders, neutropenia, and suicide and intentional self-inflicted injury had lower odds of occurring in the lower COI tiers. The proportion of patients needing critical care and who died increased, as neighborhood opportunity decreased.

CONCLUSIONS

Pediatric hospital admission diagnoses and severity of illness are disproportionately distributed across the range of neighborhood opportunity, and these differences persist after adjustment for factors including race/ethnicity and payor status, suggesting that these patterns in admissions reflect disparities in neighborhood resources and differential access to care.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Aragón and variations according to health determinants

INTRODUCTION

Childhood obesity is a serious global health problem that is continuously increasing worldwide. Many studies suggest that socioeconomic factors are related to the development of obesity. The objective of our study was to analyse the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Aragón, calculated applying the World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards, and to study its association with socioeconomic factors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We collected data for the entire paediatric population of Aragón aged 2-14 years. We classified each child as normal weight, overweight or obese based on the body mass index. We calculated prevalences by province and basic health care zone. To analyse differences in relation to social inequalities, we used the Aragón deprivation index as an indicator of socioeconomic status.

RESULTS

The final sample consisted of 161 335 children aged 2-14 years, 51% male and 49% female. The overall prevalence of excess weight was 31.1% (17.7% overweight and 13.3% obesity) and was significantly higher in boys. We found a high frequency of under-recording in health records (65%). There was a direct association between the deprivation index and the prevalence of obesity and overweight throughout Aragón, with a significant strong correlation in urban areas, where socioeconomic factors explained up to 66.4% of obesity and 48.9% of body weight excess.

CONCLUSIONS

In Aragón, the prevalence of obesity and excess weight is high and associated with low family socioeconomic status.

The Child Opportunity Index and Pediatric Emergency Medical Services Utilization

Background: The delivery of emergency medical services (EMS) is a resource-intensive process, and prior studies suggest that EMS utilization in children may vary by socioeconomic status. The Child Opportunity Index (COI) provides a multidimensional measure of neighborhood-level resources and conditions that affect the health of children. We evaluated EMS utilization and measures of acuity among children by COI.Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study using encounters for patients less than 18 years of age from 10,067 EMS agencies in 47 US states and territories contributing to the National Emergency Medical Services Information System 2019 dataset. We compared patient demographics, EMS encounter characteristics, and care provided to children stratified by ZIP code using the COI 2.0.Results: We included 1,293,038 EMS encounters (median age 10 years, IQR 3-15 years). The distributions of encounters in the five tiers of COI were 30.6%, 20.1%, 18.0%, 16.3% and 15.1%, (from Very Low to Very High, respectively). The distribution of diagnoses between groups was similar. Most measures of EMS acuity/resource use were similar between groups, including non-transport status, cardiac arrest, vital sign abnormalities, and EMS-administered procedures and medications. Among children with respiratory-related encounters, children in the Very Low group had a greater need for nebulized medications (26.4% vs 18.3% in Very High COI children). Among children with trauma, a lower proportion in the Very Low group were given analgesia (4.0% vs 7.4% in the Very High group), though pain scores were similar in all groups.Conclusion: Pediatric EMS encounters from lower COI neighborhoods occur more frequently relative to encounters from higher COI neighborhoods. Despite these differences, children from lower COI strata generally have similar encounter characteristics to those in other COI strata, suggestive of a greater number of true out-of-hospital emergencies among children from these areas. Notable differences in care included use of respiratory medication to children with respiratory diagnoses, and administration of pain medication to children with trauma.

Gestational Age, Socioeconomic Context and Infection-Related Hospital Admissions of Infants Born With Gestational Age Less Than 33 Weeks

Using data from a regional medical follow-up network database of preterm infants born with gestational age (GA) <33 weeks, we found that low GA and deprived socioeconomic neighborhoods increased incidence of infection-related hospitalization during the first year of life. Respiratory tract infections rates were higher in extremely preterm infants.

Hospital-Level Neighborhood Opportunity and Rehospitalization for Common Diagnoses at US Children's Hospitals

OBJECTIVE

Neighborhood conditions influence child health outcomes, but data examining association between local factors and hospital utilization are lacking. We determined if hospitals' mix of patients by neighborhood opportunity correlates with rehospitalization for common diagnoses at US children's hospitals.

METHODS

We analyzed all discharges in 2018 for children ≤18 years at 47 children's hospitals for 14 common diagnoses. The exposure was hospital-level mean neighborhood opportunity - measured by Child Opportunity Index (COI) - for each diagnosis. The outcome was same-cause rehospitalization within 365 days. We measured association via Pearson correlation coefficient. For diagnoses with significant associations, we also examined shorter rehospitalization time windows and compared unadjusted and COI-adjusted rehospitalization rates.

RESULTS

There were 256,871 discharges included. Hospital-level COI ranged from 17th to 70th percentile nationally. Hospitals serving lower COI neighborhoods had more frequent rehospitalization for asthma (ρ -0.34 [95% confidence interval -0.57, -0.06]) and diabetes (ρ -0.33 [-0.56, -0.04]), but fewer primary mental health rehospitalizations (ρ 0.47 [0.21, 0.67]). There was no association for 11 other diagnoses. Secondary timepoint analysis revealed increasing correlation over time, with differences by diagnosis. Adjustment for hospital-level COI resulted in 26%, 32%, and 45% of hospitals changing >1 decile in rehospitalization rank order for diabetes, asthma, and mental health diagnoses, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Children's hospitals vary widely in their mix of neighborhoods served. Asthma, diabetes, and mental health rehospitalization rates correlate with COI, suggesting that neighborhood factors may influence outcome disparities for these conditions. Hospital outcomes may be affected by neighborhood opportunity, which has implications for benchmarking.

Neighborhood Child Opportunity and Emergency Department Utilization

The Child Opportunity Index measures the structural neighborhood context that may influence a child's healthy development. We examined relationships between the Child Opportunity Index and emergency department utilization.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The Child Opportunity Index (COI) is a multidimensional measure of structural neighborhood context that may influence a child's healthy development. Our objective was to determine if COI is associated with children's emergency department (ED) utilization using a national sample.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study of the Pediatric Health Information Systems, a database from 49 United States children's hospitals. We analyzed children aged 0 to 17 years with ED visits from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2019. We modeled associations between COI and outcomes using generalized regression models that adjusted for patient characteristics (eg, age, clinical severity). Outcomes included: (1) low-resource intensity (LRI) ED visits (visits with no laboratories, imaging, procedures, or admission), (2) ≥2 or ≥3 ED visits, and (3) admission.

RESULTS

We analyzed 6 810 864 ED visits by 3 999 880 children. LRI visits were more likely among children from very low compared with very high COI (1 LRI visit: odds ratio [OR] 1.35 [1.17-1.56]; ≥2 LRI visits: OR 1.97 [1.66-2.33]; ≥3 LRI visits: OR 2.4 [1.71-3.39]). ED utilization was more likely among children from very low compared with very high COI (≥2 ED visits: OR 1.73 [1.51-1.99]; ≥3 ED visits: OR 2.22 [1.69-2.91]). Risk of hospital admission from the ED was lower for children from very low compared with very high COI (OR 0.77 [0.65-0.99]).

CONCLUSIONS

Children from neighborhoods with low COI had higher ED utilization overall and more LRI visits, as well as visits more cost-effectively managed in primary care settings. Identifying neighborhood opportunity-related drivers can help us design interventions to optimize child health and decrease unnecessary ED utilization and costs.

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Deprivation and Health Care Utilization of Medically Complex Children

OBJECTIVES

To assess the association between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and health care utilization in a cohort of children with medical complexity (CMC).

METHODS

Cross-sectional study of children aged <18 years receiving care in our institution's patient-centered medical home (PCMH) for CMC in 2016 to 2017. Home addresses were assigned to census tracts and a tract-level measure of socioeconomic deprivation (Deprivation Index with range 0-1, higher numbers represent greater deprivation). Health care utilization outcomes included emergency department visits, hospitalizations, inpatient bed days, and missed PCMH clinic appointments. To evaluate the independent association between area-level socioeconomic deprivation and utilization outcomes, multivariable Poisson and linear regression models were used to control for demographic and clinical covariates.

RESULTS

The 512 included CMC lived in neighborhoods with varying degrees of socioeconomic deprivation (median 0.32, interquartile range 0.26-0.42, full range 0.12-0.82). There was no association between area-level deprivation and emergency department visits (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.93 to 1.04), hospitalizations (aRR 0.97; 95% CI: 0.92 to 1.01), or inpatient bed-days (aRR 1.00, 95% CI: 0.80 to 1.27). However, there was a 13% relative increase in the missed clinic visit rate for every 0.1 unit increase in Deprivation Index (95% CI: 8%-18%).

CONCLUSIONS

A child's socioeconomic context is associated with their adherence to PCMH visits. Our PCMH for CMC includes children living in neighborhoods with a range of socioeconomic deprivation and may blunt effects from harmful social determinants. Incorporating knowledge of the socioeconomic context of where CMC and their families live is crucial to ensure equitable health outcomes.

Urinary Proadrenomedullin and Disease Severity in Children With Suspected Community-acquired Pneumonia

BACKGROUND

Plasma proadrenomedullin (proADM) is a promising biomarker to predict disease severity in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Urinary biomarkers offer advantages over blood, including ease of collection. We evaluated the association between urinary proADM and disease severity in pediatric CAP.

METHODS

We performed a prospective cohort study of children 3 months to 18 years with CAP. Urinary proADM/creatinine (Cr) was calculated. Disease severity was defined as: mild (discharged home), mild-moderate (hospitalized but not moderate-severe or severe), moderate-severe (eg, hospitalized with supplemental oxygen and complicated pneumonia) and severe (eg, vasopressors and invasive ventilation). Outcomes were examined using logistic regression within the cohort with suspected CAP and in a subset with radiographic CAP.

RESULTS

Of the 427 children included, higher proADM/Cr was associated with increased odds of severe disease compared with nonsevere disease [suspected CAP, odds ratio (OR) 1.02 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.003, 1.04); radiographic CAP, OR 1.03 (95% CI 1.01, 1.06)] when adjusted for other covariates. ProADM/Cr had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.56 (threshold 0.9 pmol/mg) to differentiate severe from nonsevere disease in suspected CAP and 0.65 in radiographic CAP (threshold 0.82 pmol/mg). Healthy controls had less proADM in their urine (median, 0.61 pmol/mg) compared with suspected (0.87 pmol/mg, P = 0.018) and radiographic (0.73 pmol/mg, P = 0.016) CAP.

CONCLUSIONS

Urinary proADM/Cr ratio measured at the time of emergency department visit was statistically associated with the development of severe outcomes in children with CAP, with stronger discriminatory performance in radiographic disease.

Seven practices for pursuing equity through learning health systems: Notes from the field

INTRODUCTION

Despite learning health systems' focus on improvement in health outcomes, inequities in outcomes remain deep and persistent. To achieve and sustain health equity, it is critical that learning health systems (LHS) adapt and function in ways that directly prioritize equity.

METHODS

We present guidance, including seven core practices, borne from theory, evidence, and experience, for actors within LHS pursuing equity.

RESULTS

We provide a foundational definition of equity. We then offer seven core practices for how LHS may effectively pursue equity in health: establish principle, measure for equity, lead from lived experience, co-produce, redistribute power, practice a growth mindset, and engage beyond the healthcare system. We include three use cases that illustrate ways in which we have begun to center equity in the work of our own LHS.

CONCLUSION

The achievement of equity requires real transformation at individual, institutional, and structural levels and requires sustained and persistent effort.

Racial Disparities in Incidence of Legionnaires' Disease and Social Determinants of Health: A Narrative Review

OBJECTIVES

Racial and socioeconomic disparities in the incidence of Legionnaires' disease have been documented for the past 2 decades; however, the social determinants of health (SDH) that contribute to these disparities are not well studied. The objective of this narrative review was to characterize SDH to inform efforts to reduce disparities in the incidence of Legionnaires' disease.

METHODS

We conducted a narrative review of articles published from January 1979 through October 2019 that focused on disparities in the incidence of Legionnaires' disease and pneumonia (inclusive of bacterial pneumonia and/or community-acquired pneumonia) among adults and children (excluding articles that were limited to people aged <18 years). We identified 220 articles, of which 19 met our criteria: original research, published in English, and examined Legionnaires' disease or pneumonia, health disparities, and SDH. We organized findings using the Healthy People 2030 SDH domains: economic stability, education access and quality, social and community context, health care access and quality, and neighborhood and built environment.

RESULTS

Of the 19 articles reviewed, multiple articles examined disparities in incidence of Legionnaires' disease and pneumonia related to economic stability/income (n = 13) and comorbidities (n = 10), and fewer articles incorporated SDH variables related to education (n = 3), social support (none), health care access (n = 1), and neighborhood and built environment (n = 6) in their analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

Neighborhood and built-environment factors such as housing, drinking water infrastructure, and pollutant exposures represent critical partnership and research opportunities. More research that incorporates SDH and multilevel, cross-sector interventions is needed to address disparities in Legionnaires' disease incidence.

Impact of Patient Socioeconomic Disparities on Time to Tympanostomy Tube Placement

OBJECTIVES

Extensive literature exists documenting disparities in access to healthcare for patients with lower socioeconomic status (SES). The objective of this study was to examine access disparities and differences in surgical wait times in children with the most common pediatric otolaryngologic surgery, tympanostomy tubes (TT).

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was performed at a tertiary children's hospital. Children ages <18 years who received a first set of tympanostomy tubes during 2015 were studied. Patient demographics and markers of SES including zip code, health insurance type, and appointment no-shows were recorded. Clinical measures included risk factors, symptoms, and age at presentation and first TT.

RESULTS

A total of 969 patients were included. Average age at surgery was 2.11 years. Almost 90% were white and 67.5% had private insurance. Patients with public insurance, ≥1 no-show appointment, and who lived in zip codes with the median income below the United States median had a longer period from otologic consult and preoperative clinic to TT, but no differences were seen in race. Those with public insurance had their surgery at an older age than those with private insurance (P < .001) and were more likely to have chronic otitis media with effusion as their indication for surgery (OR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.2-2.5, P = .003).

CONCLUSIONS

Lower SES is associated with chronic otitis media with effusion and a longer wait time from otologic consult and preoperative clinic to TT placement. By being transparent in socioeconomic disparities, we can begin to expose systemic problems and move forward with interventions.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

4.

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Incidences of Bronchiolitis Requiring Hospitalization

BACKGROUND

Race/ethnicity is currently not considered a risk factor for bronchiolitis, except for indigenous populations in Western countries. A better understanding of the potential impact of race/ethnicity can inform programs, policies, and practices related to bronchiolitis.

METHODS

We performed a population-based, longitudinal, observational study using the State Inpatient Database from New York State in the United States. Infants born between 2009 and 2013 at term without comorbidities were followed for the first 2 years of life, up to 2015. We calculated the cumulative incidences among different race/ethnicity groups, and evaluated the risks by developing logistic regression models.

RESULTS

Of 877 465 healthy, term infants, 10 356 infants were hospitalized with bronchiolitis. The overall cumulative incidence was 11.8 per 1000 births. The cumulative incidences in non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and Asian infants were 8.6, 15.4, 19.1, and 6.5 per 1000 births, respectively. In a multivariable analysis adjusting for socioeconomic status, the risks remained substantially high among non-Hispanic Black (odds ratio, 1.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.34-1.51) and Hispanic infants (odds ratio, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.67-1.87), whereas being of Asian race was protective (odds ratio, .62; 95% CI, .56-.69).

CONCLUSIONS

The risks of bronchiolitis hospitalization in the first 2 years of life were substantially different by race/ethnicity, with Hispanic and Black infants having the highest rates of hospitalization. Further research is needed to develop and implement culturally appropriate public health interventions to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities in bronchiolitis.

Spatial patterns of lower respiratory tract infections and their association with fine particulate matter

This study aimed to identify the spatial patterns of lower respiratory tract infections (LRIs) and their association with fine particulate matter (PM_2.5). The disability-adjusted life year (DALY) database was used to represent the burden each country experiences as a result of LRIs. PM_2.5 data obtained from the Atmosphere Composition Analysis Group was assessed as the source for main exposure. Global Moran's I and Getis-Ord Gi* were applied to identify the spatial patterns and for hotspots analysis of LRIs. A generalized linear mixed model was coupled with a sensitivity test after controlling for covariates to estimate the association between LRIs and PM_2.5. Subgroup analyses were performed to determine whether LRIs and PM_2.5 are correlated for various ages and geographic regions. A significant spatial auto-correlated pattern was identified for global LRIs with Moran's Index 0.79, and the hotspots of LRIs were clustered in 35 African and 4 Eastern Mediterranean countries. A consistent significant positive association between LRIs and PM_2.5 with a coefficient of 0.21 (95% CI 0.06-0.36) was identified. Furthermore, subgroup analysis revealed a significant effect of PM_2.5 on LRI for children (0-14 years) and the elderly (≥ 70 years), and this effect was confirmed to be significant in all regions except for those comprised of Eastern Mediterranean countries.

Racial/ethnic minority and neighborhood disadvantage leads to disproportionate mortality burden and years of potential life lost due to COVID-19 in Chicago, Illinois

Epidemiological studies have highlighted the disparate impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on racial and ethnic minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, but data at the neighborhood-level is sparse. The objective of this study was to investigate the disparate impact of COVID-19 on disadvantaged neighborhoods and racial/ethnic minorities in Chicago, Illinois. Using data from the Cook County Medical Examiner, we conducted a neighborhood-level analysis of COVID-19 decedents in Chicago and quantified age-standardized years of potential life lost (YPLL) due to COVID-19 among demographic subgroups and neighborhoods with geospatial clustering of high and low rates of COVID-19 mortality. We show that age-standardized YPLL was markedly higher among the non-Hispanic (NH) Black (559 years per 100,000 population) and the Hispanic (811) compared with NH white decedents (312). We demonstrate that geomapping using residential address data at the individual-level identifies hot-spots of COVID-19 mortality in neighborhoods on the Northeast, West, and South areas of Chicago that reflect a legacy of residential segregation and persistence of inequality in education, income, and access to healthcare. Our results may contribute to ongoing public health and community-engaged efforts to prevent the spread of infection and mitigate the disproportionate loss of life among these communities due to COVID-19 as well as highlight the urgent need to broadly target neighborhood disadvantage as a cause of pervasive racial inequalities in life and health.

Variation in hospital admission in febrile children evaluated at the Emergency Department (ED) in Europe: PERFORM, a multicentre prospective observational study

Objectives

Hospitalisation is frequently used as a marker of disease severity in observational Emergency Department (ED) studies. The comparison of ED admission rates is complex in potentially being influenced by the characteristics of the region, ED, physician and patient. We aimed to study variation in ED admission rates of febrile children, to assess whether variation could be explained by disease severity and to identify patient groups with large variation, in order to use this to reduce unnecessary health care utilization that is often due to practice variation.

Design

MOFICHE (Management and Outcome of Fever in children in Europe, part of the PERFORM study, www.perform2020.org), is a prospective cohort study using routinely collected data on febrile children regarding patient characteristics (age, referral, vital signs and clinical alarming signs), diagnostic tests, therapy, diagnosis and hospital admission.

Setting and participants

Data were collected on febrile children aged 0–18 years presenting to 12 European EDs (2017–2018).

Main outcome measures

We compared admission rates between EDs by using standardised admission rates after adjusting for patient characteristics and initiated tests at the ED, where standardised rates >1 demonstrate higher admission rates than expected and rates <1 indicate lower rates than expected based on the ED patient population.

Results

We included 38,120 children. Of those, 9.695 (25.4%) were admitted to a general ward (range EDs 5.1–54.5%). Adjusted standardised admission rates ranged between 0.6 and 1.5. The largest variation was seen in short admission rates (0.1–5.0), PICU admission rates (0.2–2.2), upper respiratory tract infections (0.4–1.7) and fever without focus (0.5–2.7). Variation was small in sepsis/meningitis (0.9–1.1).

Conclusions

Large variation exists in admission rates of febrile children evaluated at European EDs, however, this variation is largely reduced after correcting for patient characteristics and therefore overall admission rates seem to adequately reflect disease severity or a potential for a severe disease course. However, for certain patient groups variation remains high even after adjusting for patient characteristics.

Quarantine and Appendicitis: A Macro-Area Experience

PURPOSE

Appendicitis is the most frequent urgency in pediatric age; the aim of this study was to investigate the association of quarantine for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic and the incidence of pediatric appendicitis in a specific macro area.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of consecutive patients who underwent surgical exploration for acute appendicitis in the period March-April since 2014. This specific quarantine period was divided into two phases as indicated by National government. Patient data, demographics, characteristics and outcomes were studied and evaluated comparing patients treated during quarantine especially phase 1 vs. phase 2 (March-April 2020).

RESULTS

After reviewing medical charts following the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 155 patients were studied; focusing on the final outcome, it is possible to show a decreased amount of appendicitis during phase 1 and a progressive increase during phase 2; respect to previous years, there was a statistical increase in severity of appendicitis during quarantine (gangrenous vs. phlegmonous appendicitis).

CONCLUSION

During this specific quarantine there was a reduction in appendicitis and a progressive increase during phase 2. These results offer new perspective among disease incidences during lockdown.

Predicting the hotspots of age-adjusted mortality rates of lower respiratory infection across the continental United States: Integration of GIS, spatial statistics and machine learning algorithms

•

Lower respiratory infections (LRI) are the cause of a significant number of hospitalizations in the US.

•

No previous nationwide study examined geographic variations of LRI mortality rates and their association with underlying factors.

•

There was a shift in the location of LRI hotspots from west coast to southeast over time.

•

Decision tree classifiers could predict LRI mortality hotspots with high accuracies.

•

Higher spring temperature and increased precipitation during winter were among the most substantial predictors of presence or absence of LRI hotspots.

Objective

Although lower respiratory infections (LRI) are among the leading causes of mortality in the US, their association with underlying factors and geographic variation have not been adequately examined.

Methods

In this study, explanatory variables (n = 46) including climatic, topographic, socio-economic, and demographic factors were compiled at the county level across the continentalUS.Machine learning algorithms - logistic regression (LR), random forest (RF), gradient boosting decision trees (GBDT), k-nearest neighbors (KNN), and support vector machine (SVM) - were employed to predict the presence/absence of hotspots (P < 0.05) for elevated age-adjusted LRI mortality rates in a geographic information system framework.

Results

Overall, there was a historical shift in hotspots away from the western US into the southeastern parts of the country and they were highly localized in a few counties. The two decision tree methods (RF and GBDT) outperformed the other algorithms (accuracies: 0.92; F1-scores: 0.85 and 0.84; area under the precision-recall curve: 0.84 and 0.83, respectively). Moreover, the results of the RF and GBDT indicated that higher spring minimum temperature, increased winter precipitation, and higher annual median household income were among the most substantial factors in predicting the hotspots.

Conclusions

This study helps raise awareness of public health decision-makers to develop and target LRI prevention programs.

Characterizing Avoidable Transfer Admissions in Infants Hospitalized for Bronchiolitis

OBJECTIVES

The appropriateness of interfacility transfer admissions for bronchiolitis to pediatric centers is uncertain. We characterized avoidable transfer admissions for bronchiolitis. We hypothesized that a higher proportion of hospitalized infants transferred from a community emergency department (ED) or hospital (transfer admission) would be discharged within 48 hours with little or no intervention, compared with direct admissions from an enrolling ED (nontransfer admission).

METHODS

We analyzed a 17-center, prospective infant cohort (age <1 year) hospitalized for bronchiolitis (2011-2014). An avoidable transfer admission (primary outcome) was hospitalization for <48 hours without an intervention for severe illness in which a pediatric specialist could be beneficial (oxygen, advanced airway management, life support). Parenteral fluids and routine medications were excluded. We compared admissions by patient, ED, inpatient, and transferring hospital characteristics to identify factors associated with avoidable transfer admissions. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of avoidable transfer admission.

RESULTS

Among 1007 infants, 558 (55%) were nontransfer admissions, 164 (16%) were transfer admissions, and 204 (20%) were referrals from clinics; 81 (8%) were missing referral type. Significantly fewer transferred infants were hospitalized for <48 hours with little or no intervention (40 of 164; 24% [95% confidence interval 18%-32%]) than nontransferred infants (199 of 558; 36% [95% confidence interval 32%-40%]; P = .007). Avoidable transfer admissions were more likely to be children of color, have nonprivate insurance, receive fewer ED interventions, and originate from small EDs. A multivariable model revealed that minority race and/or ethnicity, normal oxygenation, and small ED transfers increased odds of avoidable transfer admission.

CONCLUSIONS

Although most transferred infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis required interventions for severe illness, 1 in 4 admissions were potentially avoidable.

The Burden of Community-Acquired Pneumonia Requiring Admission to ICU in the United States

BACKGROUND

A paucity of studies have assessed the epidemiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) that require ICU admission. We conducted a study on this group of patients with the primary objective of defining the incidence, epidemiology, and mortality rate of CAP in the ICUs in Louisville, Kentucky. The secondary objective was to estimate the number of patients who were hospitalized and the number of deaths that were associated with CAP in ICU in the United States.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

What is epidemiology of CAP in the ICU in Louisville, Kentucky, and the projected incidence in the United States?

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

This was a secondary analysis of a prospective population-based cohort study. The setting was all nine adult hospitals in Louisville, Kentucky. The annual incidence of CAP in the ICU per 100,000 adults was calculated for the whole adult population of Louisville. The number of patients who were hospitalized because of CAP in ICU in the United States was estimated by multiplying the Louisville incidence rate of CAP in ICU by the 2014 US adult population.

RESULTS

From a total of 7,449 unique patients who were hospitalized with CAP, 1,707 patients (23%) were admitted to the ICU. The incidence of CAP in the ICU was 145 cases per 100,000 population of adults. Cases of CAP in the ICU were clustered in patients from areas of the city with high poverty. The mortality rate of patients with CAP in ICU was 27% at 30 days and 47% at one year. In the United States, the estimated number of patients who were hospitalized with CAP requiring the ICU was 356,326 per year, and the estimated number of deaths at 30 days and one year were 96,206 and 167,474, respectively.

INTERPRETATION

Almost one in five patients who are hospitalized with CAP requires intensive care. Poverty is associated with CAP in the ICU. Nearly one-half of patients with CAP in the ICU will die within one year. Because of its significant burden, CAP in the ICU should be a high priority in research agenda and health policy.

Antibiotic Use and Outcomes in Children in the Emergency Department With Suspected Pneumonia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Antibiotic therapy is often prescribed for suspected community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children despite a lack of knowledge of causative pathogen. Our objective in this study was to investigate the association between antibiotic prescription and treatment failure in children with suspected CAP who are discharged from the hospital emergency department (ED).

METHODS

We performed a prospective cohort study of children (ages 3 months-18 years) who were discharged from the ED with suspected CAP. The primary exposure was antibiotic receipt or prescription. The primary outcome was treatment failure (ie, hospitalization after being discharged from the ED, return visit with antibiotic initiation or change, or antibiotic change within 7-15 days from the ED visit). The secondary outcomes included parent-reported quality-of-life measures. Propensity score matching was used to limit potential bias attributable to treatment selection between children who did and did not receive an antibiotic prescription.

RESULTS

Of 337 eligible children, 294 were matched on the basis of propensity score. There was no statistical difference in treatment failure between children who received antibiotics and those who did not (odds ratio 1.0; 95% confidence interval 0.45-2.2). There was no difference in the proportion of children with return visits with hospitalization (3.4% with antibiotics versus 3.4% without), initiation and/or change of antibiotics (4.8% vs 6.1%), or parent-reported quality-of-life measures.

CONCLUSIONS

Among children with suspected CAP, the outcomes were not statistically different between those who did and did not receive an antibiotic prescription.

Socioeconomic Position and the Incidence, Severity, and Clinical Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients With Community-Acquired Pneumonia

OBJECTIVES

The influence of socioeconomic disparities on adults with pneumonia is not well understood. The objective of our study was to evaluate the relationship between community-level socioeconomic position, as measured by an area deprivation index, and the incidence, severity, and outcomes among adults with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

METHODS

This was an ancillary study of a population-based, prospective cohort study of patients hospitalized with CAP in Louisville, Kentucky, from June 1, 2013, through May 31, 2015. We used a race-specific, block group-level area deprivation index as a proxy for community-level socioeconomic position and evaluated it as a predictor of CAP incidence, CAP severity, early clinical improvement, 30-day mortality, and 1-year mortality.

RESULTS

The cohort comprised 6349 unique adults hospitalized with CAP. CAP incidence per 100 000 population increased significantly with increasing levels of area deprivation, from 303 in tertile 1 (low deprivation), to 467 in tertile 2 (medium deprivation), and 553 in tertile 3 (high deprivation) (P < .001). Adults in medium- and high-deprivation areas had significantly higher odds of severe CAP (tertile 2 odds ratio [OR] = 1.2 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.06-1.39]; tertile 3 OR = 1.4 [95% CI, 1.18-1.64] and 1-year mortality (tertile 2 OR = 1.3 [95% CI, 1.11-1.54], tertile 3 OR = 1.3 [95% CI, 1.10-1.64]) than adults in low-deprivation areas.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with adults residing in low-deprivation areas, adults residing in high-deprivation areas had an increased incidence of CAP, and they were more likely to have severe CAP. Beyond 30 days of care, we identified an increased long-term mortality for persons in high-deprivation areas. Community-level socioeconomic position should be considered an important factor for research in CAP and policy decisions.

Detection of Eight Respiratory Bacterial Pathogens Based on Multiplex Real-Time PCR with Fluorescence Melting Curve Analysis

Background and Objective. Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis are primary respiratory bacterial pathogens contributing to morbidity and mortality in developing countries. This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of multiplex real-time PCR with fluorescence melting curve analysis (MCA) assay, which was used to detect eight respiratory bacterial pathogens simultaneously.

Methods

A total of 157 sputum specimens were examined by multiplex real-time with fluorescence MCA, and the results were compared with the conventional culture method.

Results

Multiplex real-time PCR with fluorescence MCA specifically detected and differentiated eight respiratory bacterial pathogens by different melting curve peaks for each amplification product within 2 hours and exhibited high repeatability. The limit of detection ranged from 64 to 10² CFU/mL in the multiplex PCR system. Multiplex real-time PCR with fluorescence MCA showed a sensitivity greater than 80% and a 100% specificity for each pathogen. The kappa correlation of eight bacteria ranged from 0.89 to 1.00, and the coefficient of variation ranged from 0.05% to 0.80%.

Conclusions

Multiplex real-time PCR with fluorescence MCA assay is a sensitive, specific, high-throughput, and cost-effective method to detect multiple bacterial pathogens simultaneously.

Neighborhood Poverty and Pediatric Intensive Care Use

BACKGROUND

Disparities in health service use have been described across a range of sociodemographic factors. Patterns of PICU use have not been thoroughly assessed.

METHODS

This was a population-level, retrospective analysis of admissions to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center PICU between 2011 and 2016. Residential addresses of patients were geocoded and spatially joined to census tracts. Pediatric patients were eligible for inclusion if they resided within Hamilton County, Ohio. PICU admission and bed-day rates were calculated by using numerators of admissions and bed days, respectively, over a denominator of tract child population. Relationships between tract-level PICU use and child poverty were assessed by using Spearman's ρ and analysis of variance. Analyses were event based; children admitted multiple times were counted as discrete admissions.

RESULTS

There were 4071 included admissions involving 3129 unique children contributing a total of 12 297 PICU bed days. Child poverty was positively associated with PICU admission rates (r = 0.59; P < .001) and bed-day rates (r = 0.47; P < .001). When tracts were grouped into quintiles based on child poverty rates, the PICU bed-day rate ranged from 23.4 days per 1000 children in the lowest poverty quintile to 81.9 days in the highest poverty quintile (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

The association between poverty and poor health outcomes includes pediatric intensive care use. This association exists for children who grow up in poverty and around poverty. Future efforts should characterize the interplay between patient- and neighborhood-level risk factors and explore neighborhood-level interventions to improve child health.

Clinical Risk Factors for Revisits for Children With Community-Acquired Pneumonia

BACKGROUND

Children discharged from the emergency department (ED) with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) revisit for several reasons, including disease progression or treatment failure. Understanding factors associated with revisits may assist clinicians in preventing subsequent visits.

METHODS

Children aged 3 months to 18 years with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision diagnosis of CAP between December 1, 2009 and April 31, 2013 were eligible. The primary outcome was a CAP-related ED visit or hospitalization within 30 days of the index visit. The secondary outcome was a CAP-related ED visit within 48 hours of discharge from the index visit. The association between clinical variables and an ED revisit for children with CAP was assessed by using multivariable logistic regression models.

RESULTS

Of the 3304 index ED visits by patients with CAP, 148 (4.5%) revisited the ED. Children with complex chronic conditions (CCCs) were 2.23 times as likely to revisit the ED as those without a CCC (95% confidence interval: 1.29-3.86). Children admitted and those who received aminopenicillins at the index visit were less likely (63% and 49%, respectively) to revisit the ED (95% confidence interval: 0.24-0.56 and 0.30-0.85, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Although children with CAP have a relatively low revisit rate to the ED, patients who received aminopenicillins at their index visit were statistically less likely to revisit when adjusting for markers of severity (eg, age, CCCs, and disposition at index visit). Clinical factors alone, however, may not be the only indicators of revisits, and additional factors may need to be considered in future studies.

Validation of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society-Infectious Diseases Society of America Severity Criteria in Children With Community-Acquired Pneumonia

Background

The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS)-Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) guideline for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) recommends intensive care unit (ICU) admission or continuous monitoring for children meeting severity criteria. Our objective was to validate these criteria.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study of children aged 3 months-18 years diagnosed with CAP in a pediatric emergency department (ED) from September 2014 through August 2015. Children with chronic conditions and recent ED visits were excluded. The primary predictor was the PIDS-IDSA severity criteria. Outcomes included disposition, and interventions and diagnoses that necessitated hospitalization (ie, need for hospitalization [NFH]).

Results

Of 518 children, 56.6% were discharged; 54.3% of discharged patients and 80.8% of those hospitalized for less than 24 hours were classified as severe. Of those admitted, 10.7% did not meet severity criteria; 69.5% met PIDS-IDSA severity criteria. Of those children, 73.1% did not demonstrate NFH. The areas under the receiver operator characteristic curves (AUC) for PIDS-IDSA major criteria were 0.63 and 0.51 for predicting disposition and NFH, respectively. For PIDS-IDSA minor criteria, the AUC was 0.81 and 0.56 for predicting disposition and NFH, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios (LR)+ and LR- of the PIDS-IDSA criteria were 89%, 46%, 1.65, and 0.23 for disposition and 95%, 16%, 1.13, and 0.31 for NFH.

Conclusions

More than half of children classified as severe by PIDS-IDSA criteria were not hospitalized. The PIDS-IDSA CAP severity criteria have only fair ability to predict the need for hospitalization. New predictive tools specifically for children are required to improve clinical decision making.

Underdetection of laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospital admissions among infants: a multicentre, prospective study

BACKGROUND

Since influenza often presents non-specifically in infancy, we aimed to assess the extent to which existing respiratory surveillance platforms might underestimate the frequency of severe influenza disease among infants.

METHODS

The Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Infants (IRIS) study was a prospective observational study done at four hospitals in Albania, Jordan, Nicaragua, and the Philippines. We included acutely ill infants aged younger than 1 year admitted to hospital within 10 days or less of illness onset during two influenza seasons (2015-16 and 2016-17) in Albania, Jordan, and Nicaragua, and over a continuous 34 week period (2015-16) in the Philippines. We assessed the frequency of influenza virus infections by real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) and serology. The main study outcome was seroconversion, defined as convalescent antibody titres more than or equal to four-fold higher than acute sera antibody titres, and convalescent antibody titres of 40 or higher. Seroconverison was confirmed by haemagglutination inhibition assay for influenza A viruses, and by hemagglutination inhibition assay and microneutralisation for influenza B viruses.

FINDINGS

Between June 27, 2015, and April 21, 2017, 3634 acutely ill infants were enrolled, of whom 1943 were enrolled during influenza seasons and had complete acute-convalescent pairs and thus were included in the final analytical sample. Of the 1943 infants, 94 (5%) were influenza-positive by both rRT-PCR and serology, 58 (3%) were positive by rRT-PCR-only, and 102 (5%) were positive by serology only. Seroconversion to at least one of the influenza A or B viruses was observed among 196 (77%) of 254 influenza-positive infants. Of the 254 infants with influenza virus, 84 (33%) only had non-respiratory clinical discharge diagnoses (eg, sepsis, febrile seizures, dehydration, or other non-respiratory viral illness). A focus on respiratory diagnoses and rRT-PCR-confirmed influenza underdetects influenza-associated hospital admissions among infants by a factor of 2·6 (95% CI 2·0-3·6). Findings were unchanged when syndromic severe acute respiratory infection criteria were applied instead of clinical diagnosis.

INTERPRETATION

If the true incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospital admissions among infants is at least twice that of previous estimates, this substantially increases the global burden of severe influenza and expands our estimates of the preventive value of maternal and infant influenza vaccination programmes.

FUNDING

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Solar radiation, air pollution, and bronchiolitis hospitalizations in Chile: An ecological study

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate trends and geographic distribution of infant bronchiolitis hospitalizations in Chile, a country with large variation in solar radiation (SR) and high rates of urban air pollution.

METHODS

We performed a nationwide ecological study of bronchiolitis hospitalizations from 2001 to 2014. We investigated the associations of regional SR (a proxy of vitamin D status) and regional fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution with bronchiolitis hospitalizations. We also evaluated the role of sociodemographic factors, including regional poverty, education, indigenous population, and rurality rates.

RESULTS

During the study period, 119 479 infants were hospitalized for bronchiolitis in Chile; 59% were boys. The mean bronchiolitis hospitalization rate increased from 29 to 41 per 1000 infants per year (P = .02). There was an inverse correlation between regional SR and incidence of hospital admissions for bronchiolitis (r = -0.52, P = .049), accounting for 27% of these hospitalizations. There was also a significant direct correlation between regional ambient PM2.5 and bronchiolitis hospitalizations (R = 0.68, P = .006), accounting for 42% of the variation in admission rate. High firewood and/or coal residential use for heating, high regional poverty, lower years of education, and high rurality rates were also significantly correlated with bronchiolitis hospitalization rates. None of the environmental or sociodemographic factors evaluated were correlated with regional case fatality rates or length of stay at the hospital.

CONCLUSIONS

This ecological study revealed significant associations between regional SR, air pollution, and sociodemographic factors with infant bronchiolitis hospitalizations in Chile, suggesting that these factors play a major role in the incidence and severity of respiratory infections in early childhood.

Health Disparities in the Hospitalized Child

Health care disparities exist along the continuum of care for children admitted to the hospital; they start before admission, impact hospital course, and continue after discharge. During an acute illness, risk of admission, length of stay, hospital costs, communication during family-centered rounds, and risk of readmission have all been shown to vary by socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity. Understanding factors beyond the acute illness that increase a child's risk of admission, increase hospital course complications, and lower discharge quality is imperative for the new generation of pediatric hospitalists focused on improving health for a population of children. In this article, we describe a framework to conceptualize socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic health disparities for the hospitalized child. Additionally, we offer actions pediatric hospitalists can take to address disparities within their practices.

Pervasive Income-Based Disparities In Inpatient Bed-Day Rates Across Conditions And Subspecialties

Building a culture of health in hospitals means more than participating in community partnerships. It also requires an enhanced capacity to recognize and respond to disparities in utilization patterns across populations. We identified all pediatric hospitalizations at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, in the period 2011-16. Each hospitalized child's address was geocoded, allowing us to calculate inpatient bed-day rates for each census tract in Hamilton County, Ohio, across all causes and for specific conditions and pediatric subspecialties. We then divided the census tracts into quintiles based on their underlying rates of child poverty and calculated bed-day rates per quintile. Poorer communities disproportionately bore the burden of pediatric hospital days. If children from all of the county's census tracts spent the same amount of time in the hospital each year as those from the most affluent tracts, approximately twenty-two child-years of hospitalization time would be prevented. Of particular note were "hot spots" in high-poverty census tracts neighboring the hospital, where bed-day rates were more than double the county average. Hospitals that address disparities would benefit from a more comprehensive understanding of the culture of health-a culture that is more cohesive inside the hospital and builds bridges into the community.

Associations of Neighborhood-Level Social Determinants of Health with Bacterial Infections in Young, Febrile Infants

OBJECTIVE

To examine the sociodemographic characteristics of one population of young, febrile infants and identify associations between neighborhood-level social determinants of health (SDHs) with bacterial infections.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a retrospective cross sectional study of all infants ≤90 days old with a temperature of ≥38°C who presented in 2014 to the emergency department of an urban children's hospital in a large east coast city. The primary outcome was the presence of a bacterial infection, defined as a positive urine, blood, or cerebrospinal fluid culture that was treated clinically as a pathogen. The home address of each infant was geocoded and linked to neighborhood data based on census tract. Neighborhood-level SDHs included deprivation index, median household income, poverty, childhood poverty, social capital, and crowded housing. Associations were estimated using generalized estimating equations and negative binomial regression analysis. Models were adjusted for age, prematurity, and race/ethnicity.

RESULTS

Of 232 febrile infants, the median age was 54 days, 58% were male, 49% were Hispanic, and 88% had public health insurance; 31 infants (13.4%) had a bacterial infection. In the adjusted analyses, the risk of bacterial infection among infants from neighborhoods with high rates of childhood poverty was >3 times higher (relative risk, 3.16; 95% CI, 1.04-9.6) compared with infants from neighborhoods with low rates of childhood poverty.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that SDHs may be associated with bacterial infections in young, febrile infants. If confirmed in subsequent studies, the inclusion of SDHs in predictive tools may improve accuracy in detecting bacterial infections among young, febrile infants.

Home oxygen therapy criteria, guidelines and protocols for hypoxia management in pediatric patients with acute bronchiolitis: a scoping review protocol

REVIEW OBJECTIVE/QUESTION

The objectives of this scoping review are: to explore existing literature related to discharge criteria, guidelines and protocols from hospitals or clinics that are being implemented for home oxygen therapy (HOT) in the management of hypoxia in pediatric patients with acute bronchiolitis, examine and conceptually map the evidence, and identify any gaps in the literature.The question of this review is: what discharge criteria, guidelines, and protocols are used for HOT in the management of hypoxia in pediatric patients with acute bronchiolitis?

Outcomes of Children With Critical Bronchiolitis Living in Poor Communities

There are established associations between adverse health outcomes and poverty, but little is known regarding these associations in critically ill children. We hypothesized that living in poorer communities would be associated with unfavorable outcomes in children with critical bronchiolitis. This retrospective study included children with bronchiolitis admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) over a 2-year period. Median household income was estimated from patient ZIP codes and 2014 US Census Bureau data. The 2014 Federal Poverty Threshold (FPT) for a family of 4 was $24 008. Patients were classified as living in ZIP codes below or above the 150% FPT (150FPT). Living <150FPT was associated with longer PICU length of stay (LOS), longer hospital LOS, higher odds of needing mechanical ventilation, and increased hospital charges. In this cohort of critically ill children with bronchiolitis, living in a poorer community was associated with more unfavorable clinical outcomes.

Geographic Variations of Stroke Hospitalization across France: A Diachronic Cluster Analysis

Background

This study evaluates the clustering of hospitalization rates for stroke and compares this clustering with two different time intervals 2009-2010 and 2012-2013, corresponding to the beginning of the French National Stroke Plan 2010–2014. In addition, these data will be compared with the deployment of stroke units as well as socioeconomic and healthcare characteristics at zip code level.

Methods

We used the PMSI data from 2009 to 2013, which lists all hospitalizations for stroke between 2009 and 2013, identified on the most detailed geographic scale allowed by this database. We identify statistically significant clusters with high or low rates in the zip code level using the Getis-Ord statistics. Each of the significant clusters is monitored over time and evaluated according to the nearest stroke unit distance and the socioeconomic profile.

Results

We identified clusters of low and high rate of stroke hospitalization (23.7% of all geographic codes). Most of these clusters are maintained over time (81%) but we also observed clusters in transition. Geographic codes with persistent high rates of stroke hospitalizations were mainly rural (78% versus 17%, P < .0001) and had a least favorable socioeconomic and healthcare profile.

Conclusion

Our study reveals that high-stroke hospitalization rates cluster remains the same during our study period. While access to the stroke unit has increased overall, it remains low for these clusters. The socioeconomic and healthcare profile of these clusters are poor but variations were observed. These results are valuable tools to implement more targeted strategies to improve stroke care accessibility and reduce geographic disparities.

Postdischarge Nurse Home Visits and Reuse: The Hospital to Home Outcomes (H2O) Trial

BACKGROUND

Hospital discharge is stressful for children and families. Poor transitional care is linked to unplanned health care reuse. We evaluated the effects of a pediatric transition intervention, specifically a single nurse home visit, on postdischarge outcomes in a randomized controlled trial.

METHODS

We randomly assigned 1500 children hospitalized on hospital medicine, neurology services, or neurosurgery services to receive either a single postdischarge nurse-led home visit or no visit. We excluded children discharged with skilled home nursing services. Primary outcomes included 30-day unplanned, urgent health care reuse (composite measure of unplanned readmission, emergency department, or urgent care visit). Secondary outcomes, measured at 14 days, included postdischarge parental coping, number of days until parent-reported return to normal routine, and number of "red flags" or clinical warning signs a parent or caregiver could recall.

RESULTS

The 30-day reuse rate was 17.8% in the intervention group and 14.0% in the control group. In the intention-to-treat analysis, children randomly assigned to the intervention group had higher odds of 30-day health care use (odds ratio: 1.33; 95% confidence interval: 1.003-1.76). In the per protocol analysis, there were no differences in 30-day health care use (odds ratio: 1.14; confidence interval: 0.84-1.55). Postdischarge coping scores and number of days until returning to a normal routine were similar between groups. Parents in the intervention group recalled more red flags at 14 days (mean: 1.9 vs 1.6; P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

Children randomly assigned to the intervention had higher rates of 30-day postdischarge unplanned health care reuse. Parents in the intervention group recalled more clinical warning signs 2 weeks after discharge.

Mapping Neighborhood Health Geomarkers To Clinical Care Decisions To Promote Equity In Child Health

Health disparities, which can be understood as disadvantages in health associated with one's social, racial, economic, or physical environment, originate in childhood and persist across an individual's life course. One's neighborhood may drive or influence these disparities. Information on neighborhoods that can characterize their risks-what we call place-based risks-is rarely used in patient care. Community-level data, however, could inform and personalize interventions such as arranging for mold removal from the home of a person with asthma from the moment that person's address is recorded at the site of care. Efficient risk identification could lead to the tailoring of recommendations and targeting of resources, to improve care experiences and clinical outcomes while reducing disparities and costs. In this article we highlight how data on place-based social determinants of health from national and local sources could be incorporated more directly into patient-centered care, adding precision to risk assessment and mitigation. We also discuss how this information could stimulate cross-sector interventions that promote health equity: the attainment of the highest level of health for neighborhoods, patient panels, and individuals. Finally, we draw attention to research questions that focus on the role of geographical place at the bedside.

Neighborhood Child Opportunity and Individual-Level Pediatric Acute Care Use and Diagnoses

: media-1vid110.1542/5751513300001PEDS-VA_2017-2309Video Abstract OBJECTIVES: Although health care providers and systems are increasingly interested in patients' nonmedical needs as a means to improve health, little is known about neighborhood conditions that contribute to child health problems. We sought to determine if a novel, publicly available measure of neighborhood context, the Child Opportunity Index, was associated with pediatric acute care visit frequency and diagnoses.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included San Francisco residents <18 years of age with an emergency department and/or urgent care visit to any of 3 medical systems (N = 47 175) between 2007 and 2011. Hot-spot analysis was used to compare the spatial distribution of neighborhood child opportunity and income. Generalized estimating equation logistic regression models were used to examine independent associations between neighborhood child opportunity and frequent acute care use (≥4 visits per year) and diagnosis group after adjusting for neighborhood income and patient age, sex, race and/or ethnicity, payer, and health system.

RESULTS

Neighborhood child opportunity and income had distinct spatial distributions, and we identified different clusters of high- and low-risk neighborhoods. Children living in the lowest opportunity neighborhoods had significantly greater odds of ≥4 acute care visits per year (odds ratio 1.33; 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.73) compared with those in the highest opportunity neighborhoods. Neighborhood child opportunity was negatively associated with visits for respiratory conditions, asthma, assault, and ambulatory care-sensitive conditions but positively associated with injury-related visits.

CONCLUSIONS

The Child Opportunity Index could be an effective tool for identifying neighborhood factors beyond income related to child health.

Spatial variation of pneumonia hospitalization risk in Twin Cities metro area, Minnesota

Fine resolution spatial variability in pneumonia hospitalization may identify correlates with socioeconomic, demographic and environmental factors. We performed a retrospective study within the Fairview Health System network of Minnesota. Patients 2 months of age and older hospitalized with pneumonia between 2011 and 2015 were geocoded to their census block group, and pneumonia hospitalization risk was analyzed in relation to socioeconomic, demographic and environmental factors. Spatial analyses were performed using Esri's ArcGIS software, and multivariate Poisson regression was used. Hospital encounters of 17 840 patients were included in the analysis. Multivariate Poisson regression identified several significant associations, including a 40% increased risk of pneumonia hospitalization among census block groups with large, compared with small, populations of ⩾65 years, a 56% increased risk among census block groups in the bottom (first) quartile of median household income compared to the top (fourth) quartile, a 44% higher risk in the fourth quartile of average nitrogen dioxide emissions compared with the first quartile, and a 47% higher risk in the fourth quartile of average annual solar insolation compared to the first quartile. After adjusting for income, moving from the first to the second quartile of the race/ethnic diversity index resulted in a 21% significantly increased risk of pneumonia hospitalization. In conclusion, the risk of pneumonia hospitalization at the census-block level is associated with age, income, race/ethnic diversity index, air quality, and solar insolation, and varies by region-specific factors. Identifying correlates using fine spatial analysis provides opportunities for targeted prevention and control.

Antimicrobial resistance in bacterial pathogens among hospitalized children with community acquired lower respiratory tract infections in Dongguan, China (2011-2016)

BACKGROUND

Bacterial pathogens are a major cause of childhood community acquired lower respiratory tract infections (CA-LRTIs), and few data described the impact of antimicrobial resistance on children with CA-LRTIs. This study aims to investigate the antimicrobial resistance in common bacterial agents among hospitalized children with CA-LRTIs between 2011 and 2016 in Dongguan, China.

METHODS

Sputum samples were collected from hospitalized children (0-5 years old) with CA-LRTIs in Dongguan Children's Hospital. Bacterial pathogens were detected using traditional culture methods, and disc diffusion tests were used to determine antibiotic resistance.

RESULTS

Among the 2360 samples analyzed, 342 (14.5%) were positive for bacterial infection. The most prevalent pathogen was MSSA (2.3%), followed by MRSA (1.5%), E. coli (1.7%), E. coli ESBLs (1.2%), K. pneumonia ESBLs (1.5%), K. pneumonia (1.4%) and S. pneumonia (1.3%). Of the hospitalized patients with bacteria causing of CA-LRTIs, 90.1% were less than 1-year-old. MSSA and MRSA were more commonly isolated in infants less than 3 months. E. coli, K. pneumonia and K. pneumonia ESBLs were more common bacteria causing CA-LRTIs in infants less than 1 month. Resistance levels to penicillins, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, cephalosporins, carbapenems and vancomycin varied in different bacteria.

CONCLUSIONS

S. aureus, E coli and K. pneumonia were the common bacterial isolates recovered from chidren with CA-LTRIs during 2011-2015. Age group of under 1 year old was at a high risk of bacterial infections. Many isolates showed antibiotic resistance level was associated with antibiotic usage in clinic. Increasing surveillance of antibiotic resistance is urgently needed and develops better strategies to cure the antibiotic abuse in China.

Influenza and respiratory syncytial virus in infants study (IRIS) of hospitalized and non-ill infants aged <1 year in four countries: study design and methods

Background

This multi-country prospective study of infants aged <1 year aims to assess the frequency of influenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections associated with hospitalizations, to describe clinical features and antibody response to infection, and to examine predictors of very severe disease requiring intensive care.

Methods/Design

We are enrolling a hospital-based cohort and a sample of non-ill infants in four countries (Albania, Jordan, Nicaragua, and the Philippines) using a common protocol. We are currently starting year 2 of a 2- to 3-year study and will enroll approximately 3,000 infants hospitalized for any acute illness (respiratory or non-respiratory) during periods of local influenza and/or RSV circulation. After informed consent and within 24 h of admission, we collect blood and respiratory specimens and conduct an interview to assess socio-demographic characteristics, medical history, and symptoms of acute illness (onset ≤10 days). Vital signs, interventions, and medications are documented daily through medical record abstraction. A follow-up health assessment and collection of convalescent blood occurs 3-5 weeks after enrollment. Influenza and RSV infection is confirmed by singleplex real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assays. Serologic conversion will be assessed comparing acute and convalescent sera using hemagglutination inhibition assay for influenza antibodies and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for RSV. Concurrent with hospital-based enrollment, respiratory specimens are also being collected (and tested by rRT-PCR) from approximately 1,400 non-ill infants aged <1 year during routine medical or preventive care.

Discussion

The Influenza and RSV in Infants Study (IRIS) promises to expand our knowledge of the frequency, clinical features, and antibody profiles of serious influenza and RSV disease among infants aged <1 year, quantify the proportion of infections that may be missed by traditional surveillance, and inform decisions about the potential value of existing and new vaccines and other prevention and treatment strategies.

Community-acquired pneumonia in the post 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine era

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review covers the outpatient management of pediatric community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), discussing the changing microbiology of CAP since the introduction of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in 2010, and providing an overview of national guideline recommendations for diagnostic evaluation and treatment.

RECENT FINDINGS

Rates of invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumococcal antibiotic resistance have plummeted since widespread 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine immunization. Viruses remain the most common cause of CAP in young children; children over age 5 years have increased rates of Mycoplasma pneumoniae. A recent national guideline offers recommendations for office-based diagnostic evaluation and treatment of pediatric CAP.

SUMMARY

This review offers a discussion of the above findings with practical recommendations for the office-based practitioner in the evaluation and treatment of an infant (>3 months) or child with suspected CAP.