The Resource Use Inflection Point for Safe NICU Discharge

Mobilizing strategic inflection points for sustainment of an effective intervention in an integrated learning health system: an interpretive description

BACKGROUND

Innovative models of care have the potential to improve the sustainability of health systems by improving patient and provider experiences and population outcomes while simultaneously reducing costs. Yet, it is challenging to recognize the distinctive points during research and quality improvement processes that contribute to sustainment of effective interventions. The business concept of an inflection point-the position on the curve of a trajectory where the progress in implementation of an intervention is accelerated or decelerated-may be useful to understand implementation and improve sustainability and ultimately sustainment of effective interventions. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively identify and describe strategic inflection points that accelerated the sustainability process and led to the sustainment of Alberta Family Integrated Care.

METHODS

This qualitative study was conducted in Alberta, Canada and employed an interpretive description design. Purposively sampled documents (proposals, project management plans, reports to funders and sponsors, meeting minutes, and fidelity audit and feedback checklists) from the Alberta Family Integrated Care cluster randomized controlled trial and quality improvement project constituted data for this study.

RESULTS

To accelerate sustainability in the research context, we identified (1) alignment with strategic priorities, (2) iterative, user-centered co-design, and (3) contextualization of implementation as strategic inflection points. To accelerate sustainability in the health system context, we identified (1) the learning health system, (2) enduring partnerships, (3) responsivity to societal and system change, (4) embedded governance, and (5) intentional integration into the health system as strategic inflection points. Capitalizing on these strategic inflection points led to sustainment of Alberta Family Integrated Care in the provincial health system.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified key inflection points in the research and health system contexts that led to sustainment of Alberta Family Integrated Care. By anticipating, recognizing, and leveraging inflection points in the sustainability process, researchers may be able to accelerate implementation and achieve sustainment of multi-component interventions in complex systems.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02879799. Registration date: May 27, 2016. Protocol version: June 9, 2016; version 2. Protocol publication: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-017-2181-3 .

Low-Resource Hospital Days for Children Following New Tracheostomy

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Children with new tracheostomy and invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) require transitional care involving caregiver education and nursing support. To better understand hospital resource use during this transition, our study aimed to: (1) define and characterize low-resource days (LRDs) for this population and (2) identify factors associated with LRD occurrence.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort analysis included children ≤21 years with new tracheostomy and IMV dependence admitted to an ICU from 2017 to 2022 using the Pediatric Health Information System database. A LRD was defined as a post tracheostomy day that accrued nonroom charges <10% of each patient's accrued nonroom charges on postoperative day 1. Factors associated with LRDs were analyzed using negative binomial regression.

RESULTS

Among 4048 children, median post tracheostomy stay was 69 days (interquartile range 34-127.5). LRDs were common: 38.6% and 16.4% experienced ≥1 and ≥7 LRDs, respectively. Younger age at tracheostomy (0-7 days rate ratio [RR] 2.42 [1.67-3.51]; 8-28 days RR 1.8 (1.2-2.69) versus 29-365 days; Asian race (RR 1.5 [1.04-2.16]); early tracheostomy (0-7 days RR 1.56 [1.2-2.04]), and longer post tracheostomy hospitalizations (31-60 days RR 1.85 [1.44-2.36]; 61-90 days RR 2.14 [1.58-2.91]; >90 days RR 2.21 [1.71-2.86]) were associated with more LRDs.

CONCLUSIONS

Approximately 1 in 6 children experienced ≥7 LRDs. Younger age, early tracheostomy, Asian race, and longer hospital stays were associated with increased risk of LRDs. Understanding the postacute phase, including bed utilization, serves as an archetype to explore care models for children with IMV dependence.

Opioid and Methadone Use for Infants With Surgically Treated Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Importance

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) requiring surgical intervention is the most common reason for surgical procedures in preterm neonates. Opioids are used to manage postoperative pain, with some infants requiring methadone to treat physiologic opioid dependence or wean from nonmethadone opioid treatment during recovery.

Objective

To describe postoperative opioid use and methadone treatment for infants with surgically treated NEC and evaluate postoperative outcomes.

Design, Setting, and Participants

A cohort study of infants with surgically treated NEC admitted from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2022, to 48 Children's Hospital Association hospitals contributing data to the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) was performed. Infants who received methadone preoperatively, were aged 14 days or less at the time of the operation, had a congenital heart disease-related operation, or died within 90 days of the operation were excluded. Mixed-effects multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate thresholds for duration of opioid use after the operation associated with methadone treatment and clinical outcomes associated with methadone use were enumerated.

Exposure

Postoperative administration of nonmethadone opioids.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Methadone use and postoperative length of stay, ventilator days, and total parenteral nutrition (TPN) days.

Results

Of the 2037 infants with surgically treated NEC identified, the median birth weight was 920 (IQR, 700.0-1479.5) g; 1204 were male (59.1%), 911 were White (44.7%), and 343 were Hispanic (16.8%). Infants received nonmethadone opioids for a median of 15 (IQR, 6-30) days after the operation and 231 received methadone (11.3%). The median first day of methadone use was postoperative day 18 (IQR, days 9-64) and continued for 28 days (IQR, 14-73). Compared with infants who received nonmethadone opioids for 1 to 5 days, infants receiving 16 to 21 days of opioids were most likely to receive methadone treatment (odds ratio, 11.45; 95% CI, 6.31-20.77). Methadone use was associated with 21.41 (95% CI, 10.81-32.02) more days of postoperative length of stay, 10.80 (95% CI, 3.63-17.98) more ventilator days, and 16.21 (95% CI, 6.34-26.10) more TPN days.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cohort study of infants with surgically treated NEC, prolonged use of nonmethadone opioids after the operation was associated with an increased likelihood of methadone treatment and increased postoperative length of stay, ventilation, and TPN use. Optimizing postoperative pain management for infants requiring an operation may decrease the need for methadone treatment and improve health care use.

Treatment of Pediatric Patients With High-Flow Nasal Cannula and Considerations for Oral Feeding: A Review of the Literature

PURPOSE

High-Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC) has become an increasingly common means of noninvasive respiratory support in pediatrics and is being used in infants and children with respiratory distress both inside and outside of the intensive care units. Despite the widespread use of HFNC, there remains a paucity of data on optimal flow rates and its impact on morbidity, mortality, and desired outcomes. Given the scarcity of information in these critical areas, it is not surprising that guidelines for initiation of oral feeding do not exist. This review article will review HFNC mechanisms of action, its use in specific populations and settings, and finally what is known about initiation of feeding during this therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

The practice of withholding oral feeding solely, because of HFNC, is not supported in the literature at the time of this writing, but in the absence of safety data from clinical trials, clinicians should proceed with caution and consider patient-specific factors while making decisions about oral feeding. Well-controlled prospective clinical trials are needed for development of best practice clinical guidelines and attainment of optimal outcomes.