Relationship between asthma medication and antibiotic use.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Increasing morbidity due to asthma and antimicrobial resistance among human pathogens are both major public-health concerns. Numerous studies describe the overuse of antibiotics in general populations and underuse of anti-inflammatory medications by asthmatic patients. However, little is known about the relationship between asthma medication and antibiotic use in asthmatics. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that higher use of bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory medication by asthmatics, as a marker of problematic asthma, is associated with greater antibiotic use. We also test the hypothesis that physicians who are low prescribers of anti-inflammatory medications are high prescribers of antibiotics. DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective cohort study evaluating asthma medication and antibiotic use by children and adults with asthma and the prescribing of these medications by primary-care physicians. SETTING/PATIENTS: Subjects were continuously enrolled asthma patients aged 6 to 55 years receiving care in an urban, group-model, health maintenance organization. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENT AND RESULTS: Main outcome measures were (1) antibiotic use by asthmatics stratified by low, moderate, and high bronchodilator use; (2) antibiotic use by asthmatics stratified by no, intermittent, and long-term anti-inflammatory use; and (3) correlation between physician-level anti-inflammatory agent to bronchodilator ratio (AIF:BD) and their rate of antibiotic prescribing. We found that (1) high bronchodilator users received 1.72 antibiotics per person-year (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.62 to 1.83), whereas low bronchodilator users received 1.23 antibiotics per person-year (95% CI, 1.19 to 1.27; p < 0.0001); (2) long-term users of anti-inflammatory agents received 1.85 antibiotics per person-year (95% CI, 1.76 to 1.95), whereas those not receiving an anti-inflammatory agent received 0.95 antibiotics per person-year (95% CI, 0.90 to 1.00; p < 0.0001); and (3) despite variations in physician AIF:BDs and antibiotic prescribing, respectively, these measures were not correlated. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic use and asthma medication use are positively associated in a cohort of asthma patients. Greater effort is needed to define the appropriate role of antibiotics in asthma management.

Universal newborn hearing screening: summary of evidence.

CONTEXT: Each year, approximately 5000 infants are born in the United States with moderate-to-profound, bilateral permanent hearing loss (PHL). Universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) has been proposed as a means to speed diagnosis and treatment and thereby improve language outcomes in these children. OBJECTIVES: To identify strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in the evidence supporting UNHS and to compare the additional benefits and harms of UNHS with those of selective screening of high-risk newborns. DATA SOURCES: We searched the MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PsychINFO databases for relevant articles published from 1994 to August 2001, using terms for hearing disorders, infants or newborns, screening, and relevant treatments. We contacted experts and reviewed reference lists to identify additional articles, including those published before 1994. STUDY SELECTION: We included controlled and observational studies of (1) the accuracy, yield, and harms of screening using otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), auditory brainstem response (ABR), or both in the general newborn population and (2) the effects of screening or early identification and treatment on language outcomes. Of an original 340 articles identified, 19 articles, including 1 controlled trial, met these inclusion criteria. DATA EXTRACTION: Data on population, test performance, outcomes, and methodological quality were extracted by 2 authors (D.C.T., H.M.) using prespecified criteria developed by the US Preventive Services Task Force. We queried authors when information needed to assess study quality was missing. DATA SYNTHESIS: Good-quality studies show that from 2041 to 2794 low-risk and 86 to 208 high-risk newborns were screened to find 1 case of moderate-to-profound PHL. The best estimate of positive predictive value was 6.7%. Six percent to 15% of infants who are missed by the screening tests are subsequently diagnosed with bilateral PHL. In a trial of UNHS vs clinical screening at age 8 months, UNHS increased the proportion of infants with moderate-to-severe hearing loss diagnosed by age 10 months (57% vs 14%) but did not reduce the rate of diagnosis after age 18 months. No good-quality controlled study has compared UNHS with selective screening of high-risk newborns. In fair- to poor-quality cohort studies, intervention before age 6 months was associated with improved language and communication skills by ages 2 to 5 years. These studies had unclear criteria for selecting subjects, and none compared an inception cohort of low-risk newborns identified by screening with those identified in usual care, making it impossible to exclude selection bias as an explanation for the results. In a mathematical model based on the literature review, we estimated that extending screening to low-risk infants would detect 1 additional case before age 10 months for every 1441 low-risk infants screened, and result in treatment before 10 months of 1 additional case for every 2401 low-risk infants screened. With UNHS, 254 newborns would be referred for audiological evaluation because of false-positive second-stage screening test results vs 48 for selective screening. CONCLUSIONS: Modern screening tests for hearing impairment can improve identification of newborns with PHL, but the efficacy of UNHS to improve long-term language outcomes remains uncertain.

Work-family issues and perceptions of stress among pediatric faculty and house staff.

OBJECTIVES: To examine work-family balance issues and predictors of stress related to work-family balance among pediatric house staff and faculty. METHODS: Data were obtained through an anonymous mail survey. Univariate analyses assessed associations between work-family issues (work-related factors that affect work-family balance, perceived support, work-family--related stress, and proposed solutions) and the following variables: gender, parental status, working status of spouse, and academic rank. Multiple linear regression examined independent predictors of perceived stress. RESULTS: Fifty percent of the 327 respondents cared for dependent children, and 20% expected to care for an elderly person in the next 5 years. Only 5% strongly agreed that their division or department was concerned about supporting members' work-family balance, and 4% strongly agreed that existing programs supported their needs. Eighty-three percent reported feeling stressed as a result of efforts to balance work and family. Independent predictors of stress included perceived need to choose between career and family, increasing age, dependent children, less support from colleagues and supervisors, and female gender. CONCLUSIONS: Work-family balance issues are responsible for substantial perceived stress. Academic departments should consider a commitment to supporting faculty who are struggling with these issues, including creation of work-family policies and programs, development of mentoring systems, and reexamination of existing expectations for work practices.

Pediatric hospitalists in Canada and the United States: a survey of pediatric academic department chairs.

OBJECTIVES: To document the prevalence and practice patterns of pediatric hospitalists in academic centers in Canada and the United States; to characterize academic pediatric department chairs' definition of the term hospitalist; and to characterize pediatric department chairs' views of the training requirements for pediatric hospitalists. METHODS: A 14-item questionnaire was sent to all 145 pediatric department chairs from Canada and the United States during the fall of 1998. We defined hospitalists as physicians spending at least 25% of their time in inpatient care. RESULTS: Of the 145 eligible pediatric chairs, 128 (89%) responded (United States, 111/126; Canada, 14/16; Puerto Rico, 3/3). Ninety-nine (77%) of 128 pediatric chairs either have (64/128) or are planning to have (35/128) hospitalists in their institutions. Within academic programs with hospitalists, 82% of hospitalists currently work on general pediatric wards. Two thirds of hospitalists teach, 50% provide outpatient care, 50% have administrative duties, and 44% conduct research. One hundred eight (84%) of 128 believe that hospitalists should spend at least 50% of their time in inpatient care. Less than one third (30%) of pediatric chairs believe that hospitalists require training not currently provided in residency. CONCLUSIONS: A large proportion of academic pediatric centers either employed or planned to employ hospitalists in 1998. Pediatric academic department chairs do not see a need for training beyond residency for hospitalists. Further studies should address how pediatric hospitalists affect quality of care, cost, and patient satisfaction.

Effect of a reduced postpartum length of stay program on primary care services use by mothers and infants.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of reduced postpartum length of stay (LOS) on primary care services use. METHODS. DESIGN: Retrospective quasiexperimental study, comparing 3 periods before and 1 period after introducing an intervention and adjusting for time trends. SETTING: A managed care plan. INTERVENTION: A reduced obstetrical LOS program (ROLOS), offering enhanced education and services. PARTICIPANTS: mother-infant dyads, delivered during 4 time periods: February through May 1992, 1993, and 1994, before ROLOS, and 1995, while ROLOS was in effect. INDEPENDENT MEASURES: Pre-ROLOS or the post-ROLOS year. OUTCOME MEASURES: Telephone calls, visits, and urgent care events during the first 3 weeks postpartum summed as total utilization events. RESULTS: Before ROLOS, LOS decreased gradually (from 51.6 to 44.3 hours) and after, sharply to 36.5 hours. Although primary care use did not increase before ROLOS, utilization for dyads increased during ROLOS. Before ROLOS, there were between 2.37 and 2.72 utilization events per day; after, there were 4.60. Well-child visits increased slightly to.98 visits per dyad, but urgent visits did not. CONCLUSION: This program resulted in shortened stays and more primary care use. There was no increase in infant urgent primary care utilization. Early discharge programs that incorporate and reimburse for enhanced ambulatory services may be safe for infants; these findings should not be extrapolated to mandatory reduced LOS initiatives without enhancement of care.

Parents as direct contributors to the medical record: validation of their electronic input.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: We assessed the validity and completeness of data in the past medical history (PMH) obtained electronically from parents and examined effects of the human-computer interface and sociodemographic variables on electronic parental report. METHODS: We compared parents' electronic report of PMH data with a criterion standard, structured face-to-face interview by a pediatrician blinded to the electronic data. The electronic medical record interface enabled parents to provide 5 elements of the PMH: birth status, allergies, current medications, immunization status, and previous hospitalizations. The setting was the emergency department waiting room in an academic, urban children's hospital; parents of infants up to 12 months old participated. Outcome measures were validity of the PMH data obtained using the electronic medical record interface and odds of having an invalid or incomplete response using the electronic medical record interface. RESULTS: One hundred parents were enrolled (69.4% of eligible subjects). Study subjects did not differ from nonenrollees on demographic variables and visit characteristics. The validity of the electronic medical record interface data was high across the PMH elements (94% to 99%). Two demographic features predicted invalid response: parental primary language other than English or Spanish (odds ratio [OR] 11.4, 95% confidence interval CI 1.7 to 76.3), and Asian ethnicity (OR 14. 6, 95% CI 1.2 to 182.4). Incomplete responses were predicted by limited previous experience with computers; computer-naive subjects had an eightfold increased odds of skipping a question (OR 7.9, 95% CI 1.8 to 34.6). CONCLUSION: Parents are accurate independent reporters of their infants' general PMH using the electronic medical record interface. Their participation in care may be enhanced by allowing them to contribute medical information directly to the electronic medical record.

Technical report: minor head injury in children.

UNLABELLED: Minor head trauma affecting children is a common reason for medical consultation and evaluation. In order to provide evidence on which to base a clinical practice guideline for the American Academy of Pediatrics, we undertook a systematic review of the literature on minor head trauma in children. METHODS: Medline and Health databases were searched for articles published between 1966 and 1993 on head trauma or head injury, limited to infants, children, and adolescents. Abstracts were reviewed for relevance to mild head trauma consistent with the index case defined by the AAP subcommittee. Relevant articles were identified, reviewed, and abstracted. Additional citations were identified by review of references and expert suggestions. Unpublished data were also identified through contact with authors highlighting child-specific information. Abstracted data were summarized in evidence tables. The process was repeated in 1998, updating the review for articles published between 1993 and 1997. RESULTS: A total of 108 articles were abstracted from 1033 abstracts and articles identified through the various search strategies. Variation in definitions precluded any pooling of data from different studies. Prevalence of intracranial injury in children with mild head trauma varied from 0% to 7%. Children with no clinical risk characteristics are at lower risk than are children with such characteristics; the magnitude of increased risk was inconsistent across studies. Computed tomography scan is most sensitive and specific for detection of intracranial abnormalities; sensitivity and specificity of skull radiographs ranged from 21% to 100% and 53% to 97%, respectively. No high quality studies tested alternative strategies for management of such children. Outcome studies are inconclusive as to the impact of minor head trauma on long-term cognitive function. CONCLUSIONS: The literature on mild head trauma does not provide a sufficient scientific basis for evidence-based recommendations about most of the key issues in clinical management. More consistent definitions and multisite assessments are needed to clarify this field.

Quality of care at a children's hospital: the parent's perspective.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a measure of parental perceptions of pediatric inpatient quality of care, to identify processes of care that influence these perceptions, and to describe these perceptions of care. DESIGN: An interdisciplinary team modified an existing measure of inpatient care for adults using focus groups and expert review. The resulting survey was administered by telephone. SETTING: Tertiary care pediatric hospital. PATIENTS: Trained telephone interviewers obtained reports from parents of children discharged from the hospital during specified months. This report is based on the answers to 122 questions provided by 3622 (77%) of 4724 parents who responded when surveyed from 1991 through 1995. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Parents provided reports about specific clinical experiences, overall ratings of care, and patient demographic and illness characteristics 2 weeks after patient discharge from the hospital. The analysis classified reports about pediatric care as either problems or not problems. Problems in different areas of care were averaged to create scores for the dimensions. RESULTS: Parents most often noted problems related to hospital discharge planning (18%) and pain management (18%) and less often reported problems concerning communication about surgery (10%) or transmission of information to children (6%). Problems in communication between clinicians and parents correlated most strongly with overall quality ratings by parents (r=0.59). Parents' specific reports of problems with care accounted for 42% of the variation in their overall assessments of the inpatient care experience. CONCLUSIONS: Parental assessment of inpatient pediatric care rests heavily on the quality of communication between the clinician and parent. Specific processes of care strongly influence overall assessments. Such reports could be used to focus the quality-improvement activities of hospitals and increase the accountability of providers of care to children and families.

Infant health care use and maternal depression.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether women who frequently bring their neonates for problem-oriented primary care visits or emergency department visits are at elevated risk of having depressive symptoms. DESIGN: Analysis of 2 prospective cohort studies of mothers and their infants: (1) a telephone interview study of mothers and infants after birth at an urban teaching hospital (the hospital cohort) and (2) the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey, a nationally representative sample of women who had live births in 1988. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1015 women in the hospital cohort surveyed at 3 and 8 weeks post partum and 6779 women with data from the national survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Depressive symptoms above the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale cutoff score of 15. RESULTS: After controlling for sociodemographic variables and parity, women exhibited high levels of depressive symptoms if their infants had more than 1 problem-oriented primary care visit (hospital cohort: odds ratio, 2.0 [95% confidence interval, 1.1-4.3]; national survey cohort: odds ratio, 2.0 [95% confidence interval, 1.5-3.0]). Women were more likely to have high levels of depressive symptoms if their infants had even 1 emergency department visit (hospital cohort: odds ratio, 3.2 [95% confidence interval, 1.5-6.9]). Frequent well-child visits were not associated with maternal depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Neonatal health care use patterns predict women at risk for postpartum depression. Recognition of these signature patterns of service use by pediatric health care providers may facilitate early diagnosis and treatment of postpartum depression and improve outcomes for women and their families.

The Consumer Assessment of Health Plan Study (CAHPS) survey of children's health care.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the experience of children and families with pediatric care. Asking parents about their experiences and the treatment of their children in health care plans can yield important information about selected aspects of medical care quality. Such data can be used to motivate, focus, and evaluate quality improvement efforts. METHODS: Development of the Child Core Survey followed the survey development principles of the Consumer Assessment of Health Plan Study (CAHPS) project, starting with assembly of existing instruments, consultation with experts, focus groups, and cognitive testing. A field test of the survey was conducted by mail among members enrolled in 1 of 25 plans originally identified as providing health care services to the public employees of the state of Washington (response rate, 52%). RESULTS: The 3,083 respondents rated personal doctors most highly, with overall care and specialty care rated nearly as well, and plan administration rated lowest. Parent-clinician and child-clinician communication, as well as spending sufficient time with the child were the strongest correlates of assessments of overall care and of personal doctors. Plans differed significantly in their performance along all the dimensions of child health care assessed in the survey except for aspects of access ("getting the care you need"). IMPLICATIONS: The Child Core Survey from the CAHPS provides a readily accessible method to assess the interpersonal care of children. Such data could be used to make plans accountable to the needs of children, to focus specific improvement initiatives, or both.

The challenges of automating a real-time clinical practice guideline.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the types of problems encountered during implementation of a World Wide Web-based clinical practice guideline to manage hyperbilirubinemia in newborn infants. DESIGN: Formative assessment of an automated clinical-practice guideline in a large-scale implementation. SETTING: Primary-care clinics and offices, inpatient clinics, and emergency department affiliated with an academic children's hospital. PARTICIPANTS: General pediatricians, neonatologists, pediatric nurses, and computer scientists. RESULTS: Existing guidelines for hyperbilirubinemia management could not be translated directly into web pages. Modifications of the original guidelines were required to represent the clinical intent of the guidelines accurately. In addition, the automated guideline was augmented to incorporate a mechanism for generating clinical encounter forms in order for the system to be accepted into the clinical work flow. Other clinical considerations that influenced the final form of the automated guideline included limitations of computer resources and time constraints during patient encounters. CONCLUSIONS: Many existing guidelines are not amenable to straightforward implementation in automated systems. Strategies to increase the efficacy of the automated guidelines included guideline modifications, as well as careful consideration of the flow of clinical work. Repeated cycles of development and pilot testing are needed to design methods to accommodate the constraints imposed by clinical use.

The scope of unmet maternal health needs in pediatric settings.

OBJECTIVE: Previous work has focused attention on the prevalence of specific maternal health problems known to affect children, such as smoking or depression. However, the cumulative health burden experienced by mothers and the potential for a practical pediatric health services response have not been examined. The aims of this study were to characterize: 1) the prevalence and cumulative burden of maternal health behaviors and conditions, 2) maternal access to a source of comprehensive adult primary care, and 3) maternal perceptions of a pediatric role in screening and referral. METHODS: We surveyed 559 consecutive women bringing a child 18 months of age or less to one of four pediatric primary care sites between July 1996 and May 1997. The pediatric sites included one outpatient program in an academic hospital, one in a community health center, and two in-staff model practices of a managed care organization (these last two were combined for analysis). The self-administered questionnaire contained previously validated questions to assess health behaviors and conditions (smoking, alcohol abuse, depression, violence, risk for unintended pregnancy, serious illness, self-reported health) and access to care (regular source, regular provider, health insurance, care delayed or not received). Maternal attitudes toward a pediatric role in screening and referral were also elicited. RESULTS: In the three settings, response rates ranged from 75% to 84%. The average age of the women ranged from 25.1 to 32. 1 years and the average age of the children ranged from 6.5 to 8.0 months. Across the settings, the percentage of women reporting at least one health condition (66%-74%) was similarly high, despite significant demographic differences among sites. Many women reported more than one condition (31%-37%); among all women who smoked, 33% also screened positive for alcohol abuse, 31% for emotional or physical abuse, and 48% for depression. Access to comprehensive adult primary care was variable with 23% to 58% of women reporting one or more barriers depending on the site. Across all sites, >85% of mothers reported they would "not mind" or "would welcome" a pediatric role in screening and referral. CONCLUSIONS: Two-thirds of women bringing their children for pediatric care had health problems regardless of the site of care. Many women also reported substantial barriers to comprehensive health care. Most women reported acceptance of a pediatric role in screening and referral. Given the range and depth of maternal health needs, strategies to connect or reconnect mothers to comprehensive adult primary care from a variety of pediatric settings should be explored.

The impact of having parents report about both their own and their children's experiences with health insurance plans.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether parents rate their children's care differently when they also rate their own care than when they do not. METHODS: Subjects were employees of Washington State who had been enrolled in a health plan for at least 6 months and who had at least one covered child. Subjects were randomly assigned to four study groups that were surveyed using different protocols. To assess the stability of responses over time, a follow-up telephone interview was conducted with individuals in two of the groups. RESULTS: Parents or guardians who received both the Adult and Child Surveys were less likely to complete a survey than those who received only one survey. Responses to selected survey questions were quite stable between survey administrations. Parents who rated only their child's health care experiences generally gave more positive responses than those who also rated their own care, although few of these differences were statistically significant. This may have been due, in part, to the lower response rates in the latter group. The pairs of survey questions that ask about the adult's and child's experiences with the same aspects of care had moderate to high levels of association. The pair with the weakest association asked how clearly the doctor or nurse explained things to the adult or the child. CONCLUSIONS: Sending both an adult and child survey to an adult could have an effect on the pattern of responses and result in lower response rates, but this might be a cost-effective way to collect reports about both adult and child health care.

Minor head injury in children: current management practices of pediatricians, emergency physicians, and family physicians.

OBJECTIVE: To describe variation in the clinical management of minor head trauma in children among primary care and emergency physicians. DESIGN: A survey of pediatricians, family physicians, and emergency physicians drawn from a random sample of members of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the appropriate American Medical Association specialty listings, respectively. Physicians were given clinical vignettes describing children presenting with normal physical examination results after minor head trauma. Different clinical scenarios (brief loss of consciousness or seizures) were also presented. Information was gathered on initial and subsequent management steps most commonly used by the physician. RESULTS: Surveys were returned by 765 (51%) of 1500 physicians. Of these, 303 (40%) were pediatricians, 269 (35%) family practitioners, and 193 (25%) emergency physicians. For minor head trauma without complications, observation at home was the most common initial physician management choice (n = 547, 72%). Observation in office or hospital was chosen by 81 physicians (11%). Head computed tomographic (CT) scan was chosen by 7 physicians (1%) and skull x-ray by 24 physicians (3%) as the first management option. Most physicians (n = 445, 80%) who initially chose observation at home would obtain a CT scan if the patient showed clinical deterioration. In the original scenario, if the patient had also sustained a loss of consciousness, 383 physicians (58%) altered management. Of these, 120 (18%) chose CT, 13 (2%) chose skull x-ray, 1 (1%) chose magnetic resonance imaging, 141 (21%) chose inpatient observation, and 125 (19%) chose a combination of CT scanning and observation. With seizures, 595 (90%) altered management, with 176 physicians (27%) choosing CT scan, 5 (1%) skull x-ray, 60 (9%) inpatient observation, and 299 (45%) a combination of radiological evaluation and observation. CONCLUSIONS: Most physicians surveyed chose clinic or home observation for initial management of minor pediatric head trauma. Clinical management was more varied when patients had sustained either loss of consciousness or seizures. Further study of the appropriate management of minor head trauma in children is needed to guide physicians in their care.

Managed care and the quality of children's health services.

Managed care has changed the practice of medicine. The choice of health care providers has been narrowed, physicians are being held financially accountable for the number of services they use, and a new emphasis is being placed on the cost and quality of the care provided. The transition to managed care has occurred with little attention to its impact on access to health care services or the quality of services provided. There is an absence of information about how children fare in these new systems. What little is known indicates that children in managed care arrangements are less likely to be able to be seen by pediatric specialists, and that families and providers are less satisfied under managed care. The impact of these changes on children's health status, however, is yet to be determined. For children with special needs, the problems of coordination of care, coverage of needed services, and the choice of the appropriate pediatric subspecialists, many of which existed in traditional fee-for-service systems, persist under managed care. In spite of all of the negative anecdotes about managed health care, managed care's focus on its population of enrollees and its heightened sense of a need for health care accountability bring exciting new opportunities to measure and improve the health care children receive. A new emphasis is being placed on practicing evidence-based medicine; the focus is on closing the gap between what is known (effective, evidence-based care) and what is done (current practice). Improved health outcomes and reduced health care costs have been documented in demonstration projects in neonatal intensive care units and in pediatric offices. Applying the principles of these learning collaboratives and employing the tools of continuous quality improvement in health care are urgent challenges that deserve to be met. Health plans, physicians, health care purchasers, regulators, families, and their children must work together to assure that children receive the highest-quality care possible--care that is technically excellent and medically appropriate, and that improves the health of our children.