Impact of Social Determinants of Health on Predictive Models for Outcomes After Congenital Heart Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Despite documented associations between social determinants of health and outcomes post-congenital heart surgery, clinical risk models typically exclude these factors. OBJECTIVES: The study sought to characterize associations between social determinants and operative and longitudinal mortality as well as assess impacts on risk model performance. METHODS: Demographic and clinical data were obtained for all congenital heart surgeries (2006-2021) from locally held Congenital Heart Surgery Collaborative for Longitudinal Outcomes and Utilization of Resources Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database data. Neighborhood-level American Community Survey and composite sociodemographic measures were linked by zip code. Model prediction, discrimination, and impact on quality assessment were assessed before and after inclusion of social determinants in models based on the 2020 Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database Mortality Risk Model. RESULTS: Of 14,173 total index operations across New York State, 12,321 cases, representing 10,271 patients at 8 centers, had zip codes for linkage. A total of 327 (2.7%) patients died in the hospital or before 30 days, and 314 children died by December 31, 2021 (total n = 641; 6.2%). Multiple measures of social determinants of health explained as much or more variability in operative and longitudinal mortality than clinical comorbidities or prior cardiac surgery. Inclusion of social determinants minimally improved models' predictive performance (operative: 0.834-0.844; longitudinal 0.808-0.811), but significantly improved model discrimination; 10.0% more survivors and 4.8% more mortalities were appropriately risk classified with inclusion. Wide variation in reclassification was observed by site, resulting in changes in the center performance classification category for 2 of 8 centers. CONCLUSIONS: Although indiscriminate inclusion of social determinants in clinical risk modeling can conceal inequities, thoughtful consideration can help centers understand their performance across populations and guide efforts to improve health equity.

Measuring Equity in Readmission as a Distinct Assessment of Hospital Performance.

Importance: Equity is an essential domain of health care quality. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) developed 2 Disparity Methods that together assess equity in clinical outcomes. Objectives: To define a measure of equitable readmissions; identify hospitals with equitable readmissions by insurance (dual eligible vs non-dual eligible) or patient race (Black vs White); and compare hospitals with and without equitable readmissions by hospital characteristics and performance on accountability measures (quality, cost, and value). Design, Setting, and Participants: Cross-sectional study of US hospitals eligible for the CMS Hospital-Wide Readmission measure using Medicare data from July 2018 through June 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures: We created a definition of equitable readmissions using CMS Disparity Methods, which evaluate hospitals on 2 methods: outcomes for populations at risk for disparities (across-hospital method); and disparities in care within hospitals' patient populations (within-a-single-hospital method). Exposures: Hospital patient demographics; hospital characteristics; and 3 measures of hospital performance-quality, cost, and value (quality relative to cost). Results: Of 4638 hospitals, 74% served a sufficient number of dual-eligible patients, and 42% served a sufficient number of Black patients to apply CMS Disparity Methods by insurance and race. Of eligible hospitals, 17% had equitable readmission rates by insurance and 30% by race. Hospitals with equitable readmissions by insurance or race cared for a lower percentage of Black patients (insurance, 1.9% [IQR, 0.2%-8.8%] vs 3.3% [IQR, 0.7%-10.8%], P < .01; race, 7.6% [IQR, 3.2%-16.6%] vs 9.3% [IQR, 4.0%-19.0%], P = .01), and differed from nonequitable hospitals in multiple domains (teaching status, geography, size; P < .01). In examining equity by insurance, hospitals with low costs were more likely to have equitable readmissions (odds ratio, 1.57 [95% CI, 1.38-1.77), and there was no relationship between quality and value, and equity. In examining equity by race, hospitals with high overall quality were more likely to have equitable readmissions (odds ratio, 1.14 [95% CI, 1.03-1.26]), and there was no relationship between cost and value, and equity. Conclusion and Relevance: A minority of hospitals achieved equitable readmissions. Notably, hospitals with equitable readmissions were characteristically different from those without. For example, hospitals with equitable readmissions served fewer Black patients, reinforcing the role of structural racism in hospital-level inequities. Implementation of an equitable readmission measure must consider unequal distribution of at-risk patients among hospitals.

Pediatric Mental Health Emergencies During 5 COVID-19 Waves in New York City.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the proportion of pediatric mental health emergency department (MH-ED) visits across 5 COVID-19 waves in New York City (NYC) and to examine the relationship between MH-ED visits, COVID-19 prevalence, and societal restrictions. METHODS: We conducted a time-series analysis of MH-ED visits among patients ages 5 to 17 years using the INSIGHT Clinical Research Network, a database from 5 medical centers in NYC from January 1, 2016, to June 12, 2022. We estimated seasonally adjusted changes in MH-ED visit rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with predicted prepandemic levels, specific to each COVID-19 wave and stratified by mental health diagnoses and sociodemographic characteristics. We estimated associations between MH-ED visit rates, COVID-19 prevalence, and societal restrictions measured by the Stringency Index. RESULTS: Of 686 500 ED visits in the cohort, 27 168 (4.0%) were MH-ED visits. The proportion of MH-ED visits was higher during each COVID-19 wave compared with predicted prepandemic trends. Increased MH-ED visits were seen for eating disorders across all waves; anxiety disorders in all except wave 3; depressive disorders and suicidality/self-harm in wave 2; and substance use disorders in waves 2, 4, and 5. MH-ED visits were increased from expected among female, adolescent, Asian race, high Child Opportunity Index patients. There was no association between MH-ED visits and NYC COVID-19 prevalence or NY State Stringency Index. CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of pediatric MH-ED visits during the COVID-19 pandemic was higher during each wave compared with the predicted prepandemic period, with varied increases among diagnostic and sociodemographic subgroups. Enhanced pediatric mental health resources are essential to address these findings.

Chronic Medication Burden After Cardiac Surgery for Pediatric Medicaid Beneficiaries.

BACKGROUND: Congenital heart defects are the most common and resource-intensive birth defects. As children with congenital heart defects increasingly survive beyond early childhood, it is imperative to understand longitudinal disease burden. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine chronic outpatient prescription medication use and expenditures for New York State pediatric Medicaid enrollees, comparing children who undergo cardiac surgery (cardiac enrollees) and the general pediatric population. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of all Medicaid enrollees age <18 years using the New York State Congenital Heart Surgery Collaborative for Longitudinal Outcomes and Utilization of Resources database (2006-2019). Primary outcomes were total chronic medications per person-year, enrollees per 100 person-years using ≥1 and ≥3 medications, and medication expenditures per person-year. We described and compared outcomes between cardiac enrollees and the general pediatric population. Among cardiac enrollees, multivariable regression examined associations between outcomes and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: We included 5,459 unique children (32,131 person-years) who underwent cardiac surgery and 4.5 million children (22 million person-years) who did not. More than 4 in 10 children who underwent cardiac surgery used ≥1 chronic medication compared with approximately 1 in 10 children who did not have cardiac surgery. Medication expenditures were 10 times higher per person-year for cardiac compared with noncardiac enrollees. Among cardiac enrollees, disease severity was associated with chronic medication use; use was highest among infants; however, nearly one-half of adolescents used ≥1 chronic medication. CONCLUSIONS: Children who undergo cardiac surgery experience high medication burden that persists throughout childhood. Understanding chronic medication use can inform clinicians (both pediatricians and subspecialists) and policymakers, and ultimately the value of care for this medically complex population.

Characterizing Racial Disparities in Emergency Department Pediatric Physical Restraint by Sex and Age.

This cross-sectional study evaluates racial disparities in physical restraint use in US emergency departments.

Structural Racism in Behavioral Health Presentation and Management.

Nia is a first-grade student with a history of trauma who was brought in by ambulance to the pediatric emergency department for "out of control behavior" at school. This is the first of multiple presentations to the emergency department for psychiatric evaluation, stabilization, and management throughout her elementary and middle school years. Several of the visits resulted in admission to the inpatient pediatric service, where she "boarded" while awaiting transfer to an inpatient psychiatric facility. At times, clinical teams used involuntary emergency medications and physical restraints, as well as hospital security presence at the bedside, to control Nia's behavior. Nia is Black and her story is a case study of how structural racism manifests for an individual child. Her story highlights the impact of adultification bias and the propensity to mislabel Black youth with diagnoses characterized by fixed patterns of negative behaviors, as opposed to recognizing normative reactions to trauma or other adverse childhood experiences-in Nia's case, poverty, domestic violence, and Child Protective Services involvement. In telling Nia's story, we (1) define racism and discuss the interplay of structural, institutional, and interpersonal racism in the health care, education, and judicial systems; (2) highlight the impact of adultification bias on Black youth; (3) delineate racial disparities in behavioral health diagnosis and management, school discipline and exclusion, and health care's contributions to the school-to-prison pipeline; and finally (4) propose action steps to mitigate the impact of racism on pediatric mental health and health care.

Follow-up After Pediatric Mental Health Emergency Visits.

OBJECTIVES: To examine how outpatient mental health (MH) follow-up after a pediatric MH emergency department (ED) discharge varies by patient characteristics and to evaluate the association between timely follow-up and return encounters. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of 28 551 children aged 6 to 17 years with MH ED discharges from January 2018 to June 2019, using the IBM Watson MarketScan Medicaid database. Odds of nonemergent outpatient follow-up, adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, were estimated using logistic regression. Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the association between timely follow-up and risk of return MH acute care encounters (ED visits and hospitalizations). RESULTS: Following MH ED discharge, 31.2% and 55.8% of children had an outpatient MH visit within 7 and 30 days, respectively. The return rate was 26.5% within 6 months. Compared with children with no past-year outpatient MH visits, those with ≥14 past-year MH visits had 9.53 odds of accessing follow-up care within 30 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.75-10.38). Timely follow-up within 30 days was associated with a 26% decreased risk of return within 5 days of the index ED discharge (hazard ratio, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.63-0.91), followed by an increased risk of return thereafter. CONCLUSIONS: Connection to outpatient care within 7 and 30 days of a MH ED discharge remains poor, and children without prior MH outpatient care are at highest risk for poor access to care. Interventions to link to outpatient MH care should prioritize follow-up within 5 days of an MH ED discharge.

Psychotropic Medication Use in United States Pediatric Emergency Department Visits.

OBJECTIVE AND BACKGROUND: Little is known about pediatric psychotropic medication use in the emergency department (ED), despite a rise in mental and behavioral health visits. This study describes psychotropic medication use in a nationally representative sample of pediatric mental and behavioral health ED visits over a 14-year period. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of pediatric (6-17 years) mental and behavioral health ED visits using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2006-2019. We describe administration of psychotropic medications by medication type, diagnosis, and over time. Using multivariable survey-weighted logistic regression, we examine associations between medication administration and sociodemographics. RESULTS: A psychotropic medication was administered in 11.4% of the estimated 11,792,860 pediatric mental and behavioral health ED visits in our sample. Benzodiazepines were administered most frequently (4.9% of visits). Visits with anxiety disorders had the highest frequency of psychotropic medication use (26.7%). Visits by Black non-Hispanic patients had a 60% decreased odds of medication administration compared to visits for White non-Hispanic patients. Visits with public compared to private insurance had a 3.5 times increased odds of psychotropic polypharmacy. The proportion of visits in which a psychotropic medication was administered did not change statistically over time. CONCLUSIONS: A psychotropic medication was administered in 1 in 10 pediatric mental and behavioral health ED visits. Use differed by sociodemographics but did not change over time. As more youth seek mental and behavioral health care in the ED, we must better understand appropriate medication use to ensure quality and equitable care.

Pediatric mental health visits with prolonged length of stay in community emergency departments during COVID-19.

Objectives: To characterize trends in pediatric mental health visit counts, including visits for prolonged length of stay (LOS), in a sample of emergency departments (EDs) from 29 states during COVID-19. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of the Clinical Emergency Data Registry from January 2020 through December 2021. We reported trends in pediatric mental health visit counts overall and for those with prolonged ED LOS. We reported incident rate ratios (IRRs) for monthly counts compared to January 2020. Among visits with LOS >24 hours, we reported on the most common diagnostic categories. Results: There were 107 EDs from 29 states with available complete data in 2020 and 2021. Pediatric mental health visit counts resulting in a LOS greater than 6, 12, and 24 hours were higher for much of 2021. At their peak, there were 604 visits with LOS >12 hours (IRR, 2.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.86-2.47) and 262 visits (IRR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.97-3.09) with LOS >24 hours in April 2021. Pediatric mental health visits with LOS >12 hours and >24 hours made up 20.9% and 7.3% of pediatric mental health visits overall, respectively. For visits with ED LOS >24 hours, the most common diagnostic categories were suicide or self-injury, depressive disorders, and mental health syndrome. Conclusions: In this sample of 107 EDs in 29 states, visit counts with prolonged LOS >24 hours more than doubled in some months since the arrival of COVID-19. These findings are indicative of an increasingly strained emergency and mental health system.

Indications for Hospitalization in Children with SARS-CoV-2 Infection during the Omicron Wave in New York City.

The emergence of the Omicron variant was accompanied by an acute increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in New York City. An increased incidence of COVID-19-associated croup in children during the Omicron wave has been recognized, suggesting that there may be other changes in clinical symptoms and severity. To better understand clinical outcomes and health care utilization in children infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the Omicron wave, we performed a cross-sectional study in pediatric patients aged ≤18 years who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 in pediatric emergency departments within a large medical system in New York City from 2 December 2021 to 23 January 2022. We described the clinical characteristics and outcomes of pediatric patients who presented to the pediatric emergency department and were hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection during the Omicron wave in New York City. There were 2515 children tested in the ED for SARS-CoV-2 of whom 794 (31.6%) tested positive. Fifty-eight children were hospitalized for a COVID-19-related indication, representing 7.3% of all COVID-19-positive children and 72% of hospitalized COVID-19-positive children. Most (64%) children hospitalized for a COVID-19-related indication were less than 5 years old. Indications for hospitalization included respiratory symptoms, clinical monitoring of patients with comorbid conditions, and exacerbations of underlying disease. Eleven (19%) hospitalized children were admitted to the ICU and six (10%) required mechanical ventilation. Children infected with COVID-19 during the Omicron wave, particularly those less than 5 years old, were at risk for hospitalization. A majority of hospitalizations were directly related to COVID-19 infection although clinical indications varied with less than a half being admitted for respiratory diseases including croup. Our findings underscore the need for an effective COVID-19 vaccine in those less than 5 years old, continued monitoring for changes in clinical outcomes and health care utilization in children as more SARS-CoV-2 variants emerge, and understanding that children are often admitted for non-respiratory diseases with COVID-19.

Racial disparities in the SOFA score among patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score predicts probability of in-hospital mortality. Many crisis standards of care suggest the use of SOFA scores to allocate medical resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESEARCH QUESTION: Are SOFA scores elevated among Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients hospitalized with COVID-19, compared to Non-Hispanic White patients? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Retrospective cohort study conducted in Yale New Haven Health System, including 5 hospitals with total of 2681 beds. Study population drawn from consecutive patients aged ≥18 admitted with COVID-19 from March 29th to August 1st, 2020. Patients excluded from the analysis if not their first admission with COVID-19, if they did not have SOFA score recorded within 24 hours of admission, if race and ethnicity data were not Non-Hispanic Black, Non-Hispanic White, or Hispanic, or if they had other missing data. The primary outcome was SOFA score, with peak score within 24 hours of admission dichotomized as <6 or ≥6. RESULTS: Of 2982 patients admitted with COVID-19, 2320 met inclusion criteria and were analyzed, of whom 1058 (45.6%) were Non-Hispanic White, 645 (27.8%) were Hispanic, and 617 (26.6%) were Non-Hispanic Black. Median age was 65.0 and 1226 (52.8%) were female. In univariate logistic screen and in full multivariate model, Non-Hispanic Black patients but not Hispanic patients had greater odds of an elevated SOFA score ≥6 when compared to Non-Hispanic White patients (OR 1.49, 95%CI 1.11-1.99). INTERPRETATION: Given current unequal patterns in social determinants of health, US crisis standards of care utilizing the SOFA score to allocate medical resources would be more likely to deny these resources to Non-Hispanic Black patients.

The potential impact of triage protocols on racial disparities in clinical outcomes among COVID-positive patients in a large academic healthcare system.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact in the United States, particularly for Black populations, and has heavily burdened the healthcare system. Hospitals have created protocols to allocate limited resources, but there is concern that these protocols will exacerbate disparities. The sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score is a tool often used in triage protocols. In these protocols, patients with higher SOFA scores are denied resources based on the assumption that they have worse clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study was to assess whether using SOFA score as a triage tool among COVID-positive patients would exacerbate racial disparities in clinical outcomes. METHODS: We analyzed data from a retrospective cohort of hospitalized COVID-positive patients in the Yale-New Haven Health System. We examined associations between race/ethnicity and peak overall/24-hour SOFA score, in-hospital mortality, and ICU admission. Other predictors of interest were age, sex, primary language, and insurance status. We used one-way ANOVA and chi-square tests to assess differences in SOFA score across racial/ethnic groups and linear and logistic regression to assess differences in clinical outcomes by sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: Our final sample included 2,554 patients. Black patients had higher SOFA scores compared to patients of other races. However, Black patients did not have significantly greater in-hospital mortality or ICU admission compared to patients of other races. CONCLUSION: While Black patients in this sample of hospitalized COVID-positive patients had higher SOFA scores compared to patients of other races, this did not translate to higher in-hospital mortality or ICU admission. Results demonstrate that if SOFA score had been used to allocate care, Black COVID patients would have been denied care despite having similar clinical outcomes to white patients. Therefore, using SOFA score to allocate resources has the potential to exacerbate racial inequities by disproportionately denying care to Black patients and should not be used to determine access to care. Healthcare systems must develop and use COVID-19 triage protocols that prioritize equity.

Prolonged Emergency Department Length of Stay for US Pediatric Mental Health Visits (2005-2015).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Children seeking care in the emergency department (ED) for mental health conditions are at risk for prolonged length of stay (LOS). A more contemporary description of trends and visit characteristics associated with prolonged ED LOS at the national level is lacking in the literature. Our objectives were to (1) compare LOS trends for pediatric mental health versus non-mental health ED visits and (2) explore patient-level characteristics associated with prolonged LOS for mental health ED visits. METHODS: We conducted an observational analysis of ED visits among children 6 to 17 years of age using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (2005-2015). We assessed trends in rates of prolonged LOS and the association between prolonged LOS and demographic and clinical characteristics (race and ethnicity, payer type, and presence of a concurrent physical health diagnosis) using descriptive statistics and survey-weighted logistic regression. RESULTS: From 2005 to 2015, rates of prolonged LOS for pediatric mental health ED visits increased over time from 16.3% to 24.6% (LOS >6 hours) and 5.3% to 12.7% (LOS >12 hours), in contrast to non-mental health visits for which LOS remained stable. For mental health visits, Hispanic ethnicity was associated with an almost threefold odds of LOS >12 hours (odds ratio 2.74; 95% confidence interval 1.69-4.44); there was no difference in LOS by payer type. CONCLUSIONS: The substantial rise in prolonged LOS for mental health ED visits and disparity for Hispanic children suggest worsening and inequitable access to definitive pediatric mental health care. Policy makers and health systems should work to provide equitable and timely access to pediatric mental health care.

Equitable and Timely Care of Febrile Neonates: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVES: In pediatric emergency departments (EDs), racial/ethnic minorities are less likely to receive needed and timely care; however, clinical protocols have the potential to mitigate disparities. Neonatal fever management is protocolized in many EDs, but the timeliness to antibiotic administration is likely variable. We investigated the timeliness of antibiotic administration for febrile neonates and whether timeliness was associated with patients' race/ethnicity. METHODS: Retrospective cross-sectional study of febrile neonates evaluated in one pediatric ED that uses an evidence-based guideline for the management of neonatal fever between March 2010 and December 2015. Primary outcome was time from ED arrival to antibiotic administration. Analysis of variance tests compared mean time with antibiotic administration across race/ethnicity. Multivariable linear regression investigated racial/ethnic differences in time to antibiotic administration after adjusting for patient demographics, timing of visit, the number of physicians involved, and ED census. RESULTS: We evaluated 317 febrile neonates. Of the 269 patients with racial/ethnic data (84.9%), 54% were white non-Hispanic, 13% were black non-Hispanic, and 23% were Hispanic. The mean time to antibiotic administration was 204 minutes (range = 51-601 minutes). There was no significant association between patient race/ethnicity and time to first antibiotic administration. Emergency department census was significantly associated with timeliness. CONCLUSIONS: There was a 10-hour range in the time to antibiotic administration for febrile neonates; however, variability in timeliness did not differ by race or ethnicity. This study demonstrates the need to further examine the role of protocols in mitigating disparities as well as factors that influence timeliness in antibiotic administration to febrile neonates.

Health Equity Rounds: An Interdisciplinary Case Conference to Address Implicit Bias and Structural Racism for Faculty and Trainees.

Introduction: The medical community recognizes the importance of confronting structural racism and implicit bias to address health inequities. Several curricula aimed at teaching trainees about these issues are described in the literature. However, few curricula exist that engage faculty members as learners rather than teachers of these topics or target interdisciplinary audiences. Methods: We developed a longitudinal case conference curriculum called Health Equity Rounds (HER) to discuss and address the impact of structural racism and implicit bias on patient care. The curriculum engaged participants across training levels and disciplines on these topics utilizing case-based discussion, evidence-based exercises, and two relevant conceptual frameworks. It was delivered quarterly as part of a departmental case conference series. We evaluated HER's feasibility and acceptability by tracking conference attendance and administering postconference surveys. We analyzed quantitative survey data using descriptive statistics and qualitatively reviewed free-text comments. Results: We delivered seven 1-hour HER conferences at our institution from June 2016 to June 2018. A mean of 66 participants attended each HER. Most survey respondents (88% or more) indicated that HER promoted personal reflection on implicit bias, and 75% or more indicated that HER would impact their clinical practice. Discussion: HER provided a unique forum for practitioners across training levels to address structural racism and implicit bias. Our aim in dissemination is to provide meaningful tools for others to adapt at their own institutions, recognizing that HER should serve as a component of larger, multifaceted efforts to decrease structural racism and implicit bias in health care.