Antibiotic use among admitted pediatric patients in the United States with status asthmaticus before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: Hospital admission trends of children with status asthmaticus diminished during the Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020, possibly secondary to several factors such as school closures and use of face masks. What effect this had on antibiotic prescribing practices has yet to be described. The objective of our study was to evaluate the use of antibiotics in hospitalized children with a diagnosis of status asthmaticus before and during the COVID pandemic.Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted using the TriNetX® cloud-based program with a national and institutional database. Each database was queried for all inpatient pediatric encounters from 3 to 18 years old, admitted with a diagnosis of status asthmaticus in the spring seasons of 2017-2019. Admission data and antibiotic usage were queried during the COVID-19 pandemic year of 2020 from both databases and compared amongst all study years.Results: In 2020, there was an overall decrease in the number of admissions as compared to the average number from 2017-2019, by 76.9% in the national database (p < 0.05) and 91.2% in the institutional database. The rates of antibiotic prescriptions significantly dropped among the national database (p < 0.001, z = 3.39) and remained non-significantly changed among the institutional database (p = 0.944 and z = 0.073).Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that the COVID-19 pandemic year of 2020 coincided with a significant decrease in hospital admissions and antibiotic prescribing prevalence among children with status asthmaticus on a national level. Nonetheless, our reported trends in antibiotic prescribing are still grossly similar to that of pre-pandemic times and may demonstrate a continued need for antimicrobial stewardship.

Adhering to Social Distancing Rules Using a "Split Patient" Model With Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice in Pediatric High-Fidelity Simulations.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has required simulation-based medical education to adapt to physical distancing regulations in order to protect learners and facilitators. The "split patient" model allows for physical distancing of learners in pediatric high-fidelity simulations. This model was able to be used with the Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice to teach pediatric residents basic and advanced life support skills and the principles of Crisis Resource Management.

Recent Advances in Simulation for Pediatric Critical Care Medicine.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review highlights the emerging fields of simulation research by tying innovation into principles of learning and process improvement. RECENT FINDINGS: Advances have been made in both educational simulation and simulation for quality improvement, allowing this versatile modality to be more broadly applied to healthcare and systems. SUMMARY: Simulation in pediatric critical care medicine continues to evolve. Although the majority of simulation is focused on learner education, emerging research has broadened to focus on patient- and system-centered outcomes, leading to improvement in the quality of care delivered in the ICU.

Online Learning and Residents' Acquisition of Mechanical Ventilation Knowledge: Sequencing Matters.

OBJECTIVE: Rapid advancements in medicine and changing standards in medical education require new, efficient educational strategies. We investigated whether an online intervention could increase residents' knowledge and improve knowledge retention in mechanical ventilation when compared with a clinical rotation and whether the timing of intervention had an impact on overall knowledge gains. DESIGN: A prospective, interventional crossover study conducted from October 2015 to December 2017. SETTING: Multicenter study conducted in 33 PICUs across eight countries. SUBJECTS: Pediatric categorical residents rotating through the PICU for the first time. We allocated 483 residents into two arms based on rotation date to use an online intervention either before or after the clinical rotation. INTERVENTIONS: Residents completed an online virtual mechanical ventilation simulator either before or after a 1-month clinical rotation with a 2-month period between interventions. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Performance on case-based, multiple-choice question tests before and after each intervention was used to quantify knowledge gains and knowledge retention. Initial knowledge gains in residents who completed the online intervention (average knowledge gain, 6.9%; SD, 18.2) were noninferior compared with those who completed 1 month of a clinical rotation (average knowledge gain, 6.1%; SD, 18.9; difference, 0.8%; 95% CI, -5.05 to 6.47; p = 0.81). Knowledge retention was greater following completion of the online intervention when compared with the clinical rotation when controlling for time (difference, 7.6%; 95% CI, 0.7-14.5; p = 0.03). When the online intervention was sequenced before (average knowledge gain, 14.6%; SD, 15.4) rather than after (average knowledge gain, 7.0%; SD, 19.1) the clinical rotation, residents had superior overall knowledge acquisition (difference, 7.6%; 95% CI, 2.01-12.97;p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating an interactive online educational intervention prior to a clinical rotation may offer a strategy to prime learners for the upcoming rotation, augmenting clinical learning in graduate medical education.

Using Mirror Patients to Enhance Patient Safety.

STATEMENT: Unannounced, in situ simulations offer opportunities for interprofessional teams to train for pediatric emergencies and uncover latent safety threats (LST). Simulation fidelity is an important component of in situ simulations. Threats to fidelity include creating a fictional patient vignette, which limits realism and the opportunity for patient handoffs. The "mirror patient" model may enhance in situ simulation fidelity by using actual patient profiles, thereby removing vignettes and allowing for handoffs. This model may also aid in discovering LSTs. The mirror patient was positively received by participants, who reported realistic and useful simulation experience that provided a safe and supportive learning environment. Uncovering, recording, and reviewing LSTs into an institutional safety event reporting system allowed for tracking and accountability, including process improvement, equipment changes, and provider training without risk to any real patient. This model may further improve means to enhance hospital patient safety.

The Effect of an Electronic SBAR Communication Tool on Documentation of Acute Events in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

The Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation (SBAR) handoff tool is designed to improve communication. The effects of integrating an electronic medical record (EMR) with a SBAR template are unclear. The research team hypothesizes that an electronic SBAR template improves documentation and communication between nurses and physicians. In all, 84 patient events were recorded from 542 admissions to the pediatric intensive care unit. Three time periods were studied: (a) paper documentation only, (b) electronic documentation, and (c) electronic documentation with an SBAR template. Documentation quality was assessed using a 4-point scoring system. The frequency of event notes increased progressively during the 3 study periods. Mean quality scores improved significantly from paper documentation to EMR free-text notes and to electronic SBAR-template notes, as did nurse and attending physician notification. The implementation of an electronic SBAR note is associated with more complete documentation and increased frequency of documentation of communication among nurses and physicians.

Characteristics and outcomes of pediatric rapid response teams before and after mandatory triggering by an elevated Pediatric Early Warning System (PEWS) score.

BACKGROUND: The Pediatric Early Warning System (PEWS) was created to identify unstable patients before their deterioration. Rapid response teams (RRTs) were developed to assist with management of such patients. In 2009, our institution mandated the activation of RRTs if a PEWS score was elevated (ie, ≥5). OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to examine changes in characteristics of RRT calls before and after the implementation of a mandatory hospital policy requiring RRT activation due to an elevated PEWS score. METHODS: This study was a retrospective database review, with RRT data from June 2007 to December 2010 examined. A total of 44 RRTs were recorded before mandatory triggering and 69 RRTs afterward in the study period (P = .32). RESULTS: Compared with the premandatory group, the mandatory triggering group found that tachycardia was a more frequent trigger for RRTs, with an increase of 26.1% (P = .004). RRTs triggered by a change in mental status/agitation decreased by 22.9% (P = .009). An increase of 15.1% of RRTs required no interventions with mandatory triggering. Nighttime RRTs increased by17.5% (P = .07). There was a trend toward decreased PICU transfers in the mandatory triggering group, with no significant change in code blue calls. CONCLUSIONS: A hospital policy of mandating RRT activation based on PEWS scores increased nighttime calls and altered the primary reasons for RRT activation in our center, with no evidence of improvements in patient care. These findings should be interpreted with caution given the relatively rare outcomes the policy is intended to prevent; however, our findings highlight the difficulties inherent in evaluating methods to improve pediatric patient safety.

Establishing early enteral nutrition with the use of self-advancing postpyloric feeding tube in critically ill children.

INTRODUCTION: Early nutrition support is an integral part of the care of critically ill children. Early enteral nutrition (EN) improves nitrogen balance and prevents bacterial translocation and gut mucosal atrophy. Adequate EN is often not achieved as gastric feeds are not tolerated and placing postpyloric feeding tubes can be difficult. Spontaneous transpyloric passage of standard feeding tubes without endoscopic intervention or use of anesthesia can range from 30%-80%. The authors report on their experience with a 14Fr polyurethane self-advancing jejunal feeding tube in a pediatric population. These tubes have been used in the adult population with success, but to the authors' knowledge, there have been no reports of its use in the pediatric age group. CASE SERIES: The authors present 7 critically ill patients 8-19 years old, admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit, in whom prolonged recovery, inability to tolerate gastric feeds, and dependence on ventilator were predicted at the outset. The jejunal feeding tube was successfully placed on first attempt at the bedside in all 7 patients within the first 24 hours without the use of a promotility agent or endoscopic intervention. Nutrition goal achieved within 48 hours of feeding tube placement was reported for each patient. This case series demonstrates that children fed via the small bowel reached their nutrition goal earlier and did not require parenteral nutrition. CONCLUSION: The self-advancing jejunal feeding tube can be used effectively to establish early EN in critically ill children.