Prioritization of Randomized Clinical Trial Questions for Children Hospitalized With Common Conditions: A Consensus Statement.

Importance: There is a lack of randomized clinical trial (RCT) data to guide many routine decisions in the care of children hospitalized for common conditions. A first step in addressing the shortage of RCTs for this population is to identify the most pressing RCT questions for children hospitalized with common conditions. Objective: To identify the most important and feasible RCT questions for children hospitalized with common conditions. Design, Setting, and Participants: For this consensus statement, a 3-stage modified Delphi process was used in a virtual conference series spanning January 1 to September 29, 2022. Forty-six individuals from 30 different institutions participated in the process. Stage 1 involved construction of RCT questions for the 10 most common pediatric conditions leading to hospitalization. Participants used condition-specific guidelines and reviews from a structured literature search to inform their development of RCT questions. During stage 2, RCT questions were refined and scored according to importance. Stage 3 incorporated public comment and feasibility with the prioritization of RCT questions. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was RCT questions framed in a PICO (population, intervention, control, and outcome) format and ranked according to importance and feasibility; score choices ranged from 1 to 9, with higher scores indicating greater importance and feasibility. Results: Forty-six individuals (38 who shared demographic data; 24 women [63%]) from 30 different institutions participated in our modified Delphi process. Participants included children's hospital (n = 14) and community hospital (n = 13) pediatricians, parents of hospitalized children (n = 4), other clinicians (n = 2), biostatisticians (n = 2), and other researchers (n = 11). The process yielded 62 unique RCT questions, most of which are pragmatic, comparing interventions in widespread use for which definitive effectiveness data are lacking. Overall scores for importance and feasibility of the RCT questions ranged from 1 to 9, with a median of 5 (IQR, 4-7). Six of the top 10 selected questions focused on determining optimal antibiotic regimens for 3 common infections (pneumonia, urinary tract infection, and cellulitis). Conclusions and Relevance: This consensus statementhas identified the most important and feasible RCT questions for children hospitalized with common conditions. This list of RCT questions can guide investigators and funders in conducting impactful trials to improve care and outcomes for hospitalized children.

A Qualitative Intervention Evaluation of Neonatal Virtual Family-Centered Rounds.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct an implementation evaluation of the virtual family-centered rounds (FCR) intervention by exploring the perceptions and experiences of parents and care team providers. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative descriptive study using a thematic analysis of unobtrusive observations of rounding encounters and semi-structured interviews with the parents of discharged infants and members of the neonatal care team. Eligible participants had used virtual FCR at least once. Five research team members independently performed focused coding and memo writing of transcripts and observation fieldnotes. The team met weekly to compare and refine codes, update the interview guide, develop tentative categories, and discuss the theoretical direction. RESULTS: We conducted 406 minutes of unobtrusive observations and 21 interviews with parents, physicians, neonatal nurse practitioners, bedside nurses, dieticians, and pharmacists. Three themes and 13 subthemes emerged from the analysis: (1) virtual FCR improved perceived care delivery and clinical outcomes through increased opportunities for parent engagement, (2) the acceptance of virtual FCR by providers grew over time despite the persistent presence of technical challenges, and (3) the implementation of virtual FCR should be standardized and delivered by the care team to enhance usability, effectiveness, and sustainability. CONCLUSIONS: Virtual FCR is perceived by NICU parents and care team providers to be a valuable intervention that can enhance family centered care. The identified virtual FCR implementation strategies should be tested in further studies.

Evaluating Screening to Assess Endorsement of Food Insecurity in the Inpatient Setting.

OBJECTIVE: Rates of food insecurity (FI) from screening in the inpatient setting is often not reflective of community prevalence, indicating that screening likely misses families with FI. We aimed to determine the combination of FI screening questions and methods that would result in identifying a percentage of FI families that matched or exceeded our area prevalence (approximately 20%). METHODS: Research staff approached eligible English- and Spanish-speaking families across 4 inpatient units once weekly and screened for FI using a randomly selected method (face-to-face, phone, paper, and tablet). We asked questions from the 6-Item USDA Survey, Hunger Vital Sign screener, and questions utilized by our social workers. RESULTS: We screened 361 families; 19.4% (N = 70) endorsed FI. Differences in rates were not significant by method. Differences in FI rates based on screening questions were: 17.7% for the 6-item USDA survey, 16.0% for Hunger Vital Sign, and 3.1% for the social work questions. When considering method and screening questions together, the 6-Item USDA on paper had the highest positivity rate of 20.9%. A higher percentage of Spanish-speaking families endorsed FI (61.1%) compared to 17.2% of English-speaking families (P < .01). Positivity also varied significantly by self-identified race (P < .01). Caregivers that identified as Hispanic or Latino were significantly more likely to endorse FI than those that did not (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: The positivity rate for FI while screening inpatient families using the 6-Item screening questions on paper matched our community prevalence of FI (approximately 20%).

Telemedicine vs Telephone Consultations and Medication Prescribing Errors Among Referring Physicians: A Cluster Randomized Crossover Trial.

Importance: Critically ill children presenting to emergency departments (EDs) in non-children's hospitals are at high risk for experiencing medical errors, including medication errors. Video telemedicine consultations with pediatric specialists have the potential to reduce the risk of medication errors beyond the current standard of care, telephone consultations. Objective: To compare the rates of ED physician-related medication errors among critically ill children randomized to receive either video telemedicine or telephone consultations. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cluster randomized, unbalanced crossover trial was conducted at 15 community EDs in northern California between September 2014 and March 2018. Analyses were conducted from May 2022 to January 2023. Participants included acutely ill children younger than 15 years presenting to a participating ED. Interventions: Participating EDs were randomized to use video telemedicine or telephone for consultations with pediatric critical care physicians according to 1 of 4 unbalanced (3 telemedicine to 1 telephone) crossover treatment assignment sequences. Main Outcomes and Measures: Pharmacists reviewed medical records to document physician-related medication errors using a previously validated instrument. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed to create models with the medication order as the unit of analysis and adjusting for age, the log-transformed Revised Pediatric Emergency Assessment Tool score, and hospital study period. Results: A total of 696 patient encounters were included in the trial (mean [SD] age, 4.2 [4.6] years; median [IQR] age, 2.1 [0.5-2.1] years; 304 female [43.7%]), with 537 patient encounters (77.2%) assigned to video telemedicine and 159 patient encounters (22.8%) assigned to telephone. At least 1 physician-related medication error occurred for 87 patients (12.5%), including 20 of 159 patients (12.6%) in the telephone cohort and 67 of 537 patients (12.5%) in the telemedicine cohort. Of the 2414 medication orders, errors occurred in 124 cases (5.1%), including 26 of 513 orders (5.1%) in the telephone cohort and 98 of 1901 orders (5.2%) in the telemedicine cohort. In the multivariable analysis, the adjusted odds ratio of experiencing a medication error among those assigned to telemedicine was 0.86 (95% CI, 0.49-1.52; P = .61). Conclusions and Relevance: This cluster randomized crossover trial found no statistically significant differences in physician-related medication errors between critically ill children assigned to receive telephone consultations vs video telemedicine consultations. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02877810.

Impact of Tele-Emergency Consultations on Pediatric Interfacility Transfers: A Cluster-Randomized Crossover Trial.

Importance: Pediatric referral centers are increasingly using telemedicine to provide consultations to help care for acutely ill children presenting to rural and community emergency departments (EDs). These pediatric telemedicine consultations may help improve physician decision-making and may reduce the frequency of overtriage and interfacility transfers. Objective: To examine the use of pediatric critical care telemedicine vs telephone consultations associated with risk-adjusted transfer rates of acutely ill children from community and rural EDs. Design, Setting, and Participants: A cluster-randomized crossover trial was conducted between November 18, 2015, and March 26, 2018. Analyses were conducted from January 19, 2018, to July 23, 2022, 2022. Participants included acutely ill children aged 14 years and younger presenting to a participating ED in 15 rural and community EDs in northern California. Interventions: Participating EDs were randomized to use telemedicine or telephone for consultations with pediatric critical care physicians according to 1 of 4 unbalanced (3 telemedicine:1 telephone) crossover treatment assignment sequences. Main Outcomes and Measures: Intention-to-treat, treatment-received, and per-protocol analyses were performed to determine the risk of transfer using mixed effects Poisson regression analyses with random intercepts for presenting EDs to account for hospital-level clustering. Results: A total of 696 children (392 boys [56.3%]; mean [SD] age, 4.2 [4.6] years) were enrolled. Of the 537 children (77.2%) assigned to telemedicine, 251 (46.7%) received the intervention. In the intention-to-treat analysis, patients assigned to the telemedicine arm were less likely to be transferred compared with patients assigned to the telephone arm after adjusting for patient age, severity of illness, and hospital study period (risk rate [RR], 0.93; 95% CI, 0.88-0.99). The adjusted risk of transfer was significantly lower in the telemedicine arm compared with the telephone arm in both the treatment-received analysis (RR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.71-0.94) and the per-protocol analysis (RR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.68-0.92). Conclusions and Relevance: In this randomized trial, the use of telemedicine to conduct consultations for acutely ill children in rural and community EDs resulted in less frequent overall interfacility transfers than consultations done by telephone. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02877810.

Disconnection in Information Exchange During Pediatric Trauma Transfers: A Qualitative Study.

Pediatric patients experiencing an emergency department (ED) visit for a traumatic injury often transfer from the referring ED to a pediatric trauma center. This qualitative study sought to evaluate the experience of information exchange during pediatric trauma visits to referring EDs from the perspectives of parents and referring and accepting clinicians through semi-structured interviews. Twenty-five interviews were conducted (10 parents and 15 clinicians) and analyzed through qualitative thematic analysis. A 4-person team collaboratively identified codes, wrote memos, developed major themes, and discussed theoretical concepts. Three interdependent themes emerged: (1) Parents' and clinicians' distinct experiences result in a disconnect of information exchange needs; (2) systems factors inhibit effective information exchange and amplify the disconnect; and (3) situational context disrupts the flow of information contributing to the disconnect. Individual-, situational-, and systems-level factors contribute to disconnects in the information exchanged between parents and clinicians. Understanding how these factors' influence information disconnect may offer avenues for improving patient-clinician communication in trauma transfers.

Virtual Family-Centered Rounds in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial.

OBJECTIVES: To measure the feasibility, reach, and potential impact of a virtual family-centered rounds (FCR) intervention in the neonatal intensive care unit. METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled pilot trial with a 2:1 intervention-to-control arm allocation ratio. Caregivers of intervention arm neonates were invited to participate in virtual FCR plus standard of care. We specified 5 feasibility objectives. We profiled intervention usage by neonatal and maternal characteristics. Exploratory outcomes included FCR caregiver attendance, length of stay, breast milk feeding at discharge, caregiver experience, and medical errors. We performed descriptive analyses to calculate proportions, means, and rates with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: We included 74 intervention and 36 control subjects. Three of the five feasibility objectives were met based on the point estimates. The recruitment and intervention uptake objectives were not achieved. Among intervention arm subjects, recruitment of a caregiver occurred for 47 (63.5%, 95% CI 51.5%-74.4%) neonates. Caregiver use of the intervention occurred for 36 (48.6%, 95% CI 36.8%-60.6%) neonates in the intervention arm. Feasibility objectives assessing technical issues, burden, and data collection were achieved. Among the attempted virtual encounters, 95.0% (95% CI 91.5%-97.3%) had no technical issues. The survey response rate was 87.5% (95% CI 78.2%-93.8%). Intervention arm neonates had 3.36 (95% CI 2.66%-4.23) times the FCR caregiver attendance rate of subjects in the control arm. CONCLUSIONS: A randomized trial to compare virtual FCR to standard of care in neonatal subjects is feasible and has potential to improve patient and caregiver outcomes.

Improving Pediatric Resident Safety Event Reporting Using Quality Improvement Methods.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Safety event reporting systems facilitate identification of system-level targets to improve patient safety. Resident physicians report few safety events despite their role as frontline providers and the frequent occurrence of events. The objective of this study is to increase the number of pediatric resident safety event submissions from <1 to 4 submissions per 14-day period within 12 months. METHODS: We conducted an iterative quality improvement process with 39 pediatric residents at a children's hospital. Interventions focused on 4 key drivers: user-friendly event submission process, resident buy-in, nonpunitive safety culture, and data transparency. The primary outcome measure of number of pediatric resident event submissions was analyzed by using statistical process control. Balancing measures included time from submission to feedback, duplicate submissions, and nonevent submissions. As a control, the primary outcome measure was monitored for nonpediatric residents during the same period. RESULTS: The mean number of pediatric resident event submissions increased from 0.9 to 5.7 submissions per 14 days. Impactful interventions included a designated space in the resident workroom to list safety events to submit, monthly project updates, and an interresident competition. There were no duplicate submissions or nonevent submissions in the postintervention period. Time to feedback in the postintervention period had both upward and downward shifts, with >8 consecutive points above and below the baseline period's centerline. The control group showed no sustained change in event submissions. CONCLUSIONS: Our improvement process was associated with significant increase in pediatric resident safety event submissions without an increase in the number of submissions categorized as duplicates or nonevents.

Impact of a Parent Video Viewing Program in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Purpose: Video visits, or televisits, have become increasingly popular across various medical subspecialties. Within the University of California, Davis, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a video visitation program known as FamilyLink allows families to remotely view their babies when they are otherwise unable to visit. This study aimed to explore parents' perceived effects of video camera use as well as the relationship of video visit use with rates of breast milk feedings at hospital discharge. Materials and Methods: Families enrolled in this study completed a series of two identical surveys that gathered self-reported data on their experiences during their infant's hospitalization. Comparisons were made considering whether the FamilyLink program was utilized during the admission as well as changes in self-reported experiences over the time course of the hospital admission. The type of enteral feeding at discharge was recorded and reviewed for each baby. Results: Of 100 families enrolled in the study, 30 were found to have used FamilyLink to visit with their baby. The use of FamilyLink was associated with survey findings of sustained intention to breastfeed or provide breast milk to the baby, as well as increased perceived parental involvement in the baby's care. Improved rates of breast milk feedings at the time of discharge were also found among babies whose families conducted televisits using FamilyLink. Conclusions: Video viewing in the NICU has effected a positive impact on breast milk feedings and parents' feelings of involvement during the admission, with the potential to further improve on families' experiences with a hospitalized baby.

Testing Pediatric Emergency Telemedicine Implementation Strategies Using Quality Improvement Methods.

Background: Despite the recognized benefits of telemedicine use for pediatric emergency consultations, there are barriers to the widespread uptake of this technology. Quality improvement methods can be used to rapidly test implementation strategies. Our objective was to test telemedicine implementation strategies in real-world application using quality improvement methods. Our quality improvement aim was to achieve high rates of telemedicine use for pediatric transfer consultations. Methods: A multidisciplinary multisite improvement team identified that key drivers of increasing telemedicine use included telemedicine resource awareness, streamlined telemedicine workflow, provider buy-in, and data transparency. Interventions focused on telemedicine trainings, disseminating telemedicine uptake data, telemedicine reminders, telemedicine test calls, and preparing for telemedicine use for every transfer consultation. The outcome measure was percentage of pediatric emergency transfer consultations that used telemedicine. The balancing measure was time (minutes) from the initial transfer center call to completion of the consultation. Results: Multiple plan-do-study-act cycles were associated with special cause variation, with an upward shift in mean percentage of telemedicine use from 5% to 22%. Time from initial call to consultation completion remained unchanged. Conclusion: Our study supports the use of quality improvement methods to test telemedicine implementation strategies for pediatric telemedicine emergency consultations.

Developing an Interfacility Transfer Handoff Intervention: Applying the Person-Based Approach Method.

OBJECTIVE: To develop an interfacility transfer handoff intervention by applying the person-based approach method. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative study that used nominal group technique (NGT) and focus groups to apply the person-based approach for intervention development. NGT methods were used to determine prioritized pediatric transfer handoff elements to design the initial intervention prototype. Five focus group sessions were then held to solicit feedback on the intervention, perceptions on implementing the intervention, and outcomes for evaluating the intervention. Data were analyzed by using content analysis. Iterative improvements were made to the intervention prototype as data emerged. RESULTS: Forty-two clinical providers in total participated in NGT and focus group sessions, including physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, and a respiratory therapist. The initial intervention prototype was a handoff mnemonic tool, "SHARING" (short introduction, how the patient appeared, action taken, responses and results, interpretation, next steps, gather documents). Perceived benefits of the intervention included clarifying handoff expectations, reducing handoff deficits, supporting less experienced clinical providers, and setting the stage for ongoing effective communication. Outcomes perceived to be meaningful were related to triage appropriateness, workflow and use, and communication and information sharing. The final version of the intervention consisted of a SHARING reference card and a SHARING electronic medical record note template. CONCLUSIONS: Using qualitative methods to apply the person-based approach to intervention development, we developed a transfer handoff intervention. Future research is needed to examine impacts of this tool; outcomes can include those identified as meaningful by participants in our present study.

Home Visits for Children and Adolescents with Uncontrolled Type 1 Diabetes.

Background: Home-based video visits were provided over one year as a supplement to in-person care for pediatric type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients with suboptimal glycemic control. We hypothesized that the intervention would be feasible and satisfactory for the target population and would significantly improve hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels and completion of recommended quarterly diabetes clinic visits. Methods: This was a nonrandomized clinical trial. Fifty-seven patients aged 3-17 years with known T1D and HbA1c ≥8% (64 mmol/mol) were recruited to receive the intervention. The study population was 49% adolescent (13-17 years old) and 58% publicly insured patients. Video visits were scheduled every 4, 6, or 8 weeks depending on the HbA1c level. HbA1c levels as well as frequencies of clinic visits and of diabetes-related emergency department (ED) and hospital encounters were compared before and after the study. Results: Thirty participants completed 12 months of video visits. The study cohort demonstrated significant improvement in mean HbA1c in both intention-to-treat (N = 57) analysis (10.8% [95 mmol/mol] to 10.0% [86 mmol/mol], P = 0.01) and per-protocol (N = 30) analysis (10.8% [95 mmol/mol] to 9.6% [81 mmol/mol], P = 0.004). Completion of ≥4 annual diabetes clinic visits improved significantly from 21% at baseline to 83% during the study period for the entire cohort, P < 0.0001. The frequency of diabetes-related ED and hospital encounters did not change significantly. Conclusions: Home-based video visits are a feasible supplement to in-person care for children and adolescents with T1D and suboptimal glycemic control and can successfully improve HbA1c levels and adherence to recommended frequency of care in this high-risk clinical population.

Telemedicine for Interfacility Nurse Handoffs.

OBJECTIVE: To compare nurse preparedness and quality of patient handoff during interfacility transfers from a pretransfer emergency department to a PICU when conducted over telemedicine versus telephone. DESIGN: Cross-sectional nurse survey linked with patient electronic medical record data using multivariable, multilevel analysis. SETTING: Tertiary PICU within an academic children's hospital. PARTICIPANTS: PICU nurses who received a patient handoff between October 2017 and July 2018. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN RESULTS AND MEASUREMENTS: Among 239 eligible transfers, 106 surveys were completed by 55 nurses (44% survey response rate). Telemedicine was used for 30 handoffs (28%), and telephone was used for 76 handoffs (72%). Patients were comparable with respect to age, sex, race, primary spoken language, and insurance, but handoffs conducted over telemedicine involved patients with higher illness severity as measured by the Pediatric Risk of Mortality III score (4.4 vs 1.9; p = 0.05). After adjusting for Pediatric Risk of Mortality III score, survey recall time, and residual clustering by nurse, receiving nurses reported higher preparedness (measured on a five-point adjectival scale) following telemedicine handoffs compared with telephone handoffs (3.4 vs 3.1; p = 0.02). There were no statistically significant differences in both bivariable and multivariable analyses of handoff quality as measured by the Handoff Clinical Evaluation Exercise. Handoffs using telemedicine were associated with increased number of Illness severity, Patient summary, Action list, Situation awareness and contingency planning, Synthesis by receiver components (3.3 vs 2.8; p = 0.04), but this difference was not significant in the adjusted analysis (3.1 vs 2.9; p = 0.55). CONCLUSIONS: Telemedicine is feasible for nurse-to-nurse handoffs of critically ill patients between pretransfer and receiving facilities and may be associated with increased perceived and objective nurse preparedness upon patient arrival. Additional research is needed to demonstrate that telemedicine during nurse handoffs improves communication, decreases preventable adverse events, and impacts family and provider satisfaction.

Acceptability, Usability, and Effectiveness: A Qualitative Study Evaluating a Pediatric Telemedicine Program.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric emergency telemedicine consultations have been shown to provide support to community emergency departments treating critically ill pediatric patients. However, despite the recognized value of telemedicine, adoption has been slow. To determine why clinicians frequently do not use telemedicine when it is available for pediatric patients, as well as to learn how to improve telemedicine programs, we conducted a qualitative study using stakeholder interviews. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative study using grounded theory methodology, with in-depth interviews of referring and accepting physicians and referring, transport, and transfer center nurses. We analyzed data iteratively and adapted the interview guide based on early interviews. We solicited feedback from the participants on the conceptual model. RESULTS: Sixteen interviews were conducted; all respondents had been involved in a telemedicine consultation at least five times, with some having used telemedicine more than 30 times. Analysis resulted in three themes: 1) recognizing and addressing telemedicine biases are central to gaining buy-in; 2) as technology advances, telemedicine processes need to adapt accordingly; and 3) telemedicine increases collaboration among health care providers and patients/families in the patient care process. CONCLUSIONS: To improve patient care through increased use of telemedicine for pediatric emergency consultations, processes need to be modified to address provider biases and end-user concerns. Processes should be adapted to allow users to utilize a variety of technologies (including smartphones) and to enable more users, such as nurses, to participate. Finally, telemedicine can be used to improve the patient and family experience by including them in consultations.

You Don't Know What You Don't Know: Using Nominal Group Technique to Identify and Prioritize Education Topics for Regional Hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Our 121-bed children's hospital is a quaternary care referral center for a 33-county region. Referring hospitals asked for Pediatric Acute Care Education Sessions (PACES). To determine which topics to prioritize for these sessions, nominal group technique (NGT) methods were used to obtain stakeholder-prioritized consensus on education topics. METHODS: Five NGT sessions were conducted over 6 weeks at referring hospitals throughout central and northern California. Each session lasted ∼90 minutes and engaged a diverse multidisciplinary group of stakeholders. At these sessions, stakeholders answered the question "What are your top 5 clinical topics that should be prioritized by PACES?" NGT numeric ranking methods were used to determine prioritized topics. A thematic analysis was performed on the session transcripts. RESULTS: The 5 sessions had 43 total participants, including nurses, respiratory therapists, physicians, and administrators. The top 4 prioritized topics were sepsis, diabetic ketoacidosis, respiratory failure or support, and bronchiolitis and/or respiratory syncytial virus. Unique education needs for each hospital were also uncovered in the NGT discussion. Three qualitative themes emerged from the discussion: diverse educational needs, the need for guidelines on telemedicine and transfer, and relationship building. CONCLUSIONS: The use of NGT to engage multisite, multidisciplinary stakeholders helped to inform an education program. The use of NGT methods provided rich information that would not have been obtained through surveys alone and helped facilitate relationship building. The PACES group was able to identify and prioritize education topics of interest to referring community hospitals.

The Use of Telemedicine to Address Disparities in Access to Specialist Care for Neonates.

Introduction: Outcomes for premature and critically ill neonates are improved with care provided by neonatologists in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). For smaller hospitals, maintaining the personnel and equipment necessary for the delivery and care of unexpectedly high-risk neonates is a significant challenge. To address this disparity in access, telemedicine has been increasingly used to support providers, patients, and their families in community newborn nurseries and NICUs. The purpose of this review is to present the current state of the use of telemedicine by regional NICUs to support community newborn nurseries, NICUs, and families. Methods: A literature review was conducted by two independent reviewers. Articles were selected for inclusion if they described the use of telemedicine with neonates or in the NICU. Two reviewers assessed the quality of the articles using the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Study Quality Assessment Tools. Results: Fourteen articles were identified. After consensus discussion, eight of the articles were rated good and six were rated fair by the two reviewers. Many of the articles suggested improvements in quality of care, family satisfaction, and reductions in the cost of care. Unfortunately, a majority of the studies to date have had small sample sizes or were performed in a single institution and lacked robust evaluations of patient- and family-centered outcomes and provider decision making. Conclusions: While these early studies are promising, more robust studies involving more patients and more institutions are needed to identify opportunities where telemedicine can impact health outcomes, patient-centeredness, or costs of care of neonates.

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.

Illness Severity of Children Admitted to the PICU From Referring Emergency Departments.

OBJECTIVES: To compare patient factors and outcomes among children admitted to PICUs from referring versus children's hospital emergency departments (EDs). METHODS: Pediatric patients (<19 years old) admitted to PICUs from referring and children's hospital EDs from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2013. We compared demographic and clinical factors, including severity of illness as measured by a recalibrated Pediatric Index of Mortality, version 2 score. RESULTS: Of 80 045 children from 109 PICUs, 35.6% were admitted from referring EDs and 64.4% were admitted from children's hospital EDs. Children from referring EDs had higher illness severity (Pediatric Index of Mortality, version 2-predicted risk of mortality, 3.1% vs 2.2%, P < .001), were more likely to be mechanically ventilated within their first hour in the PICU (28.4% vs 23.4%, P < .001), and had higher observed mortality (3.3% vs 2.1%, P < .001). Once adjusted for illness severity and other confounders in a multivariable logistic regression model, there was no difference in the odds of mortality between children from referring and children's hospital EDs (odds ratio: 0.90; 95% confidence interval: 0.79 to 1.02, P = .09) CONCLUSIONS: Children transferred to PICUs from referring EDs had higher illness severity on arrival compared with children admitted from children's hospital EDs. Variations in patient selection for transfer or pretransfer treatment at referring EDs may contribute to the greater illness severity of transferred children. Referring hospitals may benefit from leveraging existing resources to improve patient stabilization before transfer.

Caregiver Perspectives on Communication During Hospitalization at an Academic Pediatric Institution: A Qualitative Study.

OBJECTIVE: Communication among those involved in a child's care during hospitalization can mitigate or exacerbate family stress and confusion. As part of a broader qualitative study, we present an in-depth understanding of communication issues experienced by families during their child's hospitalization and during the transition to home. METHODS: Focus groups and individual interviews stratified by socioeconomic status included caregivers of children recently discharged from a children's hospital after acute illnesses. An open-ended, semistructured question guide designed by investigators included communication-related questions addressing information shared with families from the medical team about discharge, diagnoses, instructions, and care plans. By using an inductive thematic analysis, 4 investigators coded transcripts and resolved differences through consensus. RESULTS: A total of 61 caregivers across 11 focus groups and 4 individual interviews participated. Participants were 87% female and 46% non-white. Analyses resulted in 3 communication-related themes. The first theme detailed experiences affecting caregiver perceptions of communication between the inpatient medical team and families. The second revealed communication challenges related to the teaching hospital environment, including confusing messages associated with large multidisciplinary teams, aspects of family-centered rounds, and confusion about medical team member roles. The third reflected caregivers' perceptions of communication between providers in and out of the hospital, including types of communication caregivers observed or believed occurred between medical providers. CONCLUSIONS: Participating caregivers identified various communication concerns and challenges during their child's hospitalization and transition home. Caregiver perspectives can inform strategies to improve experiences, ease challenges inherent to a teaching hospital, and determine which types of communication are most effective.

Improving Recruitment and Retention Rates in a Randomized Controlled Trial.

High recruitment and retention rates in randomized controlled trials are essential to ensure validity and broad generalizability. We used quality improvement methods, including run charts and intervention cycles, to achieve and sustain high recruitment and retention rates during the Hospital-To-Home Outcomes randomized controlled trial. This study is examining the effects of a single nurse-led home health care visit after discharge for an acute pediatric hospitalization. A total of 1500 participants were enrolled in the 15-month study period. For study recruitment, we assessed the percentage of patients who enrolled in the study among those randomly selected to approach (goal ≥50%) and the percentage of patients who refused to enroll from those randomly selected to approach (goal ≤30%). For intervention completion, we examined the percentage of patients who completed the home visit intervention among those randomized to receive the intervention (goal ≥95%) were examined. Follow-up rates were tracked as the percentage of patients who completed the 14-day follow-up telephone survey (goal ≥95%). The study goals for 2 of the 4 metrics were met and sustained, with statistically significant improvements over time in 3 metrics. The median enrollment rate increased from 50% to 59%, and the median refusal rate decreased from 37% to 32%. The median intervention completion rate remained unchanged at 88%. The 14-day follow-up completion median rate increased from 94% to 96%. These results indicate that quality improvement methods can be used within the scope of a large research study to achieve and sustain high recruitment and retention rates.