Etiologies, trends, and predictors of 30-day pediatric readmissions after hospitalizations for diabetic ketoacidosis in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the causes, predictors, and trends of 30-day readmissions following hospitalizations for pediatric diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in the United States (US) from 2010 to 2014. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We used International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision, Clinical Modification codes to identify children with DKA aged 2 to 18 years from the National Readmission Database in the US. Patients who had readmission within 30 days after an index admission for DKA were included in the study. We combined similar diagnoses into clinically important categories to determine the cause of readmission. The primary outcome was all-cause 30-day (AC30) readmissions. Categorical and continuous variables were analyzed using chi-square or student's t-test or Wilcoxon rank sum tests respectively. We performed multivariable logistic regression to identify predictors of 30-day readmission. RESULTS: From 2010 through 2014, a weighted total of 87 815 index DKA-related pediatric hospitalizations were identified of which, 4055 patients (4.6%) had AC30 readmissions and this remained unchanged during the study period. Of all the readmissions, 69% were attributed to DKA. In multivariable regression analysis, the odds of AC30 readmission and 30-day readmission attributed to DKA alone were increased for females, adolescents, patients with depression and psychosis, and discharge against medical advice, while private insurance, the highest income quartile, and admission at teaching hospitals were associated with lower odds of AC30 readmission and 30-day readmission attributed to DKA only. CONCLUSION: We identified several factors associated with readmission after hospitalization for DKA. Addressing these factors such as depression may help lower readmissions after an admission for DKA.

Antimüllerian hormone as a measure of reproductive function in female childhood cancer survivors.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of measuring antimüllerian hormone (AMH) in childhood cancer survivors to assess ovarian reserve, pubertal status, and fertility potential. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Academic medical center. PATIENT(S): Fifty-three female childhood cancer survivors, median age 13.9 years (range: 9-25 years) recruited at least 1 year from completion of cancer therapy. INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Serum AMH, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and estradiol measurements, pubertal/menstrual history and Tanner staging, with risk of gonadotoxicity classified as low or high based on chemotherapy agent and pelvic/abdominal radiation. RESULT(S): Thirty-one of the 53 patients (58%) in the cohort had diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) detected by an AMH value <1 ng/mL. We detected DOR by a FSH value of >12 IU/mL in 17 patients (32%). The patients exposed to high-risk chemotherapy or pelvic radiation were at statistically significantly higher risk for DOR as measured by their AMH level. The AMH level was also statistically significantly lower in the patients who had delayed puberty. CONCLUSION(S): Using the serum gonadotropins level to screen childhood cancer survivors for ovarian failure is a suboptimal method. The AMH value identified the patients at risk for delayed puberty and those who could benefit from fertility preservation counseling, which makes AMH perhaps the optimal screening tool for assessing ovarian reserve in this population.