Use of central venous access devices outside of the pediatric intensive care units.

BACKGROUND: Central venous access devices (CVAD) are associated with central line associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) and venous thromboembolism (VTE). We identified trends in non-intensive care unit (ICU) CVAD utilization, described complication rates, and compared resources between low and high CVAD sites. METHODS: We combined data from the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database and surveys from included hospitals. We analyzed 10-year trends in CVAD encounters for non-ICU children between 01/2012-12/2021 and described variation and complication rates between 01/2017-12/2021. Using Fisher's exact test, we compared resources between low and high CVAD users. RESULTS: CVAD use decreased from 6.3% to 3.8% of hospitalizations over 10 years. From 2017-2021, 67,830 encounters with CVAD were identified. Median age was 7 (IQR 2-13) years; 46% were female. Significant variation in CVAD utilization exists (range 1.4-16.9%). Rates of CLABSI and VTE were 4.0% and 3.4%, respectively. Survey responses from 33/41 (80%) hospitals showed 91% had vascular access teams, 30% used vascular access selection guides, and 70% used midline/long peripheral catheters. Low CVAD users were more likely to have a team guiding device selection (100% vs 43%, p = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS: CVAD utilization decreased over time. Significant variation in CVAD use remains and may be associated with hospital resources. IMPACT: Central venous access device (CVAD) use outside of the ICU is trending down; however, significant variation exists between institutions. Children with CVADs hospitalized on the acute care units had a CLABSI rate of 4% and VTE rate of 3.4%. 91% of surveyed institutions have a vascular access team; however, the services provided vary between institutions. Even though 70% of the surveyed institutions have the ability to place midline/long peripheral catheters, the majority use these catheters less than a few times per month. Institutions with low CVAD use are more likely to have a vascular access team that guides device selection.

An Interprofessional Initiative to Address Tests Pending at Discharge for Hospitalized Pediatric Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Pediatric hospitalized patients often are discharged before all lab tests are completed. Given the risk of medical errors related to inadequate test follow-up, we piloted a collaborative initiative to address tests pending at discharge (TPAD) within our pediatric hospital medicine section. Our objectives were to delineate the responsibilities of case managers and pediatric hospital medicine clinicians in addressing these tests and to establish a communication process. METHODS: We formed an interprofessional team and performed a current state assessment, including a survey to pediatric hospital medicine clinicians to assess time spent following up TPAD and confidence that results were followed up in a timely and appropriate manner. We obtained a list of 1450 individual TPAD for the previous 9 months using an electronic health record data query, from which a list of 26 common and straightforward labs were identified for case manager follow-up. A shared case manager Epic Inbasket for TPAD was created and was checked twice daily. We developed a phased approach to establish a workflow for follow-up. DISCUSSION: The case manager partnership was launched in 4 phases for the duration of the 6-month pilot. However, due to duplication of work and less value of case managers addressing straightforward labs, the pilot was stopped. A more effective and mutually beneficial role for pediatric hospital medicine attendings and case managers may be to have the case managers address complex TPAD and communicate with primary care clinicians and families.

Med-Peds Residents' Career Plans and the Impact of Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowship: A Nationwide Survey.

BACKGROUND: The establishment of pediatric hospital medicine (PHM) as a fellowship-trained subspecialty represents a major change in the practice landscape, particularly for combined internal medicine-pediatrics (med-peds) residents. The most recent literature on med-peds residents' career choices predates PHM fellowship and its impact has not been well studied. We aimed characterize med-peds residents' career plans and the factors influencing their choices. METHODS: We distributed an electronic survey to the 1,505 resident members of the National Med-Peds Resident Association. In addition to sociodemographic data, participants reported their career plans, how well their residency prepared them for various aspects of practice, and their perceptions of PHM fellowship and its effect on their career choices. RESULTS: Among the 228 participants, the most planned careers were combined hospital medicine (36.8%, 84/228), combined subspecialty practice (32.5%, 74/228), and primary care (31.1%, 71/228). Residents felt well prepared for patient care and significantly more prepared for inpatient practice than for primary care. Participants rated the potential disadvantages of PHM fellowship as major deterrents and did not view the possible advantages as strong incentives. Among those who had considered a hospital medicine careers, 91.2% (186/203) were less likely to pursue PHM after its certification as a subspecialty. CONCLUSION: Med-peds residents have a wide range of career interests but fellowship has made them less likely to pursue PHM careers. These findings emphasize the importance of addressing the needs of med-peds trained providers as PHM certification pathways and fellowship curricula develop to avoid adverse effects on the workforce.

Overweight Infants Hospitalized for Bronchiolitis Associated With Severe Disease.

OBJECTIVES: Overweight negatively affects pediatric respiratory function. In this study, we evaluate if overweight is associated with more severe bronchiolitis in hospitalized infants. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study analyzed infants aged 30 to 365 days hospitalized for bronchiolitis from September 2019 to April 2020. Exclusion criteria included known risk factors for severe bronchiolitis, asthma treatment, or bacterial pneumonia. Weight-for-length z-score was categorized per the World Health Organization's growth assessments as overweight (z-score >2), underweight (z-score <-2), and standard weight (between -2 and ≤2). Primary outcomes included respiratory support, ICU stay, and local bronchiolitis score. Secondary outcomes included supplemental interventions. RESULTS: After exclusion criteria, 385 of 644 infants were categorized as overweight (n = 24), standard (n = 335), or underweight (n = 26). There were differences in need for respiratory support (overweight, 100%; standard weight, 81.8%; underweight, 76.9%; P = .03), highest support of high-flow nasal cannula (overweight, 75%; standard weight, 48%; underweight, 42%; P = .03), admission to ICU (overweight, 54.2%; standard weight, 21.5%; underweight, 34.7%; P < .001), and median bronchiolitis score (overweight, 8 [interquartile range 5-10]; standard weight, 4 [3-7]; underweight, 4 [3-7]; P = .01). Findings remained significant after age adjustments. Additionally, overweight experienced higher frequency of certain treatments. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests overweight is associated with more severe bronchiolitis in hospitalized infants supported by increased respiratory support level, bronchiolitis scores, and interventions. Higher need for ICU admission may be related to high-flow nasal cannula limitations on the acute care floor.

Long peripheral catheters in children: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Long peripheral catheters (LPCs) are emerging vascular access devices used for short-medium term vascular access needs. Literature in adults suggests LPCs have longer dwell-times than peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVs) and lower rates of serious complications than peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs). The role of LPCs in children is less established. The objective of this scoping review is to describe and synthesize the existing literature on the effectiveness and safety of LPCs in children. METHODS: This review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Searches were done in MEDLINE (Ovid), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, CINAHL (Ebsco), and Google Scholar most recently on February 22, 2022. Studies were included if published in English on or after 2000 and included patients <18 years of age. RESULTS: Twenty-one studies were included. The body of literature is variable in quality, measurements, and reported outcomes. Median dwell-time ranged from 5 to 14 days. The rate of completion of therapy ranged from 20% to 86%. Dislodgement, occlusion, and infiltration were the most common complications reported (0%-31%). Venous thromboembolism rates ranged from 0% to 13%. The rate of catheter-related bloodstream infection was 0% in 9 of 10 studies. Less than 50% of studies reported comparative outcomes. CONCLUSION: LPCs show promising outcomes in select populations, with longer dwell-time than PIVs and possibly lower rates of serious complications than PICCs. However, more research is needed to clarify the optimal use of LPCs in pediatrics.

Pediatric Respiratory Illness Hospitalizations Prior to COVID-19 and During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Southeast Wisconsin.

BACKGROUND: Public health measures combatting the COVID-19 pandemic also led to a decrease in other pediatric respiratory illnesses. We describe the local pattern of pediatric respiratory hospitalizations in southeast Wisconsin prior to COVID-19 and during the first year of the pandemic. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional examination of hospitalizations for asthma, bronchiolitis, and bacterial pneumonia at a single tertiary children's hospital prior to COVID-19 through the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: We found a significant decrease in the average monthly hospitalization rates prior to and during COVID-19 for asthma, bronchiolitis, and bacterial pneumonia (P < 0.001), with average percent decrease of hospitalizations per month of 48%, 78%, and 47.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in hospitalizations is likely multifactorial and related to public health measures, behavior changes, and other epidemiological factors.

Evaluation and Medical Management of the Pediatric Patient With Orbital Cellulitis/Abscess: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pediatric orbital cellulitis/abscess (OCA) can lead to vision loss, intracranial extension of infection, or cavernous thrombosis if not treated promptly. No widely recognized guidelines exist for the medical management of OCA. The objective of this review was to summarize existing evidence regarding the role of inflammatory markers in distinguishing disease severity and need for surgery; the role of imaging in OCA evaluation; and the microbiology of OCA over the past 2 decades. METHODS: This review was reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Searches were performed in MEDLINE (Ovid), Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, CINAHL (EBSCO), and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), most recently on February 9, 2021. RESULTS: A total of 63 studies were included. Most were descriptive and assessed to have poor quality with high risk of bias. The existing publications evaluating inflammatory markers in the diagnosis of OCA have inconsistent results. Computed tomography imaging remains the modality of choice for evaluating orbital infection. The most common organisms recovered from intraoperative cultures are Streptococcus species (Streptococcus anginosus group, group A Streptococcus, and pneumococcus) and Staphylococcus aureus. Methicillin-resistant S aureus in culture-positive cases had a median prevalence of 3% (interquartile range, 0%-13%). CONCLUSION: This systematic review summarizes existing literature concerning inflammatory markers, imaging, and microbiology for OCA evaluation and management. High-quality evidence is still needed to define the optimal medical management of OCA.

One Call Away: Addressing a Safety Gap for Urgent Issues Post Discharge.

OBJECTIVES: The transition period from hospitalization to outpatient care can be high risk for pediatric patients. Our aim was to profile the use of a "safety net" for families through provision of specific inpatient provider contact information for urgent issues post discharge. METHODS: In this prospective study, we implemented an updated after-visit summary that directed families to call the hospital operator and specifically ask for the pediatric hospital medicine attending on call if they were unable to reach their primary care provider (PCP) with an urgent postdischarge concern. Education for nursing staff, operators, and pediatric hospital medicine providers was completed, and contact information was automatically populated into the after-visit summary. Information collected included the number of calls, the topic, time spent, whether the family contacted the PCP first, and the time of day. Descriptive statistics and Fisher's exact test were used to summarize findings. RESULTS: Over a 13-month period, of 5145 discharges, there were 47 postdischarge phone calls, which averaged to 3.6 calls per month. The average length of time spent on a call was 21 minutes. For 30% of calls, families had tried contacting their PCPs first, and 55% of calls occurred at night. Topics of calls included requesting advice about symptoms, time line for reevaluation, and assistance with medications. CONCLUSIONS: This safety net provided families with real-time problem-solving for an urgent need post discharge, which included triaging patient symptoms at home, counseling on medication questions, information about the time line of illness recovery, and provision of additional resources.

Nutritional Advancement in the Hospitalized Child After NPO: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: A clear-liquid diet is commonly used after a nil per os (NPO) order in children recovering from acute gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses. Our purpose for this study was to compare outcomes in patients receiving a clear-liquid diet after an NPO order with outcomes in those receiving a regular diet. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, patients aged 1 to 18 years admitted to a tertiary care children's hospital between 2016 and 2017 were screened to identify those who had an NPO order placed for acute GI illnesses. Patients with complex medical needs, a feeding disorder, or chronic GI disorders were excluded. RESULTS: Of 39 total patients, 17 (44%) received a clear-liquid diet after an NPO order. There was no difference in diet tolerance between patients receiving a clear-liquid diet and those receiving a regular diet on the basis of emesis in the first 12 hours (P = .40), pain scores after the first oral intake (P = .86), return to clear-liquid diet (P = .57), or return to NPO status (P > .99). Patients started on a clear-liquid diet had a longer length of stay (LOS) after diet initiation compared with those receiving a regular diet (median: 43.7 hours [interquartile range: 29.8-53.4] vs median: 20.8 hours [interquartile range 6.7-47.3]), both in the univariate analysis (P = .01) and after controlling for age, diagnosis category, and pain score before and after the first oral intake (P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: Patients transitioned to a clear-liquid diet after NPO status have a longer LOS after the first oral intake independent of patient age, diagnosis, and pretransition abdominal pain. Both groups had similar diet tolerance, suggesting that transition to a regular diet after NPO status may decrease LOS without significant adverse effects.