National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 25 of 93 Research Studies DisplayedWolf RM, Hall M, Williams DJ
Disparities in pharmacologic restraint for children hospitalized in mental health crisis.
This retrospective cohort study examined associations between pharmacologic restraint use and race and ethnicity among children (aged 5-≤18 years) admitted for mental health conditions to acute care nonpsychiatric children's hospitals. Study period was 2018 to 2022 and was conducted at 41 US children’s hospitals and included a cohort of 61,503 hospitalizations. Compared with non-Hispanic Black children, children of non-Hispanic White (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.81), Asian (aOR, 0.82), or other race and ethnicity (aOR, 0.68) were less likely to receive pharmacologic restraint, with no significant difference with Hispanic children. When stratified by sex, racial/ethnic differences were magnified in males, except for Hispanic males, and not found in females. Sensitivity analysis revealed amplified disparities for all racial/ethnic groups, including Hispanic youth.
AHRQ-funded; HS026122.
Citation: Wolf RM, Hall M, Williams DJ .
Disparities in pharmacologic restraint for children hospitalized in mental health crisis.
Pediatrics 2024 Jan; 153(1). doi: 10.1542/peds.2023-061353..
Keywords: Disparities, Children/Adolescents, Behavioral Health, Inpatient Care, Hospitals, Medication
Steiner MJ, Hall M, Sutton AG
Pediatric hospitalization trends at children's and general hospitals, 2000-2019.
The purpose of this study was to examine whether pediatric inpatient care has been redistributed from general hospitals into children’s hospitals (CHs). The researchers utilized the AHRQ Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) to identify inpatient nonbirth discharges for children younger than 18 years from 2000 to 2019. The study included 14.758,391 discharges and found that annual inpatient discharges decreased by 26.5% from 2000 to 2019, while the percentage of total national discharges from CHs increased significantly, from 58.9% in 2000 to 81.8% in 2019. Discharges from freestanding CHs increased from 19.3% to 34.2%, those at non-freestanding CHs increased from 39.6% to 47.6%, and percentage of discharges from non-CHs decreased from 41.1%. An increase in inter-facility transfer (IFT) accompanied the changes in the distribution of pediatric discharges. In 2000, 6.1% of total discharges were transferred from one facility to another before discharge; in 2019, 18.8% experienced an IFT. Of children experiencing an IFT in 2019, 88.0% were transferred to a CH.
AHRQ-funded; HS028683.
Citation: Steiner MJ, Hall M, Sutton AG .
Pediatric hospitalization trends at children's and general hospitals, 2000-2019.
JAMA 2023 Nov 21; 330(19):1906-08. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.19268..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Children/Adolescents, Hospitals
Parikh K, Lopez MA, Hall M
Child Opportunity Index and rehospitalization for ambulatory care sensitive conditions at US children's hospitals.
Lower Child Opportunity Index (COI) has been related with increased health care use, but the relationship with rehospitalization(s) for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) is not known. The purpose of this multicenter retrospective cohort study was to determine the relationship between COI and ACSC rehospitalizations. 184,478 children ages 0 to 17 years with a hospital admission for ambulatory care sensitive conditions in 2017 or 2018 were included. Exposure was COI, and the primary outcome was rehospitalization within 1 year of index admission for ACSC. Of hospitalizations, 28.3% were by children from very low COI and 16.5% were by children from very high COI neighborhoods. In risk-adjusted models, ACSC rehospitalization was higher for children from very low COI than very high COI neighborhoods; any rehospitalization occurred for 18.7% from very low COI and 13.5% from very high COI neighborhoods whereas 2 or more rehospitalization occurred for 4.8% from very low COI and 3.2% from very high COI neighborhoods.
AHRQ-funded; HS024554; HS028484; HS026385.
Citation: Parikh K, Lopez MA, Hall M .
Child Opportunity Index and rehospitalization for ambulatory care sensitive conditions at US children's hospitals.
Hosp Pediatr 2023 Nov; 13(11):1028-37. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2023-007279..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Hospital Readmissions, Hospitals, Ambulatory Care and Surgery
Luo BT, Barton HJ, Wooldridge AR
Human factors engineering for the pediatric hospitalist.
The authors summarized how human factors engineering (HFE) can provide a framework and tools to help understand and improve complex care processes and resulting outcomes. They offered examples of HFE's application to pediatric hospital medicine, highlighted an HFE-based framework, provided tools for leveraging this model, and listed resources for those interested in learning more about HFE.
AHRQ-funded; HS027214.
Citation: Luo BT, Barton HJ, Wooldridge AR .
Human factors engineering for the pediatric hospitalist.
Hosp Pediatr 2023 Nov; 13(11):e365-e70. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2023-007258..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Hospitals, Provider: Clinician
McCarthy IM, Raval MV
Price spillovers and specialization in health care: the case of children's hospitals.
The purpose of this study was to explore a possible differentiation effect in which patients perceive specialty hospitals as different from other hospitals, so that specialty hospitals effectively compete in a separate market from general acute care hospitals. The researchers examined this effect in the context of routine pediatric procedures offered by both specialty children's hospitals and general acute care hospitals. The study found substantial empirical evidence of a differentiation effect in which competitive forces from non-children's hospitals appear largely irrelevant for specialty children's hospitals.
AHRQ-funded; HS024712.
Citation: McCarthy IM, Raval MV .
Price spillovers and specialization in health care: the case of children's hospitals.
Health Econ 2023 Oct; 32(10):2408-23. doi: 10.1002/hec.4734..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Hospitals, Healthcare Delivery
Pantell MS, Holmgren AJ, Leary JC
Social and medical care integration practices among children's hospitals.
This study sought to describe screening practices for adverse social determinants of health (SDOH) among a national sample of children’s hospitals. The authors analyzed responses to the 2020 American Hospital Association Annual Survey. Among children's hospitals, they calculated the prevalence of screening for social needs, strategies to address social risks/needs, partnerships with community-based organizations to address social risks/needs at the individual and community level, and rates of impact assessments of how social risk-related interventions affect outcomes. They also used χ2 tests to compare results by hospital characteristics and weighted results to adjust for nonresponse. Out of 82 children’s hospitals in the sample, a total of 79.6% screened for and 96.0% had strategies to address at least 1 social risk factor, although rates varied by SDOH domain. These hospitals more commonly partnered with community-based organizations to address patient-level social risks than participated in community-level initiatives. SDOH intervention effectiveness was assessed in a total of 39.2% of hospitals. The authors found differences in social risk-related care practices commonly varied by hospital ownership and Medicaid population but not by region.
AHRQ-funded; HS028473.
Citation: Pantell MS, Holmgren AJ, Leary JC .
Social and medical care integration practices among children's hospitals.
Hosp Pediatr 2023 Oct; 13(10):886-94. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2023-007246..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Hospitals, Social Determinants of Health
Weaver MS, Ulrich CM, Moon MR
Adherence to the AAP's institutional ethics committee policy recommendations.
The aim of this study was to determine the level at which pediatric institutional ethics committees (IECs) comply with to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) IEC Policy Statement recommendations. The researchers utilized a convenience sample taken from the Children's Hospital Association membership who were invited to complete an electronic survey in spring 2022. A total of 117 out of 181 surveys were completed (65%). The study found that stark gaps in IEC practice included: lack of membership diversity, needs for training to maintain members' competencies, organizational quality improvement, and scope of ethics service. Results indicated that 25% of IECs did not have a systematic method for informing hospital staff about ethics consultancy services and how to place an ethics consult. Further, 19% of responding IEC services did not inform patients or families about the availability of ethics consult services. 33% of the responding children's hospitals did not provide resources for the IECs to provide ethics education at their facility.
AHRQ-funded; HS028427.
Citation: Weaver MS, Ulrich CM, Moon MR .
Adherence to the AAP's institutional ethics committee policy recommendations.
Hosp Pediatr 2023 Sep; 13(9):e246-e50. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2023-007124..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Policy, Hospitals
Congdon M, Rauch B, Carroll B
Opportunities for diagnostic improvement among pediatric hospital readmissions.
The purpose of this retrospective cohort study was to: 1) identify and describe diagnostic errors, termed "missed opportunities for improving diagnosis" (MOIDs) in general pediatric patients who experienced hospital readmission, 2) outline improvement opportunities, and 3) explore factors associated with increased risk of MOID. The researchers included unplanned readmissions within 15 days of discharge from a freestanding children's hospital between October 2018 and September 2020. Health records were reviewed and discussed by practicing inpatient physicians to identify MOIDs using SaferDx, an established instrument. MOIDs were evaluated using a diagnostic-specific tool to identify improvement opportunities within the diagnostic process. The study found that MOIDs were identified in 6.3% of 348 readmissions. Opportunities for improvement included: delay in considering the correct diagnosis (50%) and failure to order needed test (45%). Patients with MOIDs were older than patients without MOIDs but similar in gender, primary language, race, ethnicity, and insurance type. The researchers did not identify conditions related with higher risk of MOID. Lower respiratory tract infections accounted for 26% of admission diagnoses but only 1 (4.5%) case of MOID.
AHRQ-funded; HS028682.
Citation: Congdon M, Rauch B, Carroll B .
Opportunities for diagnostic improvement among pediatric hospital readmissions.
Hosp Pediatr 2023 Jul; 13(7):563-71. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2023-007157..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Hospitals, Hospital Readmissions
Leyenaar JK, Hill V, Lam V
Direct admission to hospital for children in the United States.
The purpose of this paper is to develop a policy statement to present recommendations to optimize the quality and safety of this hospital admission approach for children, as one in four unscheduled hospital admissions for children and adolescents in the United States occurs via direct admission, defined as hospital admission without first receiving care in the hospital's emergency department. Recommendations in the proposed policy statement provide guidance related to: (i) direct admission written guidelines, (ii) clear systems of communication between members of the health care team and with families of children requiring admission, (iii) triage systems to identify patient acuity and disease severity, (iv) identification of hospital resources needed to support direct admission systems of care, (v) consideration of patient populations that may be at increased risk of adverse outcomes during the hospital admission process, (vi) addressing the relevance of local factors and resources, and (vii) ongoing evaluation of direct admission processes and outcomes. The recommendations are intended to support the implementation of safe direct admission processes and to foster awareness of outcomes associated with this common portal of hospital admission.
AHRQ-funded; HS024133.
Citation: Leyenaar JK, Hill V, Lam V .
Direct admission to hospital for children in the United States.
Pediatrics 2023 Mar;151(3):e2022060973. doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-060973.
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Hospitals, Hospitalization
Wolf RM, Hall M, Williams DJ
Pharmacologic restraint use for children experiencing mental health crises in pediatric hospitals.
This study’s objective was to determine hospital-level incidence and variation of pharmacologic restraint use among children admitted for mental health conditions in children's hospitals. The authors examined data for children (5 to ≤18 years) admitted to children's hospitals with a primary mental health condition from 2018 to 2020 using the Pediatric Health Information System database. Of 29,834 included encounters, 12.6% had pharmacologic restraint use, with three hospitals the highest utilizers of all drug classes. Adjusted hospital rates ranged from 35 to 389 pharmacologic restraint use days per 1000 mental health bed days with a mean of 175. There were no significant differences in pharmacologic restraint use found in the hospital-level analysis.
AHRQ-funded; HS026122.
Citation: Wolf RM, Hall M, Williams DJ .
Pharmacologic restraint use for children experiencing mental health crises in pediatric hospitals.
J Hosp Med 2023 Feb; 18(2):120-29. doi: 10.1002/jhm.13009..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Behavioral Health, Hospitals, Medication
Westley L, Manworren RCB, Griffith DM
Using hospital incident command systems to respond to the pediatric mental and behavioral health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The purpose of this study was to quantify issues related to hospital incident command systems (HICS) implemented to expand mental and behavioral healthcare (MBHC) services during the COVID-19 pandemic, and track progress toward HICS goals. The researchers analyzed data on patient census, nurse vacancies, staff injuries, and staff perceptions and resources were developed. The study found that after HICS implementation, 84% of nurses reported confidence in providing care to youth with acute MBHC needs.
AHRQ-funded; HS026385.
Citation: Westley L, Manworren RCB, Griffith DM .
Using hospital incident command systems to respond to the pediatric mental and behavioral health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.
J Nurs Adm 2023 Feb; 53(2):96-103. doi: 10.1097/nna.0000000000001254..
Keywords: COVID-19, Children/Adolescents, Behavioral Health, Hospitals
Kelly MM, Hoonakker PLT, Nacht CL
Parent perspectives on sharing pediatric hospitalization clinical notes.
This qualitative study sought to identify parent perceptions of the benefits and challenges of real-time note access during their child's hospitalization and strategies to optimize note-sharing at the bedside. The study conducted 60-minute interviews with 28 parents who were given access to their child's admission and daily progress notes on a bedside tablet (iPad) and interviewed upon discharge. The parents described 6 benefits of having note access, which: provided a recap and improved their knowledge about their child's care plan, enhanced communication, facilitated empowerment, increased autonomy, and incited positive emotions. Potential challenges described included: causing confusion, hindering communication with the health care team, highlighting problems with note content, and inciting negative emotions. The parents recommended 4 strategies to support sharing: provide preemptive communication about expectations, optimize the note release process, consider parent-friendly note template modifications, and offer informational resources for parents.
AHRQ-funded; HS027214.
Citation: Kelly MM, Hoonakker PLT, Nacht CL .
Parent perspectives on sharing pediatric hospitalization clinical notes.
Pediatrics 2023 Jan; 151(1). doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-057756..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Hospitals, Clinician-Patient Communication, Communication, Hospitalization
Halvorson EE, Thurtle DP, Easter A
Disparities in adverse event reporting for hospitalized children.
The authors compared the adverse event (AE) rate identified by voluntary event reporting (VER) with that identified using the Global Assessment of Pediatric Patient Safety (GAPPS) between hospitalized children by weight category, race, and English proficiency. In the population studied, they identified 288 total AEs, 270 by the GAPPS and 18 by VER. They found a disparity in AE reporting for children with limited English proficiency, with fewer AEs by VER compared with no difference in AEs by GAPPS. They identified no disparities by weight category or race. They concluded that voluntary event reporting may systematically underreport AEs in hospitalized children with limited English proficiency.
AHRQ-funded; HS026038.
Citation: Halvorson EE, Thurtle DP, Easter A .
Disparities in adverse event reporting for hospitalized children.
J Patient Saf 2022 Sep 1;18(6):e928-e33. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000001049..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Disparities, Adverse Events, Medical Errors, Patient Safety, Hospitals, Hospitalization, Inpatient Care
Gay JC, Teufel RJ, Peltz A
Variation in condition-specific readmission rates across US children's hospitals.
This retrospective cohort study examined variation in condition-specific readmission rates across US children’s hospitals. The authors looked at 49 US children’s hospitals in the Pediatric Health Information System in 2017. They ranked the highest volume conditions by rate variation (RV, interquartile range divided by the median) for each condition across hospitals. The sample included 811,434 index hospitalizations with 6.2% 30-day readmissions. The RV across hospitals/conditions was between 0 and 2.8 with a median of 0.7. Common reasons for admission had low RVs across hospitals, including bronchiolitis, seizure, and asthma. They identified 33 conditions with high variation in readmission rates across hospitals, which accounted for 18% of all discharges and 11% of all pediatric readmissions.
AHRQ-funded; K08-HS024735.
Citation: Gay JC, Teufel RJ, Peltz A .
Variation in condition-specific readmission rates across US children's hospitals.
Acad Pediatr 2022 Jul;22(5):797-805. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2022.01.007..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Hospital Readmissions, Hospitals
Milliren CE, Bailey G, Graham DA
Relationships between pediatric safety indicators across a national sample of pediatric hospitals: dispelling the myth of the "safest" hospital.
This observational study aimed to explore the covariance of pediatric hospital quality indicators and evaluate the use of a single composite score. Pediatric hospital performance across 13 safety indicators were extracted from the Pediatric Health Information System, a comparative database of children’s hospitals in the U.S. Patients discharged from 36 hospitals from 2016 to 2019 were included. The authors investigated relationships among patient safety measures from AHRQ pediatric quality indicators and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services hospital-acquired conditions. They identified 5 orthogonal variance components accounting for 68% of variation in pediatric hospital quality indicators. The ranking comparison and summary found greater within-hospital variation compared with between-hospital variation. They observed discordant rankings among commonly used summary measures and concluded that these measures demonstrate at least 2 underlying variance components.
AHRQ-funded; HS026246.
Citation: Milliren CE, Bailey G, Graham DA .
Relationships between pediatric safety indicators across a national sample of pediatric hospitals: dispelling the myth of the "safest" hospital.
J Patient Saf 2022 Jun 1;18(4):e741-e46. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000938..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Patient Safety, Hospitals, Quality of Care
Leyenaar JK, Esporas M, Mangione-Smith R
How does pediatric quality measure development reflect the real world needs of hospitalized children?
This study examined to what extent do the Pediatric Quality Measures Program (PQMP) reflect the real world needs of hospitalized children. The authors discussed recent advances in pediatric quality measurement in the context of the current epidemiology of pediatric hospitalization in the US. The history of PQMP is discussed, including AHRQ’s role from 2011 to 2016 as the manager of cooperative agreement grants to seven academic medical centers to develop the initial set of evidence-based quality measures designed to improve children’s quality of care. During the second phase (2016 to 2020), 6 institutions were funded to implement and disseminate these quality measures, with a goal of determining their feasibility and usability. The majority of these measures were developed at large children’s hospitals. However, 20% of children live in rural areas not near a children’s hospital. Among all general hospitals that admit children, 80% have pediatric volumes of less than 375 hospitalizations per year. Unique strategies will be needed to evaluate healthcare quality at these hospitals. The role of interhospital transfer to larger children’s hospitals is also discussed and how it impacts quality of care.
AHRQ-funded; HS025291.
Citation: Leyenaar JK, Esporas M, Mangione-Smith R .
How does pediatric quality measure development reflect the real world needs of hospitalized children?
Acad Pediatr 2022 Apr;22(3s):S70-s72. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2021.01.019..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Quality Measures, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Quality Indicators (QIs), Hospitals
Jaladanki S, Schechter SB, Genies MC
Strategies for sustaining high-quality pediatric asthma care in community hospitals.
This study’s objective was to identify strategies associated with sustained guideline adherence and high-quality pediatric asthma care in community hospitals. Hospitals who were part of the Pathways for Improving Pediatric Asthma Care (PIPA) national quality improvement (QI) intervention were included. Clinicians (n = 19) involved in clinical care of children hospitalized with asthma were interviewed from five higher- and three lower-performing hospitals. Higher-performing hospitals had dedicated local champions who consistently provided reminders of evidence-based practices and delivered ongoing education. These champions also modified/developed electronic health record (EHR) tools. Lower-performing hospital clinicians described unique barriers, including delays in modifying the EHR and lack of automation of EHR tools. For all hospitals, barriers to sustainability included challenges with quality monitoring, decreasing focus of local champions over time, and ongoing difficulties developing around evidence-based practices.
AHRQ-funded; HS027041.
Citation: Jaladanki S, Schechter SB, Genies MC .
Strategies for sustaining high-quality pediatric asthma care in community hospitals.
Health Serv Res 2022 Feb;57(1):125-36. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13870..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Asthma, Respiratory Conditions, Chronic Conditions, Hospitals, Quality of Care
Carroll AR, McCoy AB, Modes K
Decreasing pre-procedural fasting times in hospitalized children.
The purpose of this study was to decrease pre-procedural clear liquid fasting time from 10 hours, 13 minutes to 5 hours for pediatric hospital medicine (PHM) patients. The study included all children admitted to the PHM service at a quaternary care children's hospital with an NPO (nil per os) order associated with a procedure requiring general anesthesia or sedation from November 2, 2017 to September 19, 2021. The study found that after implementation of a SmartPhrase in the NPO order, there was special cause variation resulting in a centerline shift from a mean of 10 h 13 min to 6 h 37 min. After implementation of a hospital-wide change to the NPO order format, another centerline shift to 6 h 7 min occurred and has been sustained for 6 months. The study concluded that in hospitalized children, higher reliability interventions and quality improvement methods safely reduced the mean pre-procedural fasting time.
AHRQ-funded; HS026122.
Citation: Carroll AR, McCoy AB, Modes K .
Decreasing pre-procedural fasting times in hospitalized children.
J Hosp Med 2022 Feb;17(2):96-103. doi: 10.1002/jhm.12782..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Inpatient Care, Hospitals
Schechter S, Jaladanki S, Rodean J
Sustainability of paediatric asthma care quality in community hospitals after ending a national quality improvement collaborative.
Community hospitals, which care for most hospitalised children in the USA, may be vulnerable to declines in paediatric care quality when quality improvement (QI) initiatives end. In this study, the investigators aimed to evaluate changes in care quality in community hospitals after the end of the Pathways for Improving Paediatric Asthma Care (PIPA) national QI collaborative. The investigators concluded that the end of the paediatric asthma QI collaborative was associated with concerning declines in guideline adherence in community hospitals.
AHRQ-funded; HS027041.
Citation: Schechter S, Jaladanki S, Rodean J .
Sustainability of paediatric asthma care quality in community hospitals after ending a national quality improvement collaborative.
BMJ Qual Saf 2021 Nov;30(11):876-83. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2020-012292..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Asthma, Respiratory Conditions, Hospitals, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Quigley DD, Slaughter ME, Gidengil C
Usefulness of child HCAHPS survey data for improving inpatient pediatric care experiences.
Quality improvement (QI) requires data, indicators, and national benchmarks. Knowledge about the usefulness of Child Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (Child HCAHPS) data are lacking. In this study the investigators examined quality leader and frontline staff perceptions about patient experience measurement and use of Child HCAHPS data for QI. The investigators surveyed children's hospital leaders and staff about their use of Child HCAHPS for QI, including measures from other studies. They compared scale and item means for leaders and staff and compared means to other studies.
AHRQ-funded; HS025920.
Citation: Quigley DD, Slaughter ME, Gidengil C .
Usefulness of child HCAHPS survey data for improving inpatient pediatric care experiences.
Hosp Pediatr 2021 Oct;11(10):e199-e214. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2020-004283..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Children/Adolescents, Hospitals, Patient Experience, Quality Improvement, Quality Measures, Quality of Care
Masonbrink AR, Harris M, Hall M
Safety events in children's hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted hospitals, potentially affecting quality and safety. The objective of this study was to compare pediatric hospitalization safety events during the pandemic versus previous years. The investigators concluded that postoperative sepsis rates increased among children hospitalized during COVID-19. They suggest that efforts are needed to improve safety of postoperative care for hospitalized children.
AHRQ-funded; HS024554; HS024592.
Citation: Masonbrink AR, Harris M, Hall M .
Safety events in children's hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hosp Pediatr 2021 Jun;11(6):e95-e100. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2020-004937..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, COVID-19, Patient Safety, Sepsis, Adverse Events, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Inpatient Care, Infectious Diseases, Public Health
Lipsett SC, Haines L, Monuteaux MC
Variation in oophorectomy rates for children with ovarian torsion across US children's hospitals.
A multicenter study of 1783 children diagnosed with ovarian torsion from 2012 to 2017 undergoing oophorectomy was conducted. Four-hundred and two children (22.5%) underwent oophorectomy. Odds of oophorectomy were higher in children under 11 years of age, children with public insurance, and children with complex chronic conditions.
AHRQ-funded; HS026503.
Citation: Lipsett SC, Haines L, Monuteaux MC .
Variation in oophorectomy rates for children with ovarian torsion across US children's hospitals.
J Pediatr 2021 Apr;231:269-72.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2020.12.019..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Chronic Conditions, Surgery, Hospitals
Berry JG, Difazio RL, Melvin P
Hospital resource use after hip reconstruction surgery in children with neurological complex chronic conditions.
This study assessed how co-occurring conditions influence recovery after hip reconstruction surgery in children with neurological complex chronic conditions (CCCs). This retrospective analysis of 4058 children age 4 years or older was conducted from 2015 to 2018 in 49 children’s hospitals. The presence of CCCs was assessed using the AHRQ Chronic Condition Indicator system. Outcomes looked for included postoperative hospital length of stay (LOS), 30 -day readmission rates, and median hospital costs. The most common co-occurring conditions were digestive (60.1%) and respiratory (37.9%). Median LOS increased 67% as co-existing conditions increased from one to four or more. Median hospital costs increased 41% and readmission rates increased 250%. Malnutrition was associated with the greatest increase in postoperative hospital use.
AHRQ-funded; HS024453.
Citation: Berry JG, Difazio RL, Melvin P .
Hospital resource use after hip reconstruction surgery in children with neurological complex chronic conditions.
Dev Med Child Neurol 2021 Feb;63(2):204-10. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.14712..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Chronic Conditions, Surgery, Hospital Readmissions, Hospitals, Neurological Disorders
Marin JR, Rodean J, Hall M
Racial and ethnic differences in emergency department diagnostic imaging at US children's hospitals, 2016-2019.
Researchers evaluated racial and ethnic differences in the performance of common ED imaging studies and examined patterns across diagnoses. In this study, which evaluated visits by nonhospitalized patients younger than 18 years in 44 US children's hospital EDs, they found that non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic children were less likely to receive diagnostic imaging during ED visits compared with non-Hispanic White children. They recommended further investigation to understand and mitigate these potential disparities in health care delivery and to evaluate the effect of these differential imaging patterns on patient outcomes.
AHRQ-funded; HS026006.
Citation: Marin JR, Rodean J, Hall M .
Racial and ethnic differences in emergency department diagnostic imaging at US children's hospitals, 2016-2019.
JAMA Netw Open 2021 Jan 4(1):e2033710. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.33710..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Hospitals, Emergency Department, Imaging, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Disparities, Diagnostic Safety and Quality
Scott HF, Colborn KL, Sevick CJ
Development and validation of a model to predict pediatric septic shock using data known 2 hours after hospital arrival.
The purpose of this study was to use Electronic Health Record (EHR) data from the first two hours of care to derive and validate a model to predict hypotensive septic shock in children with infection. The investigators concluded that this model predicted risk of septic shock in children with suspected infection 2 hours after arrival, a critical timepoint for emergent treatment and transfer decisions.
AHRQ-funded; HS025696.
Citation: Scott HF, Colborn KL, Sevick CJ .
Development and validation of a model to predict pediatric septic shock using data known 2 hours after hospital arrival.
Pediatr Crit Care Med 2021 Jan;22(1):16-26. doi: 10.1097/pcc.0000000000002589..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Sepsis, Hospitals