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OBJECTIVES:To determine the prevalence of invasive bacterial infections (IBIs) and adverse events in afebrile infants with acute otitis media (AOM).METHODS:We conducted a 33-site cross-sectional study of afebrile infants ≤90 days of age with AOM seen in emergency departments from 2007 to 2017. Eligible infants were identified using emergency department diagnosis codes and confirmed by chart review. IBIs (bacteremia and meningitis) were determined by the growth of pathogenic bacteria in blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture. Adverse events were defined as substantial complications resulting from or potentially associated with AOM. We used generalized linear mixed-effects models to identify factors associated with IBI diagnostic testing, controlling for site-level clustering effect.RESULTS:Of 5270 infants screened, 1637 met study criteria. None of the 278 (0%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0%–1.4%) infants with blood cultures had bacteremia; 0 of 102 (0%; 95% CI: 0%–3.6%) with CSF cultures had bacterial meningitis; 2 of 645 (0.3%; 95% CI: 0.1%–1.1%) infants with 30-day follow-up had adverse events, including lymphadenitis (1) and culture-negative sepsis (1). Diagnostic testing for IBI varied across sites and by age; overall, 278 (17.0%) had blood cultures, and 102 (6.2%) had CSF cultures obtained. Compared with infants 0 to 28 days old, older infants were less likely to have blood cultures (P < .001) or CSF cultures (P < .001) obtained.CONCLUSION:Afebrile infants with clinician-diagnosed AOM have a low prevalence of IBIs and adverse events; therefore, outpatient management without diagnostic testing may be reasonable.

In this case series, we describe the clinical course and outcomes of 7 febrile infants aged ≤60 days with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. No infant had severe outcomes, including the need for mechanical ventilation or ICU level of care. Two infants had concurrent urinary tract infections, which were treated with antibiotics. Although a small sample, our data suggest that febrile infants with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection often have mild illness.

Background Respiratory viral infections are a leading cause of disease worldwide. However, the overall community prevalence of infections has not been properly assessed, as standard surveillance is typically acquired passively among individuals seeking clinical care. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study in which participants provided daily diaries and weekly nasopharyngeal specimens that were tested for respiratory viruses. These data were used to analyze healthcare seeking behavior, compared with cross‐sectional ED data and NYC surveillance reports, and used to evaluate biases of medically attended ILI as signal for population respiratory disease and infection. Results The likelihood of seeking medical attention was virus‐dependent: higher for influenza and metapneumovirus (19%‐20%), lower for coronavirus and RSV (4%), and 71% of individuals with self‐reported ILI did not seek care and half of medically attended symptomatic manifestations did not meet the criteria for ILI. Only 5% of cohort respiratory virus infections and 21% of influenza infections were medically attended and classifiable as ILI. We estimated 1 ILI event per person/year but multiple respiratory infections per year. Conclusion Standard, healthcare‐based respiratory surveillance has multiple limitations. Specifically, ILI is an incomplete metric for quantifying respiratory disease, viral respiratory infection, and influenza infection. The prevalence of respiratory viruses, as reported by standard, healthcare‐based surveillance, is skewed toward viruses producing more severe symptoms. Active, longitudinal studies are a helpful supplement to standard surveillance, can improve understanding of the overall circulation and burden of respiratory viruses, and can aid development of more robust measures for controlling the spread of these pathogens.

BackgroundViral infection of the respiratory tract is one of the major causes of hospital visits for young children. In this study, we report the occurrence and co-occurrence of different virus types and subtypes among the patients arriving at the pediatric emergency room of New York Presbyterian Hospital, a major urban hospital.MethodsWe collected nasal swabs from the patients and their accompanying persons. We also recorded the levels (None, Mild, High, and Severe) of their symptoms (Fever, Chill, Muscle Pain, Watery Eye, Runny Nose, Sneezing, Sore throat and Cough). The collected swabs were tested for the presence of common viruses infecting the respiratory tract.ResultsHuman Rhinovirus was the most common virus among the patients, followed Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus. Human Rhinovirus was most common in summer, autumn and spring. In contrast, influenza was more common in winter. Further, Influenza A virus was more likely to co-occur with Corona Virus 229E. In comparison, Influenza was less likely to co-occur with Human Rhinovirus. Moreover, Influenza, Parainfluenza and Corona virus were associated with more severe symptoms, while Human Rhinovirus was associated with less severe symptoms. In addition, we observed that Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus were more likely to infect a patient when these viruses also infected the accompanying person. We also found that it was difficult to distinguish among viruses based on the symptoms. The inability to distinguish among different virus types and subtypes is explained by the fact that multiple viruses lead to similar symptoms.ConclusionsThe findings of this study provide a better understanding of respiratory viral infections in small children presenting at a pediatric emergency room in New York.

Background The overuse of cranial computed tomography (CT) to diagnose potential traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) exposes children with minor blunt head trauma to unnecessary ionizing radiation. The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network and the Clinical Research on Emergency Services and Treatments Network implemented TBI prediction rules via electronic health record (EHR) clinical decision support (CDS) to decrease use of CTs in children with minor blunt head trauma. Objective This article aims to facilitate implementation and dissemination of a CDS alert into emergency departments around the country. Methods We evaluated the EHR CT CDS tool through a mixed-methods analysis of 38 audio-recorded interviews with health care stakeholders and quantitative data sources, using the Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance framework. Results Reach —The demographics of participants enrolled in the clinical trial were consistent with national estimates of TBI prevalence. Efficacy—There was a variable and modest reduction in CT rates for the 8,067 children with minor head trauma whose clinicians received CDS. Adoption —The EHR CT CDS tool was well matched with the organizational mission, values, and priorities of the implementation sites. Implementation— The most important predisposing factors for successful implementation were the presence of an approachable clinical champion at each site and belief that the tool was a relevant, reusable knowledge asset. Enabling factors included an effective integration within the clinical workflow, organizational investment in user training, and ease of use. Maintenance — Reinforcing factors for the EHR CT CDS tool included a close fit with the institutional culture, belief that it was useful for providers and families, and a good educational and informational tool. As such, the EHR CT CDS tool was maintained in clinical practice long after study completion. Conclusion Data from this mixed-methods study complement findings from the efficacy trial and provide critical components for consideration prior to integration and subsequent dissemination of the EHR CT CDS tool. Trial Registration NCT01453621, Registered September 27, 2011

BACKGROUND: Our purpose was to determine the potential effect of pre-procedural ultrasound to increase lumbar puncture (LP) success compared with standard palpation method. Further, we assessed feasibility of and clinician satisfaction with a standardized ultrasound protocol. METHODS: This prospective, two-arm, parallel group randomized trial was conducted in a single-center pediatric emergency department. We compared pre-procedural ultrasound vs. palpation method on success with infant LPs. Infants 0.05) between intervention and control groups (difference 3%; 95% CI -19% to 24%). There were no statistical differences between intervention and controls groups for secondary outcomes including the rate of traumatic LPs, number of attempts, and the duration of LP procedure. Most sonographers (84%) strongly agreed or agreed that the US protocol technically easy to perform, well tolerated by the patient (94%), well accepted by the family (100%), and well accepted by the LP procedural clinicians (99%). In the US group, the majority of clinicians who performed the LPs (68.4%) noted that the pre-procedural US influenced their behavior, most commonly helping with overall visualization at the selected interspace (28.9%) or prompting a change in interspace (26.3% higher, 5.3% lower). Seventy seven percent agreed or strongly agreed that they would like to use the technique again for their next LP. The mean ultrasound duration was 4.6 minutes. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-procedural US by did not improve the rates of first attempt success when compared with palpation method. Our results suggest ultrasound is feasible and well accepted, with a perceptible impact on care.

Author(s): Condella, Anna; Mansbach, Jonathan M.; Hasegawa, Kohei; Dayan, Peter S.; Sullivan, Ashley F.; Espinola, Janice A.; Camargo, Jr., Carlos A. | Abstract: Introduction: Although bronchiolitis is a common reason for infant hospitalization, significant heterogeneity persists in its management. The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends that inhaled albuterol not be used in routine care of children with bronchiolitis. Our objective was to identify factors associated with pre-admission (e.g., emergency department or primary care) use of albuterol among infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis. Methods: We analyzed data from a 17-center observational study of 1,016 infants (age l1 year) hospitalized with bronchiolitis between 2011-2014. Pre-admission albuterol use was ascertained by chart review, and data were available for 1,008 (99%) infants. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify infant characteristics independently associated with pre-admission albuterol use. Results: Half of the infants (n=508) received at least one albuterol treatment before admission. Across the 17 hospitals, pre-admission albuterol use ranged from 23-84%. In adjusted analysis, independent predictors of albuterol use were the following: age ≥2 months (age 2.0-5.9 months [odds ratio (OR) 2.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) {1.45-3.01}] and age 6.0-11.9 months [OR 2.89, 95% CI {1.99-4.19}]); prior use of a bronchodilator (OR 1.89, 95% CI [1.24-2.90]); and presence of wheezing documented in pre-admission chart (OR 3.94, 95% CI [2.61-5.93]). By contrast, albuterol use was less likely among those with ≥7 days since the start of breathing problem (OR 0.66, 95% CI [0.44-1.00]) and parent-reported fever (OR 0.75, 95% CI [0.58-0.96]). Conclusion: Variation in pre-admission albuterol use suggests that local practice had a strong influence on use, but that patient characteristics also influenced the decision. While we agree with current guidelines in recommending against albuterol for all infants with bronchiolitis, our understanding of possible subgroups of responders may improve through investigation of infants with the identified characteristics.

Background Clinical decision support (CDS) embedded into the electronic health record (EHR), is a potentially powerful tool for institution of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) in emergency departments (EDs). However, design and implementation of CDS systems should be informed by the existing workflow to ensure its congruence with ED practice, which is characterized by erratic workflow, intermittent computer interactions, and variable timing of antibiotic prescription. Objective This article aims to characterize ED workflow for four provider types, to guide future design and implementation of an ED-based ASP using the EHR. Methods Workflow was systematically examined in a single, tertiary-care academic children's hospital ED. Clinicians with four roles (attending, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, resident) were observed over a 3-month period using a tablet computer-based data collection tool. Structural observations were recorded by investigators, and classified using a predetermined set of activities. Clinicians were queried regarding timing of diagnosis and disposition decision points. Results A total of 23 providers were observed for 90 hours. Sixty-four different activities were captured for a total of 6,060 times. Among these activities, nine were conducted at different frequency or time allocation across four roles. Moreover, we identified differences in sequential patterns across roles. Decision points, whereby clinicians then proceeded with treatment, were identified 127 times. The most common decision points identified were: (1) after/during examining or talking to patient or relative; (2) after talking to a specialist; and (3) after diagnostic test/image was resulted and discussed with patient/family. Conclusion The design and implementation of CDS for ASP should support clinicians in various provider roles, despite having different workflow patterns. The clinicians make their decisions about treatment at different points of overall care delivery practice; likewise, the CDS should also support decisions at different points of care.

Objective To identify self-reported pain scores that best represent categories of no pain, mild, moderate, and severe pain in children, and a pain score that accurately represents a child’s perceived need for medication, that is, a minimum pain score at which a child would want an analgesic. Study design Prospective cross-sectional cohort study of children aged 6-17 years presenting to a pediatric emergency department with painful and nonpainful conditions. Pain was measured using the 10-point Verbal Numerical Rating Scale. Receiver operating characteristic –based methodology was used to determine pain scores that best differentiated no pain from mild pain, mild pain from moderate pain, and moderate pain from severe pain. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the perceived need for medication. Results We analyzed data from 548 children (51.3% female, 61.9% with a painful condition). The scores that best represent categories of pain intensity are as follows: 0-1 for no pain; 2-5 for mild pain; 6-7 for moderate pain; and 8-10 for severe pain. The area under the curve for the cut points differentiating each category ranged from 0.76 to 0.88. The median pain score representing the perceived need for medication was 6 (IQR, 4-7; range, 0-10). Conclusions We identified population-level self-reported pain scores in children associated with categories of pain intensity that differ from scores conventionally used. Implementing our findings may provide a more accurate representation of the clinical meaning of pain scores and reduce selection bias in research. Our findings do not support the use of pain scores in isolation for clinical decision making or the use of a pain score threshold to represent a child’s perceived need for medication.

Background: Absolute levels of urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) appear highly accurate to identify urinary tract infections (UTIs) in young children when obtained via catheterization. Prior studies have neither evaluated the accuracy of uNGAL levels in bag (likely contaminated) specimens nor assessed the accuracy of a dipstick (potential point-of-care (POC)) test to detect UTIs. Objective: To compare the overall accuracy and test characteristics of laboratory-based uNGAL, dipstick uNGAL, and POC urinalysis (UA) …

ObjectivesThe risk of early seizure recurrences after first unprovoked seizures in children is largely unknown. We aimed to determine the rate of seizure recurrence within 14 days of first unprovoked seizures in children and identify associated risk factors. Secondarily, we aimed to determine the risk of recurrence at 48 hours and 4 months.MethodsWe conducted a secondary analysis of a multicenter cohort study of children 29 days to 18 years with first unprovoked seizures. Emergency department (ED) clinicians completed standardized histories and physical examinations. The primary outcome, recurrent seizure at 14days, and the secondary outcomes, recurrence at 48 hours and 4 months, were assessed by telephone follow-up and medical record review. For each recurrence time point, we excluded those patients for whom no seizure had recurred but chronic antiepileptic drugs had been initiated.ResultsA total of 475 patients were enrolled in the parent study. Of evaluable patients for this secondary analysis, 26 of 392 (6.6%, 95% confidence interval [CI]= 4.4%-9.6%) had recurrences within 48 hours of the incident seizures, 58 of 366 (15.8%, 95% CI= 12.3%-20.0%) had recurrences within 14 days, and 107 of 340 (31.5%, 95% CI= 26.6%-36.7%) had recurrences within 4 months. On logistic regression analysis, age younger than 3 years was independently associated with a higher risk of 14-day recurrence (adjusted odds ratio [OR]= 2.1, 95% CI= 1.2-3.7; p=0.01). Having had more than one seizure within the 24 hours prior to ED presentation was independently associated with a higher risk of seizure recurrence at 48hours (adjusted OR= 4.3, 95% CI= 1.9-9.8; p&nbsp

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Adolescents represent the largest age group that presents to emergency departments (ED) for synthetic cannabinoid (SC) toxicity; however, the neurotoxic effects of acute SC exposures in this group are understudied. Our aim was to characterize the neuropsychiatric presentation of adolescents with SC-related exposure in the ED compared with those with traditional cannabis exposure. METHODS: A multicenter registry of clinical information prospectively collected by medical toxicologists (Toxicology Investigators Consortium Case Registry) was reviewed for adolescents presenting to the ED after SC or cannabis exposure from 2010 through 2018. Associations were measured between drug exposures and neuropsychiatric symptoms and/or signs. Exposures were classified into 4 groups: SC-only exposure, SC-polydrug exposures, cannabis-only exposure, and cannabis-polydrug exposures. RESULTS: Adolescents presenting to the ED with SC-only exposure (n = 107) had higher odds of coma and/or central nervous system depression (odds ratio [OR] 3.42; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.51–7.75) and seizures (OR 3.89; 95% CI 1.39–10.94) than those with cannabis-only exposure (n = 86). SC-only drug exposure was associated with lower odds of agitation than cannabis-only exposure (OR 0.18; 95% CI 0.10–0.34). In contrast, the group with SC-polydrug exposures (n = 38) had higher odds of agitation (OR 3.11; 95% CI 1.56–7.44) and seizures (OR 4.8; 95% CI 1.80–12.74) than the cannabis-polydrug exposures group (n = 117). CONCLUSIONS: In this multisite cohort of US adolescents assessed in the ED, SC exposure was associated with higher odds of neuropsychiatric morbidity than cannabis exposure providing a distinct neurospychiatric profile of acute SC toxicity in adolescents.

Objectives Limited literature has investigated caregiver sharing of prescription medications with children. Our primary aim was to determine the frequency of and factors associated with prescription medication sharing within families. Our secondary aim was to determine the source and type of medications shared. Methods We conducted a survey of a convenience sample of caregivers of children 1 to 17 years in a pediatric emergency department. The survey was developed through literature review, iterative feedback, and pilot testing on caregivers. We used logistic regression to identify factors associated with any history of medication sharing with a child in the home (primary outcome). Results We enrolled 550 primary caregivers; 68 of the 535 analyzed (12.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 10.0-15.8) reported prescription medication sharing with their child/children. Of those who shared, 50 (73.5%) shared asthma medications and 14 (20.6%) shared antibiotics. Of the caregivers who shared prescription medications, 70.6% shared a medication for one child with another child, whereas 33.8% of caregivers shared their own or another adult's medication with their child. A child in the home with asthma (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.35; CI, 1.82-6.17), a greater number of children in the household (aOR, 1.29; CI, 1.04-1.60), and a caregiver who previously shared medications with other family members and/or friends (aOR, 4.10; CI, 1.84-9.15) were factors independently associated with medication sharing. Conclusions Prescription medication sharing within families is common and most often involves asthma medications. We identified several factors associated with prescription medication sharing that could be used to target caregivers for preventative interventions.

Objectives Expedited partner therapy (EPT) refers to treating sexual partners of patients with sexually transmitted infections by providing prescriptions or medications to give to their partners. Expedited partner therapy is not routinely prescribed in the emergency department (ED). Our objective was to explore adolescent preferences for EPT use in the ED. Methods We conducted a mixed-methods study using surveys and semistructured interviews in one urban ED. Sexually active patients aged 15 to 19 years completed an anonymous survey eliciting (1) sexual history and risky sexual behaviors, (2) preferences for partner notification when hypothetically testing positive for an STI, and (3) preferences for EPT. A subsample of survey respondents participated in the interviews, which were conducted until no new perspectives emerged. Investigators analyzed interviews using thematic analysis. Results A total of 247 participants completed surveys; the majority were female (183/247, 74%), Hispanic (209/243, 86%), and did not use a condom at last intercourse (129/243, 53%). Two thirds of participants (152/236, 64%) did not prefer EPT for partner notification. Preference for EPT was not associated with sex, age, ethnicity, condom use, a steady sexual partner, or STI history. Qualitative data from both surveys and interviews revealed the following reasons for not preferring EPT: concern for partner safety, importance of determining partner STI status, perceived benefit of clinical interaction, and partner accountability. Reasons for preferring EPT included increased treatment accessibility and convenience. Conclusions The majority of adolescent patients in a pediatric ED did not prefer EPT. Emergency department practitioners should address common concerns regarding EPT to increase EPT adherence if prescribed.

Importance In young febrile infants, serious bacterial infections (SBIs), including urinary tract infections, bacteremia, and meningitis, may lead to dangerous complications. However, lumbar punctures and hospitalizations involve risks and costs. Clinical prediction rules using biomarkers beyond the white blood cell count (WBC) may accurately identify febrile infants at low risk for SBIs. Objective To derive and validate a prediction rule to identify febrile infants 60 days and younger at low risk for SBIs. Design, Setting, and Participants Prospective, observational study between March 2011 and May 2013 at 26 emergency departments. Convenience sample of previously healthy febrile infants 60 days and younger who were evaluated for SBIs. Data were analyzed between April 2014 and April 2018. Exposures Clinical and laboratory data (blood and urine) including patient demographics, fever height and duration, clinical appearance, WBC, absolute neutrophil count (ANC), serum procalcitonin, and urinalysis. We derived and validated a prediction rule based on these variables using binary recursive partitioning analysis. Main Outcomes and Measures Serious bacterial infection, defined as urinary tract infection, bacteremia, or bacterial meningitis. Results We derived the prediction rule on a random sample of 908 infants and validated it on 913 infants (mean age was 36 days, 765 were girls [42%], 781 were white and non-Hispanic [43%], 366 were black [20%], and 535 were Hispanic [29%]). Serious bacterial infections were present in 170 of 1821 infants (9.3%), including 26 (1.4%) with bacteremia, 151 (8.3%) with urinary tract infections, and 10 (0.5%) with bacterial meningitis; 16 (0.9%) had concurrent SBIs. The prediction rule identified infants at low risk of SBI using a negative urinalysis result, an ANC of 4090/µL or less (to convert to ×109per liter, multiply by 0.001), and serum procalcitonin of 1.71 ng/mL or less. In the validation cohort, the rule sensitivity was 97.7% (95% CI, 91.3-99.6), specificity was 60.0% (95% CI, 56.6-63.3), negative predictive value was 99.6% (95% CI, 98.4-99.9), and negative likelihood ratio was 0.04 (95% CI, 0.01-0.15). One infant with bacteremia and 2 infants with urinary tract infections were misclassified. No patients with bacterial meningitis were missed by the rule. The rule performance was nearly identical when the outcome was restricted to bacteremia and/or bacterial meningitis, missing the same infant with bacteremia. Conclusions and Relevance We derived and validated an accurate prediction rule to identify febrile infants 60 days and younger at low risk for SBIs using the urinalysis, ANC, and procalcitonin levels. Once further validated on an independent cohort, clinical application of the rule has the potential to decrease unnecessary lumbar punctures, antibiotic administration, and hospitalizations.

Objectives The objective of this study was to determine emergency department (ED) physician adherence with the 2011 Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS) and Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) guidelines for outpatient management of children with mild-to-moderate community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Methods A cross-sectional survey of physicians on the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Emergency Medicine Survey listserv was conducted. We evaluated ED physicians' reported adherence with the PIDS/IDSA guidelines through presentation of 4 clinical vignettes representing mild-to-moderate CAP of presumed viral (preschool-aged child), bacterial (preschool and school-aged child), and atypical bacterial (school-aged child) etiology. Results Of 120 respondents with analyzable data (31.4% response rate), use of chest radiograph (CXR) was nonadherent to the guidelines in greater than 50% of respondents for each of the 4 vignettes. Pediatric emergency medicine fellowship training was independently associated with increased CXR use in all vignettes, except for school-aged children with bacterial CAP. Guideline-recommended amoxicillin was selected to treat bacterial CAP by 91.7% of the respondents for preschool-aged children and by 75.8% for school-aged children. Macrolide monotherapy for atypical CAP was appropriately selected by 88.2% and was associated with obtaining a CXR (adjusted odds ratio, 3.9 [95% confidence interval, 1.4-11.1]). Guideline-adherent antibiotic use for all vignettes was independently associated with congruence between respondent's presumed diagnosis and the vignette's intended etiologic diagnosis. Conclusions Reported ED CXR use in the management of outpatient CAP was often nonadherent to the PIDS/IDSA guidelines. Most respondents were adherent to the guidelines in their use of antibiotics. Strategies to increase diagnostic test accuracy are needed to improve adherence and reduce variation in care.

Objective Adolescents are the largest users of mobile technology; yet, there are little data regarding their receptivity to the use of mobile health technology (mHealth) from the emergency department (ED). The objective of this study was to determine adolescents' preferences for receiving ED discharge and follow-up information via mHealth and factors associated with those preferences. Methods We administered an anonymous self-reporting survey to patients aged 14 to 19 years discharged from an urban pediatric ED. We conducted exploratory bivariate analyses to evaluate differences in communication preferences based on patient characteristics. We used multivariable logistic regression to determine whether preference for health information via mHealth is associated with frequent information technology (IT) use, adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, and insurance status. Results Four hundred thirty-nine adolescents completed the survey. Most were female (n = 279, 64%), 14 to 17 years old (n = 247, 57%), Hispanic (n = 359, 86%), and insured (n = 388, 88%). Adolescents used IT often, texting more than 30 times a day (58%) and emailing more than once a day (61%). Most (n = 335, 78%) were interested in electronic communication from the ED. Teens expressed particular interest in using email for discharge instructions (n = 196, 47%), physician referrals (n = 197, 48%), and test results (n = 201, 48%) and using texting for medication (n = 155, 38%) and appointment reminders (n = 170, 41%). Individuals tended to prefer communication with IT modes that they typically used, although only email was independently associated with preference for this mode (adjusted odds ratio, 2.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-5.3). Conclusions Adolescent patients are interested in receiving health information from the ED, mainly via email and texting. Future ED interventions should evaluate the effectiveness of these modalities to communicate with patients after discharge.

Children with minor head trauma frequently present to emergency departments (EDs). Identifying those with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can be difficult, and it is unknown whether clinical prediction rules outperform clinician suspicion. Our primary objective was to compare the test characteristics of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) TBI prediction rules to clinician suspicion for identifying children with clinically important TBIs (ciTBIs) after minor blunt head trauma. Our secondary objective was to determine the reasons for obtaining computed tomography (CT) scans when clinical suspicion of ciTBI was low.This was a planned secondary analysis of a previously conducted observational cohort study conducted in PECARN to derive and validate clinical prediction rules for ciTBI among children with minor blunt head trauma in 25 PECARN EDs. Clinicians recorded their suspicion of ciTBI before CT as1, 1-5, 6-10, 11-50, or50%. We defined ciTBI as 1) death from TBI, 2) neurosurgery, 3) intubation for more than 24 hours for TBI, or 4) hospital admission of 2 nights or more associated with TBI on CT. To avoid overfitting of the prediction rules, we performed comparisons of the prediction rules and clinician suspicion on the validation group only. On the validation group, we compared the test accuracies of clinician suspicion 1% versus having at least one predictor in the PECARN TBI age-specific prediction rules for identifying children with ciTBIs (one rule for children2 years [preverbal], the other rule for children2 years [verbal]).In the parent study, we enrolled 8,627 children to validate the prediction rules, after enrolling 33,785 children to derive the prediction rules. In the validation group, clinician suspicion of ciTBI was recorded in 8,496/8,627 (98.5%) patients, and 87 (1.0%) had ciTBIs. CT scans were obtained in 2,857 (33.6%) patients in the validation group for whom clinician suspicion of ciTBI was recorded, including 2,099/7,688 (27.3%) of those with clinician suspicion of ciTBI of1% and 758/808 (93.8%) of those with clinician suspicion1%. The PECARN prediction rules were significantly more sensitive than clinician suspicion1% of ciTBI for preverbal (100% [95% confidence interval {CI} = 86.3% to 100%] vs. 60.0% [95% CI = 38.7% to 78.9%]) and verbal children (96.8% [95% CI = 88.8% to 99.6%] vs. 64.5% [95% CI = 51.3% to 76.3%]). Prediction rule specificity, however, was lower than clinician suspicion1% for preverbal children (53.6% [95% CI = 51.5% to 55.7%] vs. 92.4% [95% CI = 91.2% to 93.5%]) and verbal children (58.2% [95% CI = 56.9% to 59.4%] vs. 90.6% [95% CI = 89.8% to 91.3%]). Of the 7,688 patients in the validation group with clinician suspicion recorded as1%, CTs were nevertheless obtained in 2,099 (27.3%). Three of 16 (18.8%) patients undergoing neurosurgery had clinician suspicion of ciTBI1%.The PECARN TBI prediction rules had substantially greater sensitivity, but lower specificity, than clinician suspicion of ciTBI for children with minor blunt head trauma. Because CT ordering did not follow clinician suspicion of1%, these prediction rules can augment clinician judgment and help obviate CT ordering for children at very low risk of ciTBI.

SummaryFor children who present to emergency departments (EDs) due to blunt head trauma, ED clinicians must decide who requires computed tomography (CT) scanning to evaluate for traumatic brain injury (TBI). The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) derived and validated two age-based prediction rules to identify children at very low risk of clinically-important traumatic brain injuries (ciTBIs) who do not typically require CT scans. In this case report, we describe the strategy used to implement the PECARN TBI prediction rules via electronic health record (EHR) clinical decision support (CDS) as the intervention in a multicenter clinical trial.Thirteen EDs participated in this trial. The 10 sites receiving the CDS intervention used the Epic® EHR. All sites implementing EHR-based CDS built the rules by using the vendor’s CDS engine. Based on a sociotechnical analysis, we designed the CDS so that recommendations could be displayed immediately after any provider entered prediction rule data. One central site developed and tested the intervention package to be exported to other sites. The intervention package included a clinical trial alert, an electronic data collection form, the CDS rules and the format for recommendations.The original PECARN head trauma prediction rules were derived from physician documentation while this pragmatic trial led each site to customize their workflows and allow multiple different providers to complete the head trauma assessments. These differences in workflows led to varying completion rates across sites as well as differences in the types of providers completing the electronic data form. Site variation in internal change management processes made it challenging to maintain the same rigor across all sites. This led to downstream effects when data reports were developed.The process of a centralized build and export of a CDS system in one commercial EHR system successfully supported a multicenter clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the architecture, integration requirements, and execution characteristics of a remote clinical decision support (CDS) service used in a multicenter clinical trial. The trial tested the efficacy of implementing brain injury prediction rules for children with minor blunt head trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We integrated the Epic(®) electronic health record (EHR) with the Enterprise Clinical Rules Service (ECRS), a web-based CDS service, at two emergency departments. Patterns of CDS review included either a delayed, near-real-time review, where the physician viewed CDS recommendations generated by the nursing assessment, or a real-time review, where the physician viewed recommendations generated by their own documentation. A backstopping, vendor-based CDS triggered with zero delay when no recommendation was available in the EHR from the web-service. We assessed the execution characteristics of the integrated system and the source of the generated recommendations viewed by physicians. RESULTS: The ECRS mean execution time was 0.74 ±0.72s. Overall execution time was substantially different at the two sites, with mean total transaction times of 19.67 and 3.99s. Of 1930 analyzed transactions from the two sites, 60% (310/521) of all physician documentation-initiated recommendations and 99% (1390/1409) of all nurse documentation-initiated recommendations originated from the remote web service. DISCUSSION: The remote CDS system was the source of recommendations in more than half of the real-time cases and virtually all the near-real-time cases. Comparisons are limited by allowable variation in user workflow and resolution of the EHR clock. CONCLUSION: With maturation and adoption of standards for CDS services, remote CDS shows promise to decrease time-to-trial for multicenter evaluations of candidate decision support interventions. Language: en

Emergency department (ED) visits are an opportunity to initiate chronic asthma care. Ideally, this care should be implemented in a fashion that limits utilization of scarce ED resources. We developed, iteratively refined, and pilot tested the feasibility of a computerized asthma kiosk to (1) capture asthma information, (2) deliver asthma education, and (3) facilitate guideline-based chronic asthma management.The following are the 4 phases of this study: (1) developing the content and structure of a computerized asthma kiosk, (2) iterative refinement through heuristic testing by human-computer interface experts, (3) usability testing with ED providers (n = 4) and caregivers of children with asthma (n = 4), and (4) pilot testing the kiosk with caregivers (n = 31) and providers in the ED (n = 18). Outcome measures for the pilot-testing phase were the proportion of ED providers who prescribed long-term controller medication (LTCM) and asthma action plans (AsAPs) and the proportion of children who took LTCMs and attended primary care providers follow-up.After kiosk development and refinement, pilot implementation resulted in LTCMs prescribing and AsAP provision for 19 (61%) of 31 and 17 (55%) of 31 patients, respectively. Before kiosk use, the proportion of the 18 ED providers who reported prescribing LTCM was 1 (5%) of 18, and providing AsAPs was 0 (0%) of 18. Eighteen (58%) of the 31 caregivers reported that their children used LTCMs after kiosk use and 13 (42%) of 31 reported following up with the primary care provider within 1 month of the ED visits.A rigorously developed asthma kiosk showed promise for initiating chronic asthma care in the ED.

Objectives The aims of this study were to define the Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R) and Color Analog Scale (CAS) scores associated with no pain, mild pain, moderate pain, and severe pain in children with acute pain, and to identify differences based on age, sex, and ethnicity. Methods We conducted a prospective observational study in 2 pediatric emergency departments of children aged 4 to 17 years with painful and nonpainful conditions. We assessed their pain intensity using the FPS-R, CAS, and qualitative measures. Pain score cut points that best differentiated adjacent categories of pain were identified using a receiver operating characteristic-based method. Cut points were compared within subgroups based on age, sex, and ethnicity. Results We enrolled 620 patients, of whom 314 had painful conditions. The mean age was 9.2 years; 315 (50.8%) were in the younger age group (aged 4-7 years); 291 (46.8%) were female; and 341 (55%) were Hispanic. The scores best representing categories of pain for the FPS-R were as follows: no pain, 0 and 2; mild pain, 4; moderate pain, 6; and severe pain, 8 and 10. For the CAS, these were 0 to 1, 1.25 to 2.75, 3 to 5.75, and 6 to 10, respectively. Children with no pain frequently reported nonzero pain scores. There was considerable overlap of scores associated with mild and moderate pain. There were no clinically meaningful differences of scores representing each category of pain based on age, ethnicity, and race. Conclusions We defined pain scores for the FPS-R and CAS associated with categories of pain intensity in children with acute pain that are generalizable across subgroups based on patient characteristics. There were minor but potentially important differences in pain scores used to delineate categories of pain intensity compared to prior convention.

Background Emergency medical services (EMS) providers must be able to identify the most appropriate destination facility when treating children with potentially severe medical illnesses. Currently, no validated tool exists to assist EMS providers in identifying children who need transport to a hospital with higher-level pediatric care. For such a tool to be developed, a criterion standard needs to be defined that identifies children who received higher-level pediatric medical care. Objective The objective was to develop a consensus-based criterion standard for children with a medical complaint who need a hospital with higher-level pediatric resources. Methods Eleven local and national experts in EMS, emergency medicine (EM), and pediatric EM were recruited. Initial discussions identified themes for potential criteria. These themes were used to develop specific criteria that were included in a modified Delphi survey, which was electronically delivered. The criteria were refined iteratively based on participant responses. To be included, a criterion required at least 80% agreement among participants. If an item had less than 50% agreement, it was removed. A criterion with 50% to 79% agreement was modified based on participant suggestions and included on the next survey, along with any new suggested criteria. Voting continued until no new criteria were suggested and all criteria received at least 80% agreement. Results All 11 recruited experts participated in all seven voting rounds. After the seventh vote, there was agreement on each item and no new criteria were suggested. The recommended criterion standard included 13 items that apply to patients 14 years old or younger. They included IV antibiotics for suspicion of sepsis or a seizure treated with two different classes of anticonvulsive medications within 2 hours, airway management, blood product administration, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, electrical therapy, administration of specific IV/IO drugs or respiratory assistance within 4 hours, interventional radiology or surgery within 6 hours, intensive care unit admission, specific comorbid conditions with two or more abnormal vital signs, and technology-assisted children seen for device malfunction. Conclusion We developed a 13-item consensus-based criterion standard definition for identifying children with medical complaints who need the resources of a hospital equipped to provide higher-level pediatric services. This criterion standard will allow us to create a tool to improve pediatric patient care by assisting EMS providers in identifying the most appropriate destination facility for ill children.

BackgroundClinicians appear to obtain emergent neuroimaging for children with headaches based on the presence of red flag findings. However, little data exists regarding the prevalence of these findings in emergency department populations, and whether the identification of red flag findings is associated with potentially unnecessary emergency department neuroimaging.ObjectivesWe aimed to determine the prevalence of red flag findings and their association with neuroimaging in otherwise healthy children presenting with headaches to the emergency department. Our secondary aim was to determine the prevalence of emergent intracranial abnormalities in this population.MethodsA prospective cohort study of otherwise healthy children 2–17 years of age presenting to an urban pediatric emergency department with non-traumatic headaches was undertaken. Emergency department physicians completed a standardized form to document headache descriptors and characteristics, associated symptoms, and physical and neurological exam findings. Children who did not receive emergency department neuroimaging received 4-month telephone follow-up. Outcomes included emergency department neuroimaging and the presence of emergent intracranial abnormalities.ResultsWe enrolled 224 patients; 197 (87.9%) had at least one red flag finding on history. Several red flag findings were reported by more than a third of children, including: Headache waking from sleep (34.8%); headache present with or soon after waking (39.7%); or headaches increasing in frequency, duration and severity (40%, 33.1%, and 46.3%). Thirty-three percent of children received emergency department neuroimaging. The prevalence of emergent intracranial abnormalities was 1% (95% CI 0.1, 3.6). Abnormal neurological exam, extreme pain intensity of presenting headache, vomiting, and positional symptoms were independently associated with emergency department neuroimaging.ConclusionsRed flag findings are common in children presenting with headaches to the emergency department. The presence of red flag findings is associated with emergency department neuroimaging, although the risk of emergent intracranial abnormalities is low. Many children with headaches may be receiving unnecessary neuroimaging due to the high prevalence of non-specific red flag findings.

Objectives The aims of this study were to quantify the pain and distress associated with the administration of intranasal (IN) midazolam in young children using 4 observational measures and to evaluate the degree of validity of these measures. Methods We conducted a prospective observational pilot study. Children aged 1 to 7 years requiring IN midazolam were enrolled. Children were videotaped, and scores were assigned to baseline and administration phases using the Observational Scale of Behavioral Distress-Revised (OSBD-R), Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Pain Scale (CHEOPS), and the Faces-Legs-Activity-Cry-Consolability (FLACC) scale. The cry duration following administration was assessed. Interrater reliability and convergent validity were determined for all 4 measures. Internal consistency and responsivity for the OSBD-R, CHEOPS, and FLACC scales were determined. Results We enrolled 20 children. The mean OSBD-R, CHEOPS, and FLACC scores associated with administration of IN midazolam were 27.1 (SD, 13.5), 11.5 (SD, 1.2), and 8.9 (SD, 2.7), respectively. The mean cry duration was 105.5 (SD, 68.8) seconds. The intraclass correlation coefficients for all measures ranged from 0.82 to 0.99. The Cronbach α's for the OSBD-R, CHEOPS, and FLACC were between 0.71 and 0.97. Pearson correlation coefficients for comparisons between OSBD-R, CHEOPS, and FLACC were between 0.82 and 0.96 but were between 0.32 and 0.51 for comparisons involving cry duration. Conclusions We have identified estimates of pain and distress associated with administration of IN midazolam in young children that can be used to determine desired effect sizes for trials that study interventions to treat this pain and distress. The OSBD-R, CHEOPS, and FLACC scales are suitable choices for outcome measures.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to develop and validate a clinical calculator that can be used to quantify risk for appendicitis on a continuous scale for patients with acute abdominal pain. METHODS: The pediatric appendicitis risk calculator (pARC) was developed and validated through secondary analyses of 3 distinct cohorts. The derivation sample included visits to 9 pediatric emergency departments between March 2009 and April 2010. The validation sample included visits to a single pediatric emergency department from 2003 to 2004 and 2013 to 2015. Variables evaluated were as follows: age, sex, temperature, nausea and/or vomiting, pain duration, pain location, pain with walking, pain migration, guarding, white blood cell count, and absolute neutrophil count. We used stepwise regression to develop and select the best model. Test performance of the pARC was compared with the Pediatric Appendicitis Score (PAS). RESULTS: The derivation sample included 2423 children, 40% of whom had appendicitis. The validation sample included 1426 children, 35% of whom had appendicitis. The final pARC model included the following variables: sex, age, duration of pain, guarding, pain migration, maximal tenderness in the right-lower quadrant, and absolute neutrophil count. In the validation sample, the pARC exhibited near perfect calibration and a high degree of discrimination (area under the curve: 0.85; 95% confidence interval: 0.83 to 0.87) and outperformed the PAS (area under the curve: 0.77; 95% confidence interval: 0.75 to 0.80). By using the pARC, almost half of patients in the validation cohort could be accurately classified as at 8. CONCLUSIONS: In our validation cohort of patients with acute abdominal pain, the pARC accurately quantified risk for appendicitis.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to describe the epidemiology, cranial computed tomography (CT) findings, and clinical outcomes of children with blunt head trauma after television tip-over injuries. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of children younger than 18 years prospectively evaluated for blunt head trauma at 25 emergency departments (EDs) in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network from June 2004 to September 2006. Children injured from falling televisions were included. Patients were excluded if injuries occurred more than 24 hours before ED evaluation or if neuroimaging was obtained before evaluation. Data collected included age, race, sex, cranial CT findings, and clinical outcomes. Clinically important traumatic brain injuries (ciTBIs) were defined as death from TBI, neurosurgery, intubation for more than 24 hours for the TBI, or hospital admission of 2 nights or more for the head injury, in association with TBI on CT. RESULTS: A total of 43,904 children were enrolled into the primary study and 218 (0.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.4% to 0.6%) were struck by falling televisions. The median (interquartile range) age of the 218 patients was 3.1 (1.9-4.9) years. Seventy-five (34%) of the 218 underwent CT scanning. Ten (13.3%; 95% CI, 6.6% to 23.2%) of the 75 patients with an ED CT had traumatic findings on cranial CT scan. Six patients met the criteria for ciTBI. Three of these patients died. All 6 patients with ciTBIs were younger than 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Television tip-overs may cause ciTBIs in children, including death, and the most severe injuries occur in children 5 years or younger. These injuries may be preventable by simple preventive measures such as anchoring television sets with straps. Language: en

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:Children and adolescents with minor blunt head trauma and isolated skull fractures are often admitted to the hospital. The objective of this study was to describe the injury circumstances and frequency of clinically important neurologic complications among children with minor blunt head trauma and isolated linear skull fractures.METHODS:This study was a planned secondary analysis of a large prospective cohort study in children RESULTS:In the parent study, we enrolled 43 904 children (11 035 [25%] CONCLUSIONS:Children with minor blunt head trauma and isolated linear skull fractures are at very low risk of evolving other traumatic findings noted in subsequent imaging studies or requiring neurosurgical intervention. Hospital admission for neurologically normal children with isolated linear skull fractures after minor blunt head trauma for monitoring is typically unnecessary.

Researchers and clinicians frequently use self-report measures to identify the severity of pain a child is experiencing and to evaluate the child’s response to a pain-reducing intervention.1–4 Identifying changes in pain score that are clinically meaningful is useful for researchers, allows them to design clinical trials based on clinically meaningful outcomes, and may be helpful for clinicians to determine whether their analgesic interventions had an effect that was important to the patient. These changes have been described as the minimum and ideal clinically significant differences (MCSD and ICSD, respectively) and represent changes in pain scores that are considered “a little less” and “much less” by the subject.5–9 The Faces Pain Scale–Revised (FPS-R)10 and the Color Analog Scale (CAS)11 are two commonly used measures of pain self-report in children in research and clinical settings.1,12–15 The FPS-R, in particular, is one of the self-report measures recommended for clinical trials in children.1 However, the clinically significant differences in pain severity have not been previously determined for the FPS-R and have only been determined in a limited population for the CAS.6 Clinically meaningful differences in pain severity, however, can vary from child to child. The change in pain score required to experience a meaningful improvement in pain has been shown to differ based on a patient’s initial pain severity.8,16 In addition, clinically meaningful differences may also vary based on a child’s individual characteristics. Children’s age, sex, and ethnicity are related to their ability to describe and quantify pain, as well as their perception of and sensitivity to pain.17–22 Therefore, it is important to determine whether the clinically significant difference of pain scales varies in children based on these factors, so that changes in pain score can be appropriately interpreted. We aimed to determine the MCSD and ICSD in pain for the FPS-R and CAS in children aged 4 to 17 years with acute pain. We also aimed to determine whether there were any differences in MCSD and ICSD based on initial pain severity and patient characteristics including age, sex, and ethnicity.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in children with headaches after minor blunt head trauma, particularly when the headaches occur without other findings suggestive of TBIs (ie, isolated headaches). METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of a prospective observational study of children 2 to 18 years with minor blunt head trauma (ie, Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 14–15). Clinicians assessed the history and characteristics of headaches at the time of initial evaluation, and documented findings onto case report forms. Our outcome measures were (1) clinically important TBI (ciTBI) and (2) TBI visible on computed tomography (CT). RESULTS: Of 27 495 eligible patients, 12 675 (46.1%) had headaches. Of the 12 567 patients who had complete data, 2462 (19.6%) had isolated headaches. ciTBIs occurred in 0 of 2462 patients (0%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0%–0.1%) in the isolated headache group versus 162 of 10 105 patients (1.6%; 95% CI: 1.4%–1.9%) in the nonisolated headache group (risk difference, 1.6%; 95% CI: 1.3%–1.9%). TBIs on CT occurred in 3 of 456 patients (0.7%; 95% CI: 0.1%–1.9%) in the isolated headache group versus 271 of 6089 patients (4.5%; 95% CI: 3.9%–5.0%) in the nonisolated headache group (risk difference, 3.8%; 95% CI: 2.3%–4.5%). We found no significant independent associations between the risk of ciTBI or TBI on CT with either headache severity or location. CONCLUSIONS: ciTBIs are rare and TBIs on CT are very uncommon in children with minor blunt head trauma when headaches are their only sign or symptom.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the accuracy of the novel biomarker urinary neutrophil gelatinase–associated lipocalin (uNGAL) to diagnose urinary tract infections (UTIs) in febrile infants and young children. METHODS: Prospective cross-sectional study of febrile infants RESULTS: Of 260 patients, 35 (13.5%) had UTIs. Median uNGAL levels were 215.1 ng/mL (interquartile range: 100.3–917.8) and 4.4 ng/mL (interquartile range: 1.6–11.8) in the groups diagnosed with and without UTIs, respectively. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for uNGAL was 0.978 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.948–1.000). At a threshold uNGAL level of 39.1 ng/mL, sensitivity was 97.1% (95% CI: 83.4–99.9) and specificity was 95.6% (95% CI: 91.7–97.7). uNGAL had higher sensitivity than the combination of leukocyte esterase (in trace or greater amounts) or nitrite (+) (97.1%, 95% CI: 83.4–99.9 vs 74.3%, 95% CI: 56.4–86.9), with similar specificity (95.6%, 95% CI: 91.7–97.7 vs 97.3%, 95% CI: 94.0–98.9). uNGAL had higher sensitivity than Gram-stain (97.1%, 95% CI: 83.4–99.9 vs 74.3%, 95%: CI: 56.4–86.9), with similar specificity (95.6%, 95% CI: 91.7–97.7 vs 100.0%, 95% CI: 97.9–100.0). CONCLUSIONS: uNGAL has substantial accuracy to identify those with and without UTIs in infants and young children. Further studies will need to confirm our findings and determine if uNGAL is a more cost-effective test than standard screening tests.

OBJECTIVES: Reports of the test accuracy of the urinalysis for diagnosing urinary tract infections (UTIs) in young febrile infants have been variable. We evaluated the test characteristics of the urinalysis for diagnosing UTIs, with and without associated bacteremia, in young febrile infants. METHODS: We performed a planned secondary analysis of data from a prospective study of febrile infants ≤60 days old at 26 emergency departments in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network. We evaluated the test characteristics of the urinalysis for diagnosing UTIs, with and without associated bacteremia, by using 2 definitions of UTI: growth of ≥50 000 or ≥10 000 colony-forming units (CFUs) per mL of a uropathogen. We defined a positive urinalysis by the presence of any leukocyte esterase, nitrite, or pyuria (>5 white blood cells per high-power field). RESULTS: Of 4147 infants analyzed, 289 (7.0%) had UTIs with colony counts ≥50 000 CFUs/mL, including 27 (9.3%) with bacteremia. For these UTIs, a positive urinalysis exhibited sensitivities of 0.94 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.91–0.97), regardless of bacteremia; 1.00 (95% CI: 0.87–1.00) with bacteremia; and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.90–0.96) without bacteremia. Specificity was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.90–0.91) in all groups. For UTIs with colony counts ≥10 000 CFUs/mL, the sensitivity of the urinalysis was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.83–0.90), and specificity was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.90–0.92). CONCLUSIONS: The urinalysis is highly sensitive and specific for diagnosing UTIs, especially with ≥50 000 CFUs/mL, in febrile infants ≤60 days old, and particularly for UTIs with associated bacteremia.

OBJECTIVE The use of computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) in patients with acute abdominal pain has substantial variation across pediatric emergency departments (EDs). This study compares the cost of diagnosing and treating suspected appendicitis across a multicenter network of children's hospitals. METHODS This study is a secondary analysis using deidentified data of a prospective, observational study of patients with suspected appendicitis at nine pediatric EDs. The study included patients 3 to 18 years old who presented to the ED with acute abdominal pain of

Study objective To describe the current epidemiology of bacteremia in febrile infants 60 days of age and younger in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN). Methods We conducted a planned secondary analysis of a prospective observational study of febrile infants 60 days of age and younger presenting to any of 26 PECARN emergency departments (2008 to 2013) who had blood cultures obtained. We excluded infants with significant comorbidities or critically ill appearance. The primary outcome was prevalence of bacteremia. Results Of 7,335 screened infants, 4,778 (65.1%) had blood cultures and were enrolled. Of these patients, 84 had bacteremia (1.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4% to 2.2%). The prevalence of bacteremia in infants aged 28 days or younger (47/1,515) was 3.1% (95% CI 2.3% to 4.1%); in infants aged 29 to 60 days (37/3,246), 1.1% (95% CI 0.8% to 1.6%). Prevalence differed by week of age for infants 28 days of age and younger (0 to 7 days: 4/156, 2.6%; 8 to 14 days: 19/356, 5.3%; 15 to 21 days: 15/449, 3.3%; and 22 to 28 days: 9/554, 1.6%). The most common pathogens were Escherichia coli (39.3%; 95% CI 29.5% to 50.0%) and group B streptococcus (23.8%; 95% CI 16.0% to 33.9%). Bacterial meningitis occurred in 19 of 1,515 infants 28 days of age and younger (1.3%; 95% CI 0.8% to 2.0%) and 5 of 3,246 infants aged 29 to 60 days (0.2%; 95% CI 0.1% to 0.4%). Of 84 infants with bacteremia, 36 (42.9%; 95% CI 32.8% to 53.5%) had urinary tract infections ( E coli 83%); 11 (13.1%; 95% CI 7.5% to 21.9%) had bacterial meningitis. Conclusion The prevalence of bacteremia and meningitis among febrile infants 28 days of age and younger is high and exceeds that observed in infants aged 29 to 60 days. E coli and group B streptococcus are the most common bacterial pathogens.

Purpose To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a text messaging intervention to increase contraception among adolescent emergency department patients. Methods A pilot randomized controlled trial of sexually active females aged 14–19 receiving 3 months of theory-based, unidirectional educational and motivational texts providing reproductive health information versus standardized discharge instructions. Blinded assessors measured contraception initiation via telephone follow-up and health record review at 3 months. Results We randomized 100 eligible participants (predominantly aged 18–19, Hispanic, and with a primary provider); 88.0% had follow-up. In the intervention arm, 3/50 (6.0%) participants opted out, and 1,172/1,654 (70.9%) texts were successfully delivered; over 90% of message failures were from one mobile carrier. Most (36/41; 87.7%) in the intervention group liked and wanted future reproductive health messages. Contraception was initiated in 6/50 (12.0%) in the intervention arm and in 11/49 (22.4%) in the control arm. Conclusions A pregnancy prevention texting intervention was feasible and acceptable among adolescent females in the emergency department setting.

Background Antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs) have not been fully developed for the emergency department (ED), in part the result of the barriers characteristic of this setting. Electronic health record–based clinical decision support (EHR CDS) represents a promising strategy to implement ASPs in the ED. We aimed to determine the cultural beliefs and structural barriers and facilitators to implementation of antimicrobial stewardship in the pediatric ED using EHR CDS. Methods Interviews and focus groups were conducted with hospital and ED leadership, attending ED physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and residents at a single health system in Colorado. We reviewed and coded the data using constant comparative analysis and framework analysis until a final set of themes emerged. Results Two dominant perceptions shaped providers' perspectives on ASPs in the ED and EHR CDS: (1) maintaining workflow efficiency and (2) constrained decision-making autonomy. Clinicians identified structural barriers to ASPs, such as pace of the ED, and various beliefs that shaped patterns of practice, including accommodating the prescribing decisions of other providers and managing parental expectations. Recommendations to enhance uptake focused on designing a simple yet flexible user interface, providing clinicians with performance data, and on-boarding clinicians to enhance buy-in. Conclusions Developing a successful ED-based ASP using EHR CDS should attend to technologic needs, the institutional context, and the cultural beliefs of practice associated with providers' antibiotic prescribing.

BACKGROUNDAntimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) effectively optimize antibiotic use for inpatients; however, the extent of emergency department (ED) involvement in ASPs has not been described.OBJECTIVETo determine current ED involvement in children’s hospital ASPs and to assess beliefs and preferred methods of implementation for ED-based ASPs.METHODSA cross-sectional survey of 37 children’s hospitals participating in the Sharing Antimicrobial Resistance Practices collaboration was conducted. Surveys were distributed to ASP leaders and ED medical directors at each institution. Items assessed included beliefs regarding ED antibiotic prescribing, ED prescribing resources, ASP methods used in the ED such as clinical decision support and clinical care guidelines, ED participation in ASP activities, and preferred methods for ED-based ASP implementation.RESULTSA total of 36 ASP leaders (97.3%) and 32 ED directors (86.5%) responded; the overall response rate was 91.9%. Most ASP leaders (97.8%) and ED directors (93.7%) agreed that creation of ED-based ASPs was necessary. ED resources for antibiotic prescribing were obtained via the Internet or electronic health records (EHRs) for 29 hospitals (81.3%). The main ASP activities for the ED included production of antibiograms (77.8%) and creation of clinical care guidelines for pneumonia (83.3%). The ED was represented on 3 hospital ASP committees (8.3%). No hospital ASPs actively monitored outpatient ED prescribing. Most ASP leaders (77.8%) and ED directors (81.3%) preferred implementation of ED-based ASPs using clinical decision support integrated into the EHR.CONCLUSIONSAlthough ED involvement in ASPs is limited, both ASP and ED leaders believe that ED-based ASPs are necessary. Many children’s hospitals have the capability to implement ED-based ASPs via the preferred method: EHR clinical decision support.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:469–475

The aim of this study was to evaluate the variability of clinician-performed Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) examinations and its impact on abdominal computed tomography (AbCT) use in hemodynamically stable children with blunt torso trauma (BTT). The FAST is used with variable frequency in children with BTT.We performed a planned secondary analysis of children (18 years) with BTT. Patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of less than 9, those with hypotension, and those taken directly to the operating suite were excluded. Clinicians documented their suspicion for intra-abdominal injury (IAI) as very low, less than 1%; low, 1% to 5%; moderate, 6% to 10%; high, 11% to 50%; or very high, greater than 50%. We determined the relative risk (RR) for AbCT use based on undergoing a FAST examination in each of these clinical suspicion strata.Of 6,468 (median age, 11.8 years; interquartile range, 6.3-15.5 years) children who met eligibility, 887 (13.7%) underwent FAST examination before CT scan. A total of 3,015 (46.6%) underwent AbCT scanning, and 373 (5.8%) were diagnosed with IAI. Use of the FAST increased as clinician suspicion for IAI increased, 11.0% with less than 1% suspicion for IAI, 13.5% with 1% to 5% suspicion, 20.5% with 6% to 10% suspicion, 23.2% with 11% to 50% suspicion, and 30.7% with greater than 50% suspicion. The patients in whom the clinicians had a suspicion of IAI of 1% to 5% or 6% to 10% were significantly less likely to undergo a CT scan if a FAST examination was performed: RR, 0.83 (0.67-1.03); RR, 0.81 (0.72-0.91); RR, 0.85 (0.78-0.94); RR, 0.99 (0.94-1.05); and RR, 0.97 (0.91-1.05) for patients with clinician suspicion of IAI of less than 1%, 1% to 5%, 6% to 10%, 11% to 50%, and greater than 50%, respectively.The FAST examination is used in a relatively small percentage of children with BTT. Use increases as clinician suspicion for IAI increases. Patients with a low or moderate clinician suspicion of IAI are less likely to undergo AbCT if they receive a FAST examination. A randomized controlled trial is required to more precisely determine the benefits and drawbacks of the FAST examination in the evaluation of children with BTT.Prognostic and epidemiologic study, II.

Study objective We aimed to determine the association between scalp hematoma characteristics and traumatic brain injuries in young children with blunt head trauma who have no other symptoms or signs suggestive of traumatic brain injuries (defined as "isolated scalp hematomas"). Methods This was a secondary analysis of children younger than 24 months with minor blunt head trauma from a prospective cohort study in 25 Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network emergency departments. Treating clinicians completed a structured data form. For children with isolated scalp hematomas, we determined the prevalence of and association between scalp hematoma characteristics and (1) clinically important traumatic brain injury (death, neurosurgery for traumatic brain injury, intubation >24 hours for traumatic brain injury, or positive computed tomography (CT) scan in association with hospitalization ≥2 nights for traumatic brain injury); and (2) traumatic brain injury on CT. Results Of 10,659 patients younger than 24 months were enrolled, 2,998 of 10,463 (28.7%) with complete data had isolated scalp hematomas. Clinically important traumatic brain injuries occurred in 12 patients (0.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.2% to 0.7%); none underwent neurosurgery (95% CI 0% to 0.1%). Of 570 patients (19.0%) for whom CTs were obtained, 50 (8.8%; 95% CI 6.6% to 11.4%) had traumatic brain injuries on CT. Younger age, non-frontal scalp hematoma location, increased scalp hematoma size, and severe injury mechanism were independently associated with traumatic brain injury on CT. Conclusion In patients younger than 24 months with isolated scalp hematomas, a minority received CTs. Despite the occasional presence of traumatic brain injuries on CT, the prevalence of clinically important traumatic brain injuries was very low, with no patient requiring neurosurgery. Clinicians should use patient age, scalp hematoma location and size, and injury mechanism to help determine which otherwise asymptomatic children should undergo neuroimaging after minor head trauma.

We present the case of a 3-month-old girl who had unrepaired Tetralogy of Fallot who presented to the emergency department with an acute hypoxic episode. The patient was hyperpneic and cyanotic, with an initial oxygen saturation of 56%. She did not respond to knee-to-chest positioning. A single dose of intranasal fentanyl was administered with subsequent resolution of her symptoms and improvement of her oxygen saturation to 78% within 10 minutes. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the successful treatment of a hypoxic episode of Tetralogy of Fallot using intranasal fentanyl.

Study objective We aimed to determine the prevalence of traumatic brain injuries in children who vomit after minor blunt head trauma, particularly when the vomiting occurs without other findings suggestive of traumatic brain injury (ie, isolated vomiting). We also aimed to determine the relationship between the timing and degree of vomiting and traumatic brain injury prevalence. Methods This was a secondary analysis of children younger than 18 years with minor blunt head trauma. Clinicians assessed for history and characteristics of vomiting at the initial evaluation. We assessed for the prevalence of clinically important traumatic brain injury and traumatic brain injury on computed tomography (CT). Results Of 42,112 children enrolled, 5,557 (13.2%) had a history of vomiting, of whom 815 of 5,392 (15.1%) with complete data had isolated vomiting. Clinically important traumatic brain injury occurred in 2 of 815 patients (0.2%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0% to 0.9%) with isolated vomiting compared with 114 of 4,577 (2.5%; 95% CI 2.1% to 3.0%) with nonisolated vomiting (difference –2.3%, 95% CI –2.8% to –1.5%). Of patients with isolated vomiting for whom CT was performed, traumatic brain injury on CT occurred in 5 of 298 (1.7%; 95% CI 0.5% to 3.9%) compared with 211 of 3,284 (6.4%; 95% CI 5.6% to 7.3%) with nonisolated vomiting (difference –4.7%; 95% CI –6.0% to –2.4%). We found no significant independent associations between prevalence of clinically important traumatic brain injury and traumatic brain injury on CT with either the timing of onset or time since the last episode of vomiting. Conclusion Traumatic brain injury on CT is uncommon and clinically important traumatic brain injury is very uncommon in children with minor blunt head trauma when vomiting is their only sign or symptom. Observation in the emergency department before determining the need for CT appears appropriate for many of these children.

We compared measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), and influenza vaccination rates of children presenting to a Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) in New York City with rates from national assessments. MMR and influenza vaccination rates in this PED population were generally comparable to community rates, but lower than Healthy People 2020 targets.

The management of acute traumatic pain is a crucial component of prehospital care and yet the assessment and administration of analgesia is highly variable, frequently suboptimal, and often determined by consensus-based regional protocols.To develop an evidence-based guideline (EBG) for the clinical management of acute traumatic pain in adults and children by advanced life support (ALS) providers in the prehospital setting. Methods. We recruited a multi-stakeholder panel with expertise in acute pain management, guideline development, health informatics, and emergency medical services (EMS) outcomes research. Representatives of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (sponsoring agency) and a major children's research center (investigative team) also contributed to the process. The panel used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology to guide the process of question formulation, evidence retrieval, appraisal/synthesis, and formulation of recommendations. The process also adhered to the National Prehospital Evidence-Based Guideline (EBG) model process approved by the Federal Interagency Council for EMS and the National EMS Advisory Council.Four strong and three weak recommendations emerged from the process; two of the strong recommendations were linked to high- and moderate-quality evidence, respectively. The panel recommended that all patients be considered candidates for analgesia, regardless of transport interval, and that opioid medications should be considered for patients in moderate to severe pain. The panel also recommended that all patients should be reassessed at frequent intervals using a standardized pain scale and that patients should be re-dosed if pain persists. The panel suggested the use of specific age-appropriate pain scales.GRADE methodology was used to develop an evidence-based guideline for prehospital analgesia in trauma. The panel issued four strong recommendations regarding patient assessment and narcotic medication dosing. Future research should define optimal approaches for implementation of the guideline as well as the impact of the protocol on safety and effectiveness metrics.

To describe pediatric patients transported by the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network's (PECARN's) affiliated emergency medical service (EMS) agencies and the process of submitting and aggregating data from diverse agencies.We conducted a retrospective analysis of electronic patient care data from PECARN's partner EMS agencies. Data were collected on all EMS runs for patients less than 19 years old treated between 2004 and 2006. We conducted analyses only for variables with usable data submitted by a majority of participating agencies. The investigators aggregated data between study sites by recoding it into categories and then summarized it using descriptive statistics.Sixteen EMS agencies agreed to participate. Fourteen agencies (88%) across 11 states were able to submit patient data. Two of these agencies were helicopter agencies (HEMS). Mean time to data submission was 378 days (SD 175). For the 12 ground EMS agencies that submitted data, there were 514,880 transports, with a mean patient age of 9.6 years (SD 6.4); 53% were male, and 48% were treated by advanced life support (ALS) providers. Twenty-two variables were aggregated and analyzed, but not all agencies were able to submit all analyzed variables and for most variables there were missing data. Based on the available data, median response time was 6 minutes (IQR: 4-9), scene time 15 minutes (IQR: 11-21), and transport time 9 minutes (IQR: 6-13). The most common chief complaints were traumatic injury (28%), general illness (10%), and respiratory distress (9%). Vascular access was obtained for 14% of patients, 3% received asthma medication,1% pain medication,1% assisted ventilation,1% seizure medication,1% an advanced airway, and1% CPR. Respiratory rate, pulse, systolic blood pressure, and GCS were categorized by age and the majority of children were in the normal range except for systolic blood pressure in those under one year old.Despite advances in data definitions and increased use of electronic databases nationally, data aggregation across EMS agencies was challenging, in part due to variable data collection methods and missing data. In our sample, only a small proportion of pediatric EMS patients required prehospital medications or interventions.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:The Faces Pain Scale–Revised (FPS-R) and Color Analog Scale (CAS) are self-report pain scales commonly used in children but insufficiently validated in the emergency department setting. Our objectives were to determine the psychometric properties (convergent validity, discriminative validity, responsivity, and reliability) of the FPS-R and CAS, and to determine whether degree of validity varied based on age, sex, and ethnicity.METHODS:We conducted a prospective, observational study of English- and Spanish-speaking children ages 4 to 17 years. Children with painful conditions indicated their pain severity on the FPS-R and CAS before and 30 minutes after analgesia. We assessed convergent validity (Pearson correlations, Bland-Altman method), discriminative validity (comparing pain scores in children with pain against those without pain), responsivity (comparing pain scores pre- and postanalgesia), and reliability (Pearson correlations, repeatability coefficient).RESULTS:Of 620 patients analyzed, mean age was 9.2 ± 3.8 years, 291(46.8%) children were girls, 341(55%) were Hispanic, and 313(50.5%) were in the younger age group (CONCLUSIONS:The FPS-R and CAS overall demonstrate strong psychometric properties in children ages 4 to 17 years, and between subgroups based on age, sex, and ethnicity. Convergent validity was questionable in children