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OBJECTIVES The chronic conditions and functional limitations experienced by children with medical complexity (CMC) place them at disproportionate risk for COVID-19 transmission and poor outcomes. To promote robust vaccination uptake, specific constructs associated with vaccine hesitancy must be understood. Our objective was to describe demographic, clinical, and vaccine perception variables associated with CMC parents’ intention to vaccinate their child against COVID-19. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional survey (June–August 2021) for primary caregivers of CMC between ages 5 to 17 at an academic medical center in the Midwest. Multivariable logistic regression examined associations between vaccination intent and selected covariates. RESULTS Among 1330 families, 65.8% indicated vaccination intent. In multivariable models, demographics had minimal associations with vaccination intent; however, parents of younger children (1 complex chronic condition (vs 1), had higher adjusted odds of vaccination intent (1.82 [1.14–2.92] and 1.77 [1.16–2.71], respectively). Vaccine perceptions associated with vaccine intention included “My doctor told me to get my child a COVID-19 vaccine” (2.82 [1.74–4.55]); and “I’m concerned about my child’s side effects from the vaccine” (0.18 [0.12–0.26]). CONCLUSIONS One-third of CMC families expressed vaccine hesitation; however, constructs strongly associated with vaccination intent are potentially modifiable. Pediatrician endorsement of COVID-19 vaccination and careful counseling on side effects might be promising strategies to encourage uptake.

IMPORTANCE: The rate of postoperative death in children undergoing tonsillectomy is uncertain. Mortality rates are not separately available for children at increased risk of complications, including young children (aged

Objective Promotion of physician well-being has emerged as a national priority, yet meaningful interventions depend on further understanding the factors that promote and detract from physician well-being. The aim of this study was to better understand the perspectives of academic pediatricians regarding the factors influencing their well-being. Methods We conducted a qualitative study using grounded theory methodology. In June 2018, we performed facilitated focus groups with academic pediatric faculty at our institution. Focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using the constant comparative method to identify key themes. Results Fifty-four pediatricians participated in the focus groups. Key themes included 1) pediatricians feel inundated by collective professional and personal pressures, 2) pediatricians feel they have lost control over how time at work is spent, and 3) obscured professional-personal boundaries can cause erosion of personal life. Conclusions Pediatricians identified 3 key barriers to well-being: collective pressures, including increasing and competing academic and clinical responsibilities; low value tasks that consume their time; and erosion of personal life. This study adds to the growing literature describing physician well-being as strongly influenced by workplace factors, and offers examples of modifiable factors for further investigation.

Objective This study examined family-reported ambulatory care quality and its association with emergency department and hospital utilization, and how these relationships differed across levels of medical complexity. Data sources The 2006-2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Study design Secondary analysis of MEPS data. Variables fitting the National Quality Measures Clearinghouse clinical quality measures domain framework were selected. Exploratory factor analysis grouped ambulatory quality into 12 access, experience, or process measures. Weighted negative binomial regression stratified by health status identified associations between ambulatory quality and ED visits or hospitalizations. Data collection 41,497 children ≤18 years were included. The 5-item special health care needs (SHCN) screener categorized health status as complex, less complex, or no SHCN. Principal findings Weighted SHCN proportions were 1.6 Percent complex, 18.2 Percent less complex, and 80.0 Percent no SHCN. Mean ED visits were 130 and 335 visits/1000 children/year for no/ complex SHCN, respectively. Mean hospitalizations were 20 and 175 hospitalizations/1000 children/year for no/complex SHCN, respectively. ED visits were associated with 8 of 12 quality measures for no/less complex SHCN. For example, usually/always receiving needed care right away was associated with 22 Percent lower ED visit rate (95% CI 0.64-0.96). Hospitalizations were associated with 4 of 12 quality measures for less complex SHCN. In complex SHCN, associations between ambulatory quality and ED/hospital use were weak and inconsistent. Conclusions Ambulatory quality may best predict ED and hospital use for children with no or less complex SHCN. Whether and how ambulatory care predicts emergency and hospital care in complex SHCN remains an important question.

To evaluate associations between faculty gender and milestone-based teaching assessment scores assigned by residents.We performed a retrospective cohort study of milestone-based clinical teaching assessments of pediatric faculty completed by pediatric residents at a mid-sized residency program from July 2016 to June 2019. Assessments included 3 domains (Clinical Interactions, Teaching Skills, Role Modeling/Professionalism) comprised of a total of 11 sub-competency items. We used multilevel logistic regression accounting for repeat measures and clustering to evaluate associations between faculty gender and assessment scores in the 1) top quartile, 2) bottom quartile, or 3) top-box (highest score). Findings were adjusted for faculty rank and academic track, and resident year and gender.Over 3 years, 2889 assessments of 104 faculty were performed by 91 residents. Between assessments of women and men faculty, there were no significant differences in the odds of receiving a score in the top quartile for the 3 domains (Clinical aOR 0.99, P = .86; Teaching aOR 0.99, P = .93; Role Modeling aOR 0.87, P = .089). However, assessments of women were more likely to receive a score in the bottom quartile in both Teaching (aOR 1.23, P = .019) and Role Modeling (aOR 1.26, P = .008). Assessments of women also had lower odds of receiving the highest score in 6 of 11 sub-competencies.Results suggest that gender bias may play a role in resident assessments of pediatric faculty. Future studies are needed to determine if findings are replicated in other settings and to identify opportunities to reduce the gender gap in pediatric academic medicine.

OBJECTIVE: Although individual-level social determinants of health (SDH) are known to influence 30-day readmission risk, contextual-level associations with readmission are poorly understood among children. This study explores associations between neighborhood disadvantage measured by Area Deprivation Index (ADI) and pediatric 30-day readmissions. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included discharges of patients aged

OBJECTIVES Delay in vascular access is a leading cause of procedure delay in our pediatric procedure and infusion center. Use of ultrasound decreases time to peripheral intravenous catheter (PIV) insertion; however, ultrasound availability in our center was limited to an external venous access team (VAT). The objective of this project was to reduce PIV-related delays by 25%. METHODS Stakeholders convened and theorized that creating a unit-based nurse team specializing in ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous catheter (USgPIV) insertion would facilitate faster access and a reduction in delayed procedures. An initial plan-do-study-act cycle was performed, training 2 nurses in USgPIV placement. Subsequent cycles were focused on increasing availability of USgPIV-trained nurses. The outcome measure was the rate of procedures delayed by PIV placement, analyzed on a statistical process control U-chart. The process measure was the percentage of USgPIV placements requiring consultations to the VAT, analyzed on a statistical process control P-chart. The balancing measure was the success rate per method of insertion. Comparisons of success rates were conducted by using a χ2 test and Fisher’s exact test. RESULTS The mean rate of procedures delayed because of vascular access fell by special cause variation from 10.8% to 6.4%. The mean VAT consultation rate fell from 86.4% to 32.0%. The VAT had higher rates of overall success (100% vs 87%; P = .01) and first-attempt success (93% vs 77%; P = .03) compared with unit nurse USgPIV placement. CONCLUSIONS Unit-based USgPIV placement in a pediatric procedural center was successfully implemented, with a significant decline in procedures delayed by PIV access.

Introduction Medical device-related complications often lead to emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations for children with medical complexity (CMC), and pediatric complex care programs may be one way to decrease unnecessary encounters. Methods A retrospective cohort study comparing ED and inpatient encounters due to device complications of 2 cohorts of CMC at a single children's hospital during 2014-2016; 99 enrolled in a complex care program and 244 in a propensity-matched comparison group. Structured chart reviews identified ED and inpatient encounters due to device complications. The outcome was a change in the frequency of these encounters from the year before to the year after enrollment in the hospital's complex care program. Program effects were estimated with weighted difference-in-differences (DiDs), comparing the change in mean encounter frequency for CMC enrolled in the program with change for propensity-matched children not enrolled in the program. Results Mean encounters related to device complications decreased for both groups. Complication-related ED encounters per year decreased from a weighted mean (SD) of 0.74 (0.85) to 0.30 (0.44) in enrolled children and 0.26 (0.89) to 0.12 (0.56) in comparison children, a DiD of 0.30 fewer [95% confidence interval (CI) -0.01 to 0.60]. The largest reductions in device complication ED visits were among those with enteral tubes [0.36 fewer (95% CI 0.04-0.68)]. Hospitalizations decreased over time, but DiDs were not significantly different between groups. Conclusions Acute care use from device complications decreased with time. Complex care program enrollment may be associated with more substantial reductions in device complication ED visits, and effects may be most pronounced for CMC with enteral tubes.

Background High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is increasingly used to treat children hospitalized with bronchiolitis; however, the best practices for feeding during HFNC and the impact of feeding on time to discharge and adverse events are unknown. The study objective was to assess whether feeding exposure during HFNC was associated with time to discharge or feeding-related adverse events. Methods This retrospective cohort study included inpatients aged 1-24 months receiving HFNC for bronchiolitis at an academic children's hospital from January 1, 2015 to March 1, 2017. Feeding exposures during HFNC were categorized as fed or not fed. Among fed children, we further evaluated mixed (oral and tube) or exclusive oral feeding. The primary outcome was time to discharge after HFNC cessation. Secondary outcomes were aspiration, intubation after HFNC, and seven-day readmission. Results Of 123 children treated with HFNC, 45 (37 %) were never fed. A total of 78 children (63%) were fed; 50 (41%) were exclusively orally fed and 28 (23 %) had mixed feeding. Median (interquartile range) time to discharge after HFNC was 29.5 hours (23.5-47.9) and 39.8 hours (26.4-61.5) hours in the fed and not fed groups, respectively. In adjusted models, time to discharge was shorter with any feeding (hazard ratio [HR] 2.17; 95% CI: 1.34-3.50) and with exclusive oral feeding (HR 2.13; 95% CI: 1.31-3.45) compared with no feeding. Time to discharge from HFNC initiation was shorter for exclusive oral feeding versus not feeding (propensity weighted HR 1.97 [95% CI: 1.13-3.43]). Adverse events (one intubation, one aspiration pneumonia, one readmission) occurred in both groups. Limitations Assessment of feeding exposure did not account for quantity and duration. Discussion Children fed while receiving HFNC for bronchiolitis may have shorter time to discharge than those not fed. Feeding-related adverse events were rare regardless of the feeding method. Controlled prospective studies addressing residual confounding are needed to justify a change in the current practice.

OBJECTIVES: Progress notes communicate providers’ assessments of patients’ diagnoses, progress, and treatment plans; however, providers perceive that note quality has degraded since the introduction of electronic health records. In this study, we aimed to (1) develop a tool to evaluate progress note assessments and plans with high interrater reliability and (2) assess whether a bundled intervention was associated with improved intern note quality without delaying note file time. METHODS: An 8-member stakeholder team developed a 19-item progress note assessment and plan evaluation (PNAPE) tool and bundled intervention consisting of a new note template and intern training curriculum. Interrater reliability was evaluated by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient. Blinded assessors then used PNAPE to evaluate assessment and plan quality in pre- and postintervention notes (fall 2017 and 2018). RESULTS: PNAPE revealed high internal interrater reliability between assessors (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.86; 95% confidence interval: 0.66–0.95). Total median PNAPE score increased from 13 (interquartile range [IQR]: 12–15) to 15 (IQR: 14–17; P = .008), and median file time decreased from 4:30 pm (IQR: 2:33 pm–6:20 pm) to 1:13 pm (IQR: 12:05 pm–3:59 pm; P < .001) in pre- and postintervention notes. In the postintervention period, a higher proportion of assessments and plans indicated the primary problem requiring ongoing hospitalization and progress of this problem (P = .0016 and P < .001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The PNAPE tool revealed high reliability between assessors, and the bundled intervention may be associated with improved intern note assessment and plan quality without delaying file time. Future studies are needed to evaluate whether these improvements can be sustained throughout residency and reproduced in future intern cohorts and other inpatient settings.

Children with critical congenital heart defects (CHD) require multiple surgeries and spend substantial amounts of time hospitalized in the first year of life. Long hospital stays, complications, and slow recoveries disrupt family life and increase parental stress. Concurrently, parents make difficult decisions about their child’s care. Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC) teams can support families antenatally and postnatally, and help parents clarify goals of care, however, some cardiac providers hesitate to involve PPC in the care of these patients. The goal of this quality improvement project was to increase the percentage of patients with critical …

Introduction Physicians enter residency with varied knowledge regarding the purpose of progress notes and proficiency writing them. The objective of this study was to test whether resident knowledge, beliefs, and confidence writing inpatient progress notes improved after a 2.5-hour workshop intervention. Methods An educational workshop and note assessment tool was constructed by resident and faculty stakeholders based on a review of literature and institutional best practices. The Progress Note Assessment and Plan Evaluation (PNAPE) tool was designed to assess adherence to best practices in the assessment and plan section of progress notes. Thirty-four residents from a midsized pediatric residency program attended the workshop, which consisted of didactics and small-group work evaluating sample notes using the PNAPE tool. Participants completed a four-question online pre- and postworkshop survey to evaluate their knowledge of progress note components and attitudes regarding note importance. Pre-post analysis was performed with Chi-square testing for true/false questions, and Mann-Whitney testing for Likert scale questions and summative scores. Results A majority of pediatric residents completed the preintervention (n = 26, 76% response rate) and postintervention (n = 23, 68% response rate) surveys. Accurate response rate improved in 15 of 20 of the true/false items, with a statistically significant improvement in five items. Resident perceptions of note importance and confidence in note writing also increased. Discussion A workshop intervention may effectively educate pediatric residents about progress note best practices. Further studies should assess the impact of the intervention on sustained knowledge and beliefs about progress notes and subsequent note quality.

OBJECTIVES:Adults with chronic conditions originating in childhood experience ongoing hospitalizations; however, efforts to guide youth-adult transitions rarely address transitioning to adult-oriented inpatient care. Our objectives were to identify perceptions of clinical leaders on important and feasible inpatient transition activities and outcomes, including when, how, and for whom inpatient transition processes are needed.METHODS:Clinical leaders at US children’s hospitals were surveyed between January and July 2016. Questionnaires were used to assess 21 inpatient transition activities and 13 outcomes. Perceptions about feasible and important outcome measures and appropriate patients and settings for activities were summarized. Each transition activity was categorized into one of the Six Core Elements (policy, tracking, readiness, planning, transfer, or completion). Associations between perceived transition activity importance or feasibility, hospital characteristics, and transition activity performance were evaluated.RESULTS:In total, 96 of 195 (49.2%) children’s hospital leaders responded. The most important and feasible activities were identifying patients needing or overdue for transition, discussing transition timing with youth and/or families, and informing youth and/or families that future stays would be at an adult facility. Feasibility, but not importance, ratings were associated with current performance of transition activities. Inpatient transition activities were perceived to be important for children with medical and/or social complexity or high hospital use. Emergency department visits and patient experience during transition were top outcome measurement priorities.CONCLUSIONS:Children’s hospital clinical leaders rated inpatient youth-adult transition activities and outcome measures as important and feasible; however, feasibility may ultimately drive implementation. This work should be used to inform initial research and quality improvement priorities, although additional stakeholder perspectives are needed.

Background and objectives Adherence to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) bronchiolitis clinical practice guideline recommendations improved significantly through the AAP's multiinstitutional collaborative, the Bronchiolitis Quality Improvement Project (BQIP). We assessed sustainability of improvements at participating institutions for 1 year following completion of the collaborative. Methods Twenty-one multidisciplinary hospital-based teams provided monthly data for key inpatient bronchiolitis measures during baseline and intervention bronchiolitis seasons. Nine sites provided data in the season following completion of the collaborative. Encounters included children younger than 24 months who were hospitalized for bronchiolitis without comorbid chronic illness, prematurity, or intensive care. Changes between baseline-, intervention-, and sustainability-season data were assessed using generalized linear mixed-effects models with site-specific random effects. Differences between hospital characteristics, baseline performance, and initial improvement between sites that did and did not participate in the sustainability season were compared. Results A total of 2275 discharges were reviewed, comprising 995 baseline, 877 intervention, and 403 sustainability- season encounters. Improvements in all key bronchiolitis quality measures achieved during the intervention season were maintained during the sustainability season, and orders for intermittent pulse oximetry increased from 40.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 22.8-61.1) to 79.2% (95% CI, 58.0- 91.3). Sites that did and did not participate in the sustainability season had similar characteristics. Discussion BQIP participating sites maintained improvements in key bronchiolitis quality measures for 1 year following the project's completion. This approach, which provided an evidence-based best-practice toolkit while building the quality-improvement capacity of local interdisciplinary teams, may support performance gains that persist beyond the active phase of the collaborative.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Adoption of clinical respiratory scoring as a quality improvement (QI) tool in bronchiolitis has been temporally associated with decreased bronchodilator usage. We sought to determine whether documented use of a clinical respiratory score at the patient level was associated with a decrease in either the physician prescription of any dose of bronchodilator or the number of doses, if prescribed, in a multisite QI collaborative. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of data from a QI collaborative involving 22 hospitals. The project enrolled patients aged 1 month to 2 years with a primary diagnosis of acute viral bronchiolitis and excluded those with prematurity, other significant comorbid diseases, and those needing intensive care. We assessed for an association between documentation of any respiratory score use during an episode of care, as well as the method in which scores were used, and physician prescribing of any bronchodilator and number of doses. Covariates considered were phase of the collaborative, hospital length of stay, steroid use, and presence of household smokers. RESULTS: A total of 1876 subjects were included. There was no association between documentation of a respiratory score and the likelihood of physician prescribing of any bronchodilator. Score use was associated with fewer doses of bronchodilators if one was prescribed (P = .05), but this association disappeared with multivariable analysis (P = .73). CONCLUSIONS: We found no clear association between clinical respiratory score use and physician prescribing of bronchodilators in a multicenter QI collaborative.

Health care providers’ adherence to guidelines declines over time, and feasible strategies for sustaining adherence have not yet been identified. We assessed the long-term feasibility of various strategies for sustaining guideline adherence and described factors influencing their use. We conducted a cross-sectional survey (N = 104) of physician leaders who participated in a national collaborative to improve care of infants with suspected sepsis. Data were collected on long-term use of strategies to promote guideline adherence (use, perceived effectiveness, and barriers to use). Sixty (58%) participants from diverse hospital settings responded. There were significant declines in use of quality improvement and educational strategies, largely driven by lack of time or staff resources and competing priorities. Electronic strategies (eg, order sets) and hospital policies or guidelines were feasible to continue long-term after the collaborative ended and were perceived as effective. Clinicians and healthcare leaders should consider prioritizing these strategies in their efforts to improve care and outcomes for children in hospital settings.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Hospital discharge requires multidisciplinary coordination. Insufficient coordination impacts patient flow, resource use, and postdischarge outcomes. Our objectives were to (1) implement a prospective, multidisciplinary discharge timing designation in the electronic health record (EHR) and (2) evaluate its association with discharge timing. METHODS: This quality-improvement study evaluated the implementation of confirmed discharge time (CDT), an EHR designation representing specific discharge timing developed jointly by a patient’s family and the health care team. CDT was intended to support task management and coordination of multidisciplinary discharge processes and could be entered and viewed by all team members. Four plan-do-study-act improvement phases were studied: (1) baseline, (2) provider education, (3) provider feedback, and (4) EHR modification. Statistical process control charts tracked CDT use and the proportion of discharges before noon. Length of stay was used as a balancing measure. RESULTS: During the study period from April 2013 through March 2017, 20 133 pediatric discharges occurred, with similar demographics observed throughout all phases. Mean CDT use increased from 0% to 62%, with special cause variations being detected after the provider education and EHR modification phases. Over the course of the study, the proportion of discharges before noon increased by 6.2 percentage points, from 19.9% to 26.1%, whereas length of stay decreased from 47 (interquartile range: 25–95) to 43 (interquartile range: 24–88) hours (both P CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a prospective, multidisciplinary EHR discharge time designation was associated with more before-noon discharges. Next steps include replicating results in other settings and determining populations that are most responsive to discharge coordination efforts.

Adolescents with severe eating disorders require hospitalization for medical stabilization. Supervision best practices for these patients are not established. This study sought to evaluate the cost and feasibility of centralized video monitoring (CVM) supervision on a general pediatric unit of an academic quaternary care center. This was a retrospective cohort study of nursing assistant (NA) versus CVM supervision for girls 12-18 years old admitted for medical stabilization of an eating disorder between September 2013 and March 2017. There were 37 consecutive admissions (NA = 23 and CVM = 14). NA median supervision cost was more expensive than CVM ($4,104/admission vs $1,166/admission, P < .001). Length of stay and days to weight gain were not statistically different. There were no occurances of family refusal of CVM, conversion from CVM to NA, technological failure, or unplanned discontinuation. Video monitoring was feasible and associated with lower supervision costs than one-to-one NA supervision. Larger samples in multiple centers are needed to confirm the safety, acceptability, and efficacy of CVM.

To evaluate trends in procedures used to treat children hospitalized in the US with empyema during a period that included the release of guidelines endorsing chest tube placement as an acceptable first-line alternative to video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.We used National Inpatient Samples to describe empyema-related discharges of children ages 0-17 years during 2008-2014. We evaluated trends using inverse variance weighted linear regression and characterized treatment failure using multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with having more than 1 procedure.Empyema-related discharges declined from 3 in 100 000 children to 2 in 100 000 during 2008-2014 (P = .04, linear trend). There was no significant change in the proportion of discharges having 1 procedure (66.1% to 64.1%) or in the proportion having 2 or more procedures (22.1% to 21.6%). The proportion coded for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery as the only procedure declined (41.4% to 36.2%; P = .03), and the proportions coded for 1 chest tube (14.6% to 20.9%; P = .04) and 2 chest tube procedures (0.9% to 3.5%; P .01) both increased. The median length of stay for empyema-related discharges remained unchanged (9.3 days to 9.8 days; P = .053). Having more than 1 procedure was associated with continuous mechanical ventilation (adjusted OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.8-4.1) but not with age, sex, payer, chronic conditions, transfer admission, hospital size, or census region.The use of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery to treat children in the US hospitalized with empyema seems to be decreasing without associated increases in length of stay or need for additional drainage procedures.

Background Hospital charges and lengths of stay may be greater when adults with chronic conditions are admitted to children's hospitals. Despite multiple efforts to improve pediatric-adult healthcare transitions, little guidance exists for transitioning inpatient care. Objective This study sought to characterize pediatricadult inpatient care transitions across general pediatric services at US children's hospitals. Design, setting and participants National survey of inpatient general pediatric service leaders at US children's hospitals from January 2016 to July 2016. Measurements Questionnaires assessed institutional characteristics, presence of inpatient transition initiatives (having specific process and/or leader), and 22 inpatient transition activities. Scales of highly correlated activities were created using exploratory factor analysis. Logistic regression identified associations between institutional characteristics, transition activities, and presence of an inpatient transition initiative. Results Ninety-six of 195 children's hospitals responded (49.2% response rate). Transition initiatives were present at 38% of children's hospitals, more often when there were dual-trained internal medicine-pediatrics providers or outpatient transition processes. Specific activities were infrequent and varied widely from 2.1% (systems to track youth in transition) to 40.5% (addressing potential insurance problems). Institutions with initiatives more often consistently performed the majority of activities, including using checklists and creating patient-centered transition care plans. Of remaining activities, half involved transition planning, the essential step between readiness and transfer. Conclusions Relatively few inpatient general pediatric services at US children's hospitals have leaders or dedicated processes to shepherd transitions to adultoriented inpatient care. Across institutions, there is a wide variability in performance of activities to facilitate this transition. Feasible process and outcome measures are needed.

Introduction Physicians enter residency with variable proficiency in note writing and knowledge of note purpose. Best practice guidelines give learners some direction, but may not provide adequate explanation about the importance and purposes of progress notes. Objective Test the efficacy of a workshop intervention on changing resident knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about progress notes. Methods An educational workshop was constructed by residents and faculty stakeholders based on review of the literature, institutional best practices, and a previously designed note assessment tool. Residents from a mid-sized pediatric residency program attended a workshop consisting of best practice didactics and small group work using the tool to assess example progress notes. Participants completed a 22-question online survey (Qualtrics) before and after the workshop to evaluate knowledge of progress note components and attitudes regarding note importance. Pre-post analysis was performed with Chi square testing for true/false questions and Mann-Whitney testing for Likert scale questions. Results Pediatric residents (n=26, 79% response rate) completed the pre-intervention online survey, and 23 (70%) completed the post-intervention survey. Accurate response rate improved in 15/20 of the true/false content questions, with a statistically significant improvement in five of them (p Discussion/Conclusion This study suggests that a workshop intervention is an effective method of educating pediatric residents on progress note best practices. Further studies should assess the impact of the intervention on sustained resident knowledge and beliefs about progress notes and subsequent note quality.

Background Daily progress notes are vital cross disciplinary communication tools. The electronic medical record has influenced progress note content and length. Previously developed note assessment tools, such as the Physician Documentation Quality Instrument (PDQI-9), have not focused on the assessment and plan of the note, which are often most informative. Objective Develop a reliable and valid tool to evaluate the assessment and plan of resident daily progress notes. Methods A committee of pediatric resident, hospitalist and critical care physicians generated a list of common pitfalls associated with daily progress notes. A standardized ideal progress note assessment and plan was developed using a cause and effect diagram, literature review, consultation with billing expert and institutional documentation best practice guidelines. From this ideal state, a progress note evaluation tool PNAPE was developed using Modified Delphi technique. Four faculty experts used PNAPE and PDQI-9 to independently review resident progress notes identified from a convenience sample from each intern on the hospitalist service in fall 2017. Inter-rater reliability of the PNAPE was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). External validity was assessed by correlation between mean PNAPE and PDQI-9 scores using Pearson's coefficient. Results PNAPE is shown in figure 1. In all, 13 Notes were assessed with an ICC of 0.85. Pearson's r is 0.63 between mean PNAPE and PDQI-9 scores. Conclusion These findings suggest that the PNAPE is a reliable and valid tool for evaluation of resident progress note assessment and plan by expert assessors. Next steps will include use of PNAPE to track note quality over time, provide feedback and to assess notes in other inpatient settings and specialties.

Introduction Many pediatricians report burnout and low professional fulfillment. While it is assumed that academic pediatricians garner professional fulfillment from teaching, little is known about the perceived intersection of teaching and pediatrician wellbeing. Methods In June 2018, pediatric faculty focus groups were conducted at a university-based pediatrics department, addressing work-related factors with greatest impact on wellbeing. Focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed, and de-identified. All excerpts about learners and teaching were manually coded using the constant comparative method. Results Participants included 47 faculty in 8 focus groups, of whom 55% were female. A small number of comments described positive impact of teaching on wellbeing. “It's a great privilege to be around young learners that are energized to extract as much as they possibly can...[teaching] helps sustain most of us.” A larger subset described negative impact of teaching. Four themes emerged: (1) Perceived institutional devaluation of teaching as an academic pursuit, “If teaching doesn't get you promoted, I don't know what should... I know that it really stresses me out just thinking about it and having to come up with things to do that count because what I'm already doing, I don't think counts enough.” (2) Perceived decline in trainee work ethos, “The patients have to be cared for. You're the one answering [pages], and [the residents are] gone. Then they don't have the ownership that you may have had during your training.” (3) Perceived disparity in work hour protection and wellness support for faculty as compared to trainees, “I would love to have work-hour restrictions and all those sorts of things... I'm not angry or bitter at [trainees], but... everyone just makes the assumption that you're in charge and you've already figured out how to cope with your 80-hour work weeks.” (4) Perceived burdens of teaching, “There's fewer and fewer faculty involved with teaching because of a lack of rewards and more administrative [workload] when you do teach, like the 20-page evaluations of a medical student you spend an hour with.” Conclusion Teaching may be both protective and detrimental to pediatrician wellbeing. Future studies should further explore teaching-related factors that contribute to a sense of fulfillment and burnout to ensure faculty remain engaged and fulfilled in their work.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Adherence to the American Academy of Pediatrics safe sleep practice (SSP) recommendations among hospitalized infants is unknown, but is assumed to be low. This quality improvement study aimed to increase adherence to SSPs for infants admitted to a children’s hospital general care unit between October 2013 and December 2014. METHODS: After development of a hospital policy and redesign of room setup processes, a multidisciplinary team developed intervention strategies based on root cause analysis and implemented changes using iterative Plan–Do–Study–Act cycles. Nurse knowledge was assessed before and after education. SSPs were measured continuously with room audits during sleeping episodes. Statistical process control and run charts identified improvements and sustainability in hospital SSPs. Caregiver home practices after discharge were assessed via structured questionnaires before and after intervention. RESULTS: Nursing knowledge of SSPs increased significantly for each item (P ≤ .001) except avoidance of bed sharing. Audits were completed for 316 sleep episodes. Simultaneous adherence to all SSP recommendations improved significantly from 0% to 26.9% after intervention. Significant improvements were noted in individual practices, including maintaining a flat, empty crib, with an appropriately bundled infant. The largest gains were noted in the proportion of empty cribs (from 3.4% to 60.3% after intervention, P < .001). Improvements in caregiver home practices after discharge were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Sustained improvements in hospital SSPs were achieved through this quality improvement initiative, with opportunity for continued improvement. Nurse knowledge increased during the intervention. It is uncertain whether these findings translate to changes in caregiver home practices after discharge.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Evidence-based gGuidelines for acute viral bronchiolitis recommend primarily supportive care, but unnecessary care remains well documented. Published quality improvement work has been accomplished inchildren’s hospitals, but little broad dissemination has been reported outside of those settings. We sought to use a voluntary collaborative strategy to disseminatebest practices to reduce overuse of unnecessary care in children hospitalized for bronchiolitis in community settings. METHODS: This project was aquality improvement collaborative consisting of monthly interactive webinars with online data collection and feedback. Data were collected by chart review for 2 bronchiolitis seasons, defined as January, February, and March of 2013 and 2014. Patients aged RESULTS: There were 21 participating hospitals contributing a total of 1869 chart reviews to the project, 995 preintervention and 874 postintervention. Mean use of any bronchodilator declined by 29% (P = .03) and doses per patient decreased 45% (P < .01). Mean use of any steroids declined by 68% (P < .01), and doses per patient decreased 35% (P = .04). Chest radiography use declined by 44% (P = .05). Length of stay decreased 5 hours (P < .01), and readmissions remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: A voluntary collaborative was effective in reducing unnecessary care among a cohort of primarily community hospitals. Such a strategy may be generalizable to the settings where the majority of children are hospitalized in the United States.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an important pathogen in children and adults; however, current treatment options are primarily supportive. Palivizumab, the only approved specific monoclonal antibody for RSV is used prophylactically to reduce morbidity in a select population of high-risk children.The development and current use of palivizumab; the potential role of palivizumab as preventive therapy in patients with cystic fibrosis, asthma and compromised immune systems; and explores the limited research in which palivizumab has been used for treatment of RSV. The modified recommendations for the use of palivizumab espoused by the American Academy of Pediatrics and research on the cost-effectiveness of this product are presented. In addition, the authors discuss the development of enhanced monoclonal antibodies including motavizumab, which was recently denied FDA approval for preventative therapy. The authors explore the historical and current efforts to develop a vaccine targeting RSV. The current status of antiviral drug development is also reviewed. The literature search included RSV-Ig, palivizumab, and emerging drugs and vaccines for the treatment of RSV as keywords and titles from 1997 to 2011.Although there are potential drugs and vaccines in development to prevent or reduce the effects of RSV infection, palivizumab remains the only licensed product to reduce the severity of disease in high-risk pediatric patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We sought to implement systematic tobacco dependence interventions for parents and/or caregivers as secondary aims within 2 multisite quality improvement (QI) collaboratives for bronchiolitis. We hypothesized that iterative improvements in tobacco dependence intervention strategies would result in improvement in outcomes between collaboratives. METHODS: This study involved 2 separate yearlong, multisite QI collaboratives that were focused on care provided to inpatients with a primary diagnosis of bronchiolitis. In each collaborative, we provided tools and training in tobacco dependence treatment and expert coaching on interventions for parents as a secondary aim. Data were collected by chart review and results analyzed by using analysis of means and statistical process control analysis. Outcomes between collaboratives were compared by using relative risks. RESULTS: Between both collaboratives, 56 hospitals participated and 6258 inpatient charts were reviewed. In the first collaborative, 22% of identified parents who smoke received tobacco dependence interventions at baseline. This rate increased to 51% during the postintervention period, with special cause revealed by analysis of means. In the second collaborative, 31% of parents who smoke received baseline interventions. This rate increased to 53% by the conclusion of the collaborative, with special cause revealed by statistical process control analysis. The relative risk for providing any cessation intervention in 1 collaborative versus the other was 0.9 (confidence interval 0.8–1.1). CONCLUSIONS: Tobacco dependence treatment of parents and/or caregivers can be integrated into bronchiolitis QI by using relatively low-resource strategies. Using a more intensive QI intervention did not alter the rates of screening or intervention for caregivers who smoke.

Recently published practice guidelines continue to reflect uncertainty about the comparative effectiveness of various treatments for empyema in children. We describe treatment trends and outcomes in pediatric empyema using the most current nationally representative data.Using survey methods and Kids' Inpatient Databases from 1997 to 2009, we evaluated hospital stays in children 0-18 years of age. We used 2009 data to compare transfer-out rates and lengths of stay across various types of treatment, after adjusting for patient and hospital factors.From 1997 to 2009, empyema discharges steadily increased from 3.1 to 6.0 per 100,000 children (P0.001 for trend) and also were increasingly likely (P0.01) to be coded for: (1) at least 1 pleural drainage procedure (76.4-83.2%), (2) multiple drainage procedures (36.0-41.6%) and (3) home health care (8.7-15.0%). By 2009, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was more commonly coded than chest tube drainage and was associated with a lower transfer-out rate (0.6% vs. 10.1%, adjusted P0.001) but no reduction in mean length of stay [11.2 vs. 13.4 days, adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.95 (95% confidence interval: 0.88-1.04)] for children neither admitted nor discharged by transfer.US hospital stays for empyema in children not only continued to increase through 2009 but were also characterized by more intense procedural management. Outcomes results in this population-based study are consistent with practice guidelines and recommendations that recently endorsed chest tube drainage as an acceptable first treatment option for most children with empyema.