Child Opportunity Index Disparities in Pediatric Surgical Encounters During the Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: Surgical encounters decreased during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and may have been deferred more in children with impeded health care access related to social/community risk factors. We compared surgery trends before and during the pandemic by Child Opportunity Index (COI). METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 321,998 elective surgical encounters of children ages 0-to-18 years in 44 US children's hospitals from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2021. We used auto-regression to compare observed versus predicted encounters by month in 2020-21, modeled from 2017 to 2019 trends. Encounters were compared by COI score (very low, low, moderate, high, very high) based on education, health/environment, and social/economic attributes of the zip code from the children's home residence. RESULTS: Most surgeries were on the musculoskeletal (28.1%), ear/nose/pharynx (17.1%), cardiovascular (15.1%), and digestive (9.1%) systems; 20.6% of encounters were for children with very low COI, 20.8% low COI, 19.8% moderate COI, 18.6% high COI, and 20.1% very high COI. Reductions in observed volume of 2020-21 surgeries compared with predicted varied significantly by COI, ranging from -11.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] -14.1%, -8.7%) for very low COI to -2.6% (95%CI -3.9%, 0.7%) for high COI. Variation by COI emerged in June 2020, as the volume of elective surgery encounters neared baseline. For 12 of the next 18 months, the reduction in volume of elective surgery encounters was the greatest in children with very low COI. CONCLUSIONS: Children from very low COI zip codes experienced the greatest reduction in elective surgery encounters during early COVID-19 without a subsequent increase in encounters over time to counterbalance the reduction.

Assessing the Utility of a Machine-Learning Model to Assist With the Assignment of the American Society of Anesthesiology Physical Status Classification in Pediatric Patients.

BACKGROUND: The American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification System (ASA-PS) is used to classify patients' health before delivering an anesthetic. Assigning an ASA-PS Classification score to pediatric patients can be challenging due to the vast array of chronic conditions present in the pediatric population. The specific aims of this study were to (1) suggest an ASA-PS score for pediatric patients undergoing elective surgical procedures using machine-learning (ML) methods; and (2) assess the impact of presenting the suggested ASA-PS score to clinicians when making their final ASA-PS assignment. The intent was not to create a new ASA-PS score but to use ML methods to generate a suggested score, along with information on how the score was generated (ie, historical information on patient comorbidities) to assist clinicians when assigning their final ASA-PS score. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 146,784 pediatric surgical encounters from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2019, using eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) methods to predict ASA-PS scores using patients' age, weight, and chronic conditions. SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) were used to assess patient characteristics that contributed most to the predicted ASA-PS scores. The predicted ASA-PS model was presented to a prospective cohort study of 28,677 surgical encounters from December 1, 2021, to October 31, 2022. The predicted ASA-PS score was presented to the anesthesiology provider for review before entering the final ASA-PS score. The study focused on summarizing the available information for the anesthesiologist by using ML methods. The goal was to explore the potential for ML to provide assistance to anesthesiologists by highlighting potential areas of discordance between the variables that generated a given ML prediction and the physician's mental model of the patient's medical comorbidities. RESULTS: For the retrospective analysis, the distribution of predicted ASA-PS scores was 22.7% ASA-PS I, 48.5% II, 23.6% III, 5.1% IV, and 0.04% V. The distribution of clinician-assigned ASA-PS scores was 24.3% for ASA-PS I, 44.5% for ASA-PS II, 24.9% for ASA III, 6.1% for ASA-PS IV, and 0.2% for ASA-V. In the prospective analysis, the final ASA-PS score matched the initial ASA-PS 90.7% of the time and 9.3% were revised after viewing the predicted ASA-PS score. When the initial ASA-PS score and the ML ASA-PS score were discrepant, 19.5% of the cases have a final ASA-PS score which is different from the initial clinician ASA-PS score. The prevalence of multiple chronic conditions increased with ASA-PS score: 34.9% ASA-PS I, 73.2% II, 92.3% III, and 94.4% IV. CONCLUSIONS: ML derivation of predicted pediatric ASA-PS scores was successful, with a strong agreement between predicted and clinician-entered ASA-PS scores. Presentation of predicted ASA-PS scores was associated with revision in final scoring for 1-in-10 pediatric patients.

Variability in Resource Utilization in the Evaluation and Management of Simple Febrile Seizures Inpatients in US Children's Hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize resource utilization in the evaluation and treatment of hospitalized simple febrile seizure (SFS) patients in US tertiary pediatric hospitals. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study using the Pediatric Health Information System from 2010 to 2015. Children 6 months to 5 years of age who were inpatients with a diagnosis of SFS. Children who had brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electroencephalography (EEG), or received anticonvulsants were compared with those who did not have testing or anticonvulsant treatment. Hospital-level variation in the utilization rates of MRI, EEG, or treatment with anticonvulsants was also evaluated. RESULTS: In Pediatric Health Information System-participating institutions, 8.4% (n=3640) of children presenting to the emergency department with SFS were hospitalized. Among these SFS inpatients, 57.8% (n= 2104) did not receive further evaluation with MRI/EEG or treatment with anticonvulsants. There was evidence of wide inter-hospital variation in resource utilization rates. The median (interquartile range) utilization rate was 6.2% (3.0 to 11.0%) for MRI, 28.5% (16.0 to 46.3%) for EEG and 17.1% (10.9 to 22.3%) for treatment with anticonvulsants. CONCLUSION: No specific hospital-level factors were identified that contributed to the variation in resource utilization in the evaluation and management of hospitalized SFS patients.

Airway Impedance: A Novel Diagnostic Tool to Predict Extraesophageal Airway Inflammation.

OBJECTIVE: To validate a novel biomarker, airway impedance for extraesophageal disease. STUDY DESIGN: We prospectively recruited patients with respiratory symptoms undergoing combined endoscopy and direct laryngoscopy for the evaluation of symptoms. The direct laryngoscopy was performed and videotaped for blinded scoring by 3 otolaryngologists and an impedance catheter was placed onto the posterior larynx to obtain measurements. Following this, an endoscopy was performed and impedance measurements and biopsies were taken at 3 esophageal heights. Impedance values were compared within and between patients. RESULTS: Eighty-eight patients were recruited, of which 73 had complete airway and endoscopic exams. There was no significant correlation between airway impedance values and mean reflux finding scores (r2 = 0.45, P = .07). There was no significant positive correlation between airway impedance and esophageal impedance values (r2 = 0.097-0.138, P > .2). Patients taking proton pump inhibitors had significantly lower mean airway impedance values (706 ± 450 Ω) than patients not taking them (1069 ± 809 Ω, P = .06). Patients who had evidence of aspiration on video fluoroscopic swallow studies had lower airway impedance (871 ± 615 Ω) than patients without aspiration (1247 ± 360 Ω, P = .008). Inhaled steroids did not impact airway impedance levels (P = .7). CONCLUSIONS: Airway impedance may be an important diagnostic tool to diagnose gastroesophageal reflux or aspiration, eliminating the subjectivity of airway appearance alone.

Preoperative hematocrit and platelet count are associated with blood loss during spinal fusion for children with neuromuscular scoliosis.

AIM: To assess the relationship of preoperative hematology laboratory results with intraoperative estimated blood loss and transfusion volumes during posterior spinal fusion for pediatric neuromuscular scoliosis. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of 179 children with neuromuscular scoliosis undergoing spinal fusion at a tertiary children's hospital between 2012 and 2017. The main outcome measure was estimated blood loss. Secondary outcomes were volumes of packed red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, and platelets transfused intraoperatively. Independent variables were preoperative blood counts, coagulation studies, and demographic and surgical characteristics. Relationships between estimated blood loss, transfusion volumes, and independent variables were assessed using bivariable analyses. Classification and Regression Trees were used to identify variables most strongly correlated with outcomes. RESULTS: In bivariable analyses, increased estimated blood loss was significantly associated with higher preoperative hematocrit and lower preoperative platelet count but not with abnormal coagulation studies. Preoperative laboratory results were not associated with intraoperative transfusion volumes. In Classification and Regression Trees analysis, binary splits associated with the largest increase in estimated blood loss were hematocrit ≥44% vs. <44% and platelets ≥308 vs. <308 × 109/L. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative blood counts may identify patients at risk of increased bleeding, though do not predict intraoperative transfusion requirements. Abnormal coagulation studies often prompted preoperative intervention but were not associated with increased intraoperative bleeding or transfusion needs.

Hospital Volumes of Inpatient Pediatric Surgery in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Perioperative outcomes of children depend on the skill and expertise in managing pediatric patients, as well as integration of surgical, anesthesiology, and medical teams. We compared the types of pediatric patients and inpatient surgical procedures performed in low- versus higher-volume hospitals throughout the United States. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 323,258 hospitalizations with an operation for children age 0 to 17 years in 2857 hospitals included in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Kids' Inpatient Database (KID) 2016. Hospitals were categorized by their volume of annual inpatient surgical procedures. Specific surgeries were distinguished with the AHRQ Clinical Classification System. We assessed complex chronic conditions (CCCs) using Feudtner and Colleagues' system. RESULTS: The median annual volume of pediatric inpatient surgeries across US hospitals was 8 (interquartile range [IQR], 3-29). The median volume of inpatient surgeries for children with a CCC was 4 (IQR, 1-13). Low-volume hospitals performed significantly fewer types of surgeries (median 2 vs 131 types of surgeries in hospitals with 1-24 vs ≥2000 volumes). Appendectomy and fixation of bone fracture were among the most common surgeries in low-volume hospitals. As the volume of surgical procedures increased from 1 to 24 to ≥2000, the percentage of older children ages 11 to 17 years decreased (70.9%-32.0% [P < .001]) and the percentage of children with a CCC increased (11.2%-60.0% [P < .001]). CONCLUSIONS: Thousands of US hospitals performed inpatient surgeries on few pediatric patients, including those with CCCs who have the highest risk of perioperative morbidity and mortality. Evaluation of perioperative decision making, workflows, and pediatric clinicians in low- and higher-volume hospitals is warranted.

The virtual pediatric perioperative home, experience at a major metropolitan safety net hospital.

INTRODUCTION: Successes from anesthesiologist-led perioperative surgical homes in the adult patient population have inspired similar initiatives by pediatric hospitals. Typically the care coordination for these perioperative homes is run through hospital-funded, on-site, preanesthesia clinics. Preliminary data from pediatric perioperative homes have shown promising results in improved patient outcomes and decreased length of hospital stay. The majority of pediatric surgeries within the country are performed in nonpediatric hospitals. Such centers may not have the infrastructure or financial resources for a freestanding pediatric preanesthesia clinic. Faced with this situation at the largest safety net hospital in New England, the authors present their experience designing and implementing a "Virtual Pediatric Perioperative Home," a telemedicine-based triage and preanesthetic optimization for pediatric patients at Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of all pediatric anesthesia cases at Boston Medical Center from February 1, 2019, to January 31, 2020, as well as the number of pediatric cases canceled or postponed on the day of surgery for any reason during the same time period was conducted. RESULTS: From February 1, 2019, to January 31, 2020, 1546 anesthetics were performed in children 18 years and under. Of those, 63 were designated as emergent and hence excluded from our analysis. 153 of the total 1483 (9.4%) of nonemergent bookings were canceled or postponed on the day of surgery. This represented a marked decline from our previous year's 13.7% same-day cancellation rate for pediatric patients. The most common reason for case cancellations (41.8%) was acute illness. Cancellation rates varied from month to month, with the highest cancellation rate of the year in September 2019 (18.8%). The departments of Podiatry and Gastroenterology represented the highest cancellation rates as a denominator of their case volumes, 15.4% and 15.2%, respectively. Younger children had 2.4 times the odds (95% CI: 1.720, 3.4) of cancellation compared to older children. DISCUSSION: The virtual pediatric perioperative home (VPPH) may benefit quality of care while decreasing costs to pediatric patients, families, and hospital systems. While direct financial gains may be difficult to demonstrate, the VPPH has the potential to reduce OR delays and same day cancellations related to questions of medical optimization. In the context of a socioeconomically disadvantaged patient population, our VPPH's team of subspecialists created inroads for at risk children to establish or reestablish care for their comorbidities, while collaboration with the Department of Children and Families further streamlined communication and consent for pediatric patients in foster care. CONCLUSIONS: The authors describe the design and successful implementation of a telemedicine-based pediatric preanesthesia triage and medical optimization service at a large safety net hospital. By creating a communication network of pediatric subspecialists, the anesthesiologists were able to, at minimal institutional cost, coordinate care for children with a variety of comorbidities leading up to the day of surgery. This yielded a 9.4% same day cancellation rate in a complex, socioeconomically disadvantaged pediatric patient population at a general hospital.

The Pediatric-Specific American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Score: A Multicenter Study.

BACKGROUND: When applied to the pediatric population, the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA-PS) classification has exhibited poor reliability due to its subjective and adult-focused definitions. This study was done to measure interrater agreement of a pediatric-adapted ASA-PS classification and to solicit multicenter perspectives to optimize the pediatric ASA-PS classification. METHODS: A prospective, mixed-methods study of 197 pediatric anesthesiologists from 13 academic pediatric hospitals in the United States, Europe, and Australia surveyed in May and July 2019. Participants assigned ASA-PS scores (I to V) for 15 pediatric cases with a heterogeneous mix of acute and chronic health conditions undergoing a variety of surgical and related procedures. Pediatric-adapted definitions of ASA-PS were provided. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess interrater reliability of ASA-PS scores. The ICC was estimated using 2-way mixed-effects modeling, accounting for multiple raters assigning scores for the same set of cases. Qualitative feedback on the pediatric-adapted ASA-PS classification was analyzed with line-by-line coding. RESULTS: The survey response rate was 83.8% (165 of 197). The ICC agreement among participants on ASA-PS scoring across all 15 clinical cases was 0.58 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.42-0.77). ICC did not vary significantly by years of anesthesiology practice. ICC varied across hospitals (range: 0.34; 95% CI, 0.12-0.63 to 0.79; 95% CI, 0.66-0.91). The highest level of agreement occurred with cases most often scored as ASA-PS I, IV, and V; the lowest agreement occurred with cases most often scored ASA-PS II and III. Clarification of how well a chronic condition was controlled and presence of an acute illness were 2 common themes suggested to optimize the validity of the pediatric-adapted ASA-PS definitions. CONCLUSIONS: The pediatric-adapted ASA-PS classification had moderate interrater reliability among pediatric anesthesiologists. The lower reliability of scoring for ASA-PS II and III cases, in particular, supports the need for further ASA-PS definition refinement for pediatric populations.

Comprehensive Risk Assessment of Morbidity in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery: An Institutional Experience.

BACKGROUND: Utilizing the intrinsic surgical risk (ISR) and the patient's chronic and acute conditions, this study aims to develop and validate a comprehensive predictive model of perioperative morbidity in children undergoing noncardiac surgery. METHODS: Following institutional review board (IRB) approval at a tertiary care children's hospital, data for all noncardiac surgical encounters for a derivation dataset from July 2017 to December 2018 including 16,724 cases and for a validation dataset from January 2019 to December 2019 including 9043 cases were collected retrospectively. The primary outcome was a composite morbidity score defined by unplanned transfer to an intensive care unit (ICU), acute respiratory failure requiring intubation, postoperative need for noninvasive or invasive positive pressure ventilation, or cardiac arrest. Internal model validation was performed using 1000 bootstrap resamples, and external validation was performed using the 2019 validation cohort. RESULTS: A total of 1519 surgical cases (9.1%) experienced the defined composite morbidity. Using multivariable logistic regression, the Risk Assessment of Morbidity in Pediatric Surgery (RAMPS) score was developed with very good predictive ability in the derivation cohort (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.805; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.795-0.816), very good internal validity using 1000 bootstrap resamples (bias-corrected Nagelkerke R = 0.21 and Brier score = 0.07), and good external validity (AUC = 0.783; 95% CI, 0.770-0.797). The included variables are age <5 years, critically ill, chronic condition indicator (CCI) ≥3, significant CCI ≥2, and ISR quartile ≥3. The RAMPS score ranges from 0 to 10, with the risk of composite morbidity ranging from 1.8% to 42.7%. CONCLUSIONS: The RAMPS score provides the ability to identify a high-risk cohort of pediatric patients using a 5-component tool, and it demonstrated good internal and external validity and generalizability. It also provides an opportunity to improve perioperative planning with the intent of improving both individual-patient outcomes and the appropriate allocation of health care resources.

One Size Does Not Fit All: A Perspective on the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification for Pediatric Patients.

BACKGROUND: The American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA-PS) classification system is used worldwide to classify patients based on comorbid conditions before general anesthesia. Despite its popularity, the ASA-PS classification system has been shown to have poor interrater reliability due to its subjective definitions, especially when applied to the pediatric population. We hypothesized that the clarification of ASA-PS definitions to better reflect pediatric conditions would improve the accuracy of ASA-PS applied to this population. METHODS: A stratified, randomized sample of 120 pediatric surgical cases was collected from a tertiary-care pediatric hospital. A team of senior anesthesiologists reclassified ASA-PS within this patient sample using the suggested pediatric-specific ASA-PS definitions. Interrater reliability was measured using intraclass correlation (ICC) and Fleiss κ statistic. In addition, a qualitative study component using small focus groups of senior anesthesiologists identified areas of ambiguity within the ASA-PS system. RESULTS: Among the 90 reclassifications within each ASA-PS group, 42.2% (n = 38) of ASA-PS I were upgraded to ASA-PS II, and 36.7% (n = 33) of ASA-PS II were upgraded to ASA-PS III. In addition, 28.9% (n = 26) of ASA-PS III were upgraded to ASA-PS IV, and 24.4% (n = 22) of ASA-PS IV were downgraded to III. ICC across the reclassified ASA-PS categories was 0.77 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.71-0.83; P < .001) demonstrating strong overall agreement. Fleiss κ statistic was lowest in ASA-PS II and III patients (κ = 0.41 and κ = 0.30, respectively) indicating lower agreement beyond chance within these subgroups. Focus groups revealed common themes such as active sequelae of disease, active versus well-controlled presence of comorbidities, and the possible inclusion of functional limitations as important considerations. CONCLUSIONS: The ASA-PS classification system has several benefits including ease-of-use, simplicity, and flexibility. However, revising the ASA-PS system to provide better guidance for pediatric patients could be valuable. While this study demonstrates good interrater reliability with the included ASA-PS pediatric definitions, further work is needed to clarify accurate assignment of ASA-PS within the midrange of the scale (ASA-PS II and III) and explore its implementation in other institutions.

Pediatric complex care and surgery comanagement: Preparation for spinal fusion.

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of preoperative comanagement with complex care pediatricians (CCP) on children with neuromuscular scoliosis undergoing spinal fusion. We performed chart review of 79 children aged 5-21 years undergoing spinal fusion 1/2014-6/2016 at a children's hospital, with abstraction of clinical documentation from preoperative health evaluations performed regularly by anesthesiologists and irregularly by a CCP. Preoperative referrals to specialists, labs, tests, and care plans needed last minute for surgical clearance were measured. The mean age at surgery was 14 (SD 3) years; cerebral palsy (64%) was the most common neuromuscular condition. Thirty-nine children (49%) had a preoperative CCP evaluation a median 63 days (interquartile range (IQR) 33-156) before the preanesthesia visit. Children with CCP evaluation had more organ systems affected by coexisting conditions than children without an evaluation (median 11 (IQR 9-12) vs. 8 (IQR 5-11); p < .001). The rate of last-minute care coordination activities required for surgical clearance was lower for children with versus without CCP evaluation (1.8 vs. 3.6). A lower percentage of children with CCP evaluation required last-minute development of new preoperative plans (26% vs. 50%, p = .002). Children with CCP involvement were better prepared for surgery, requiring fewer last-minute care coordination activities for surgical clearance.

Predicting Postoperative Physiologic Decline After Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Projecting postoperative recovery in pediatric surgical patients is challenging. We assessed how the patients' number of complex chronic conditions (CCCs) and chronic medications interacted with active health issues to influence the likelihood of postoperative physiologic decline (PoPD). METHODS: A prospective study of 3295 patients undergoing elective surgery at a freestanding children's hospital. During preoperative clinical evaluation, active health problems, CCCs, and medications were documented. PoPD (compromise of cardiovascular, respiratory, and/or neurologic systems) was measured prospectively every 4 hours by inpatient nurses. PoPD odds were estimated with multivariable logistic regression. Classification and regression tree analysis distinguished children with the highest and lowest likelihood of PoPD. RESULTS: Median age at surgery was 8 years (interquartile range: 2-15); 2336 (70.9%) patients had a CCC; and 241 (7.3%) used ≥11 home medications. During preoperative evaluation, 1556 (47.2%) patients had ≥1 active health problem. After surgery, 882 (26.8%) experienced PoPD. The adjusted odds of PoPD were 1.2 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0-1.4) for presence versus absence of an active health problem; 1.4 (95% CI: 1.0-1.9) for ≥11 vs 0 home medications; and 2.2 (95% CI: 1.7-2.9) for ≥3 vs 0 CCCs. In classification and regression tree analysis, the lowest rate of PoPD (8.6%) occurred in children without an active health problem at the preoperative evaluation; the highest rate (57.2%) occurred in children with a CCC who used ≥11 home medications. CONCLUSIONS: Greater than 1 in 4 pediatric patients undergoing elective surgery experienced PoPD. Combinations of active health problems at preoperative evaluation, polypharmacy, and multimorbidity distinguished patients with a low versus high risk of PoPD.

Anesthesia Exposure in Children: Practitioners Respond to the 2016 FDA Drug Safety Communication.

In December 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a drug safety warning stating that 11 commonly used anesthetic and sedative medications had potential neurotoxic effects when used in children under the age of 3 years and in pregnant women during the third trimester. A panel presentation at the sixth biennial Pediatric Anesthesia Neurodevelopmental Assessment (PANDA) symposium addressed the FDA announcement in a session entitled "Anesthesia Exposure in Children During Surgical and Non-Surgical Procedures: How Do We Respond to the 2016 FDA Drug Safety Communication?" Panelists included representatives from pediatric anesthesiology, obstetrics, pediatric surgery, and several pediatric surgical subspecialties. Each panelist was asked to address the following questions: How has the FDA labelling change affected your clinical practice including patient discussions, timing, and frequency of procedures? Has your professional society provided any guidelines for this discussion? Has there been any discussion of this topic at your national meetings? The panelists provided important perspectives specific to each specialty, which generated a lively discussion and a detailed response from the Deputy Director of the Division of Anesthesia and Addiction of the FDA describing the FDA procedures that led to this drug safety warning.

Implementing a Pediatric Perioperative Surgical Home Integrated Care Coordination Pathway for Laryngeal Cleft Repair.

BACKGROUND: The Pediatric Perioperative Surgical Home (PPSH) model is an integrative care model designed to provide better patient care and value by shifting focus from the patient encounter level to the overarching surgical episode of care. So far, no PPSH model has targeted a complex airway disorder. It was hypothesized that the development of a PPSH for laryngeal cleft repair would reduce the high rates of postoperative resource utilization observed in this population. METHODS: Institutional review board approval was obtained for the purpose of data collection and analysis. A multidisciplinary team of anesthesiologists, surgeons, nursing staff, information technology specialists, and finance administrators was gathered during the PPSH development phase. Standardized perioperative (preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative) protocols were developed, with a focus on preoperative risk stratification. Patients presenting before surgery with ≥1 predefined medical comorbidity were triaged to the intensive care unit (ICU) postoperatively, while patients without severe systemic disease were triaged to a lower-acuity floor for overnight observation. The success of the PPSH protocol was defined by quality outcome and value measurements. RESULTS: The PPSH initiative included 120 patients, and the pre-PPSH period included 115 patients who underwent laryngeal cleft repair before implementation of the new process. Patients in the pre-PPSH period were reviewed and classified as ICU candidates or lower acuity floor candidates had they presented in the post-PPSH period. Among the 79 patients in the pre-PPSH period who were identified as candidates for the lower-acuity floor transfer, 70 patients (89%) were transferred to the ICU (P < .001). Retrospective analysis concluded that 143 ICU bedded days could have been avoided in the pre-PPSH group by using PPSH risk stratification. Surgery duration (P = .034) and hospital length of stay (P = .015) were found to be slightly longer in the group of pre-PPSH observation unit candidates. Rates of 30-day unplanned readmissions to the hospital were not associated with the new PPSH initiative (P = .093). No patients in either group experienced emergent postoperative intubation or other expected complications. Total hospital costs were not lower for PPSH observation unit patients as compared to pre-PPSH observation unit candidates (difference = 8%; 95% confidence interval, -7% to 23%). CONCLUSIONS: A well-defined preoperative screening protocol for patients undergoing laryngeal cleft repair can reduce postoperative ICU utilization without affecting patient safety. Further research is needed to see if these findings are applicable to other complex airway surgeries.

Development and validation of a quality of life instrument for patients with laryngeal cleft.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a novel pediatric health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) instrument for patients with laryngeal cleft and their families. METHODS: We surveyed primary caregivers of patients that underwent endoscopic repair of Type I or II laryngeal cleft. The proposed HR-QoL instrument consists of 40 items representing four domains, assessing the patient's physical symptoms, the patient's and family's social functioning, and the family's emotions regarding the patient's illness pre- and post-operatively. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to assess construct validity, dimensionality, and optimal simple structure. RESULTS: Of 78 eligible participants reached by phone, 40 (51%) of them completed the questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that all four measured constructs were well supported by the measured items in comparison to a unidimensional model. All factor loadings and factor correlations were significant and factor correlations ranged between 0.723 and 0.879. Indices of test-retest reliability and internal consistency reliability were well above recommended standards. There was a significant correlation between current instrument and PedsQL™ score. The overall QoL score significantly improved from 112.3 (±28.1) before surgery to 158.0 (±28.5) after surgery (mean difference 45.7; 95% CI: 37.3, 54.1; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our proposed pediatric HR-QoL instrument is a valid tool for measuring quality of life in patients with laryngeal cleft and their families. This instrument can provide insight into the effects of medical and surgical therapy and guide pre- and post-operative management of laryngeal cleft.

Perioperative Spending on Spinal Fusion for Scoliosis for Children With Medical Complexity.

BACKGROUND: Global payment is used with surgeries to optimize health, lower costs, and improve quality. We assessed perioperative spending on spinal fusion for scoliosis to inform how this might apply to children. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 1249 children using Medicaid and aged ≥5 years with a complex chronic condition undergoing spinal fusion in 2013 from 12 states. From perioperative health services measured 6 months before and 3 months after spinal fusion, we simulated a spending reallocation with increased preoperative care and decreased hospital care. RESULTS: Perioperative spending was $112 353 per patient, with 77.9% for hospitalization, 12.3% for preoperative care, and 9.8% for postdischarge care. Primary care accounted for 0.2% of total spending; 15.4% and 49.2% of children had no primary care visit before and after spinal fusion, respectively. Compared with having no preoperative primary care visit, 1 to 2 visits were associated with a 12% lower surgery hospitalization cost (P = .05) and a 9% shorter length of stay (LOS) (P = .1); ≥3 visits were associated with a 21% lower hospitalization cost (P < .001) and a 14% shorter LOS (P = .01). Having ≥3 preoperative primary care visits for all children would increase total perioperative spending by 0.07%. This increased cost could be underwritten by a 0.1% reduction in hospital LOS or a 1.0% reduction in 90-day hospital readmissions. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital care accounted for most perioperative spending in children undergoing spinal fusion. Multiple preoperative primary care visits were associated with lower hospital costs and shorter hospitalizations. Modestly less hospital resource use could underwrite substantial increases in children's preoperative primary care.