Evaluation of Tibial Slope on Radiographs in Pediatric Patients With Tibial Spine Fractures: An Age- and Sex-Matched Study.

Background: A recent study has reported that the radiographic measurement of posterior tibial slope (PTS) is larger in male pediatric patients with tibial spine fractures (TSF) than in controls. However, they found no difference in PTS between female patients and controls. Purpose: (1) To identify whether PTS is larger in female pediatric patients with TSF than in female controls and (2) to validate the relationship between PTS and pediatric TSF in male patients. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: After an a priori power analysis, 84 pediatric patients with TSF (50 female patients and 34 male patients) and 84 age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled in this study. Demographic information, including sex, age, and race, was recorded. Skeletal maturity was determined based on the stage of epiphyseal union on knee radiographs. PTS was defined as the angle between a line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tibia and the posterior inclination of the medial tibial plateau on standard knee lateral radiographs. Results: The mean age when the TSF occurred was 11.2 ± 2.7 years for female patients and 12.9 ± 2.5 years for male patients. There was no significant difference in skeletal maturity between female patients and female controls or between male patients and male controls. The mean PTS was not significantly different between female patients (8.8°± 2.8°) and female controls (8.3°± 3.1°) (P = .366) or between male patients (9.0°± 2.8°) and male controls (9.3°± 2.6°) (P = .675). Those with a PTS >1 SD (2.9°) above the mean (8.8°) had no greater odds (1.0 [95% CI, 0.4-2.5]; P≥ .999) of having a TSF than others. Conclusion: PTS was not found to be a risk factor for pediatric TSF in female or male patients in this study.

Provider-to-provider telemedicine for sepsis is used less frequently in communities with high social vulnerability.

PURPOSE: Sepsis disproportionately affects patients in rural and socially vulnerable communities. A promising strategy to address this disparity is provider-to-provider emergency department (ED)-based telehealth consultation (tele-ED). The objective of this study was to determine if county-level social vulnerability index (SVI) was associated with tele-ED use for sepsis and, if so, which SVI elements were most strongly associated. METHODS: We used data from the TELEmedicine as a Virtual Intervention for Sepsis in Rural Emergency Department study. The primary exposures were SVI aggregate and component scores. We used multivariable generalized estimating equations to model the association between SVI and tele-ED use. FINDINGS: Our study cohort included 1191 patients treated in 23 Midwestern rural EDs between August 2016 and June 2019, of whom 326 (27.4%) were treated with tele-ED. Providers in counties with a high SVI were less likely to use tele-ED (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.31‒0.87), an effect principally attributable to the housing type and transportation component of SVI (aOR = 0.44, 95% CI 0.22-0.89). Providers who treated fewer sepsis patients (1‒10 vs. 31+ over study period) and therefore may have been less experienced in sepsis care, were more likely to activate tele-ED (aOR = 3.91, 95% CI 2.08‒7.38). CONCLUSIONS: Tele-ED use for sepsis was lower in socially vulnerable counties and higher among providers who treated fewer sepsis patients. These findings suggest that while tele-ED increases access to specialized care, it may not completely ameliorate sepsis disparities due to its less frequent use in socially vulnerable communities.

Hospital Variation in Epinephrine Administration Before Defibrillation for Cardiac Arrest Due to Shockable Rhythm.

OBJECTIVES: Contrary to advanced cardiac life support guidelines that recommend immediate defibrillation for shockable in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA), epinephrine administration before first defibrillation is common and associated with lower survival at a "patient-level." Whether this practice varies across hospitals and its association with "hospital-level" IHCA survival remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine hospital variation in rates of epinephrine administration before defibrillation for shockable IHCA and its association with IHCA survival. DESIGN: Observational cohort study. SETTING: Five hundred thirteen hospitals participating in the Get With The Guidelines Resuscitation Registry. PATIENTS: A total of 37,668 adult patients with IHCA due to an initial shockable rhythm from 2000 to 2019. INTERVENTIONS: Epinephrine before first defibrillation. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Using multivariable hierarchical regression, we examined hospital variation in epinephrine administration before first defibrillation and its association with hospital-level rates of risk-adjusted survival. The median hospital rate of epinephrine administration before defibrillation was 18.8%, with large variation across sites (range, 0-68.8%; median odds ratio: 1.54; 95% CI, 1.47-1.61). Major teaching status and annual IHCA volume were associated with hospital rate of epinephrine administration before defibrillation. Compared with hospitals with the lowest rate of epinephrine administration before defibrillation (Q1), there was a stepwise decline in risk-adjusted survival at hospitals with higher rates of epinephrine administration before defibrillation (Q1: 44.3%, Q2: 43.4%; Q3: 41.9%; Q4: 40.3%; p for trend < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Administration of epinephrine before defibrillation in shockable IHCA is common and varies markedly across U.S. hospitals. Hospital rates of epinephrine administration before defibrillation were associated with a significant stepwise decrease in hospital rates of risk-adjusted survival. Efforts to prioritize immediate defibrillation for patients with shockable IHCA and avoid early epinephrine administration are urgently needed.

Documented Use of Emergency Medical Dispatch Protocols is Associated with Improved Survival in Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

OBJECTIVE: There are over 300,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) annually in the United States (US) and despite many scientific advances in the field, the survival rate remains low. We seek to determine if return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) is higher when use of emergency medical dispatch (EMD) protocols is documented for OHCA calls compared to when no EMD protocol use is documented. We also seek identify care-related processes that differ in calls that use EMD protocols. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of U.S. adults with OHCA prior to emergency medical services (EMS) arrival using 2019 National EMS Information System data. The primary exposure was EMD usage during EMS call. The primary outcome was prehospital ROSC, and secondary outcomes included automated external defibrillator (AED) use before EMS arrival, bystander CPR, and end-of-event EMS survival (survival to the end of the EMS care at transport destination). Multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, primary insurance, rurality, initial rhythm, arrest etiology, and witnessed arrest. RESULTS: Of the 96,269 OHCA cases included, EMD use was documented in 73%. Overall, 26% of subjects achieved ROSC in EMS care. EMD subjects were more likely to achieve ROSC (27.2% vs. 23.5%, uOR 1.22, 95%CI 1.18 - 1.26) even after adjusting for subject and arrest characteristics (aOR 1.13, 95%CI 1.08 - 1.17). EMD subjects also had higher end-of-event survival (19.1% vs. 16.4%, aOR 1.20, 95%CI 1.15 - 1.25). AED use before EMS arrival was more common in the EMD group (28.3% vs. 26.3% %diff 2.0, 95%CI 1.4 to 2.6), as was CPR before EMS arrival (63.8% vs. 55.1%, difference 8.6%, 95%CI 7.9 to 9.3%). CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective analysis, the rate of ROSC was higher in adult OHCA patients when EMD protocol use was reported compared to when it was not reported. The group with documented EMD use also experienced higher rates of bystander AED use, bystander CPR, and end-of-event survival.

The impact of rural status on pediatric chronic kidney disease.

Children and adolescents in rural areas with chronic kidney disease (CKD) face unique challenges related to accessing pediatric nephrology care. Challenges to obtaining care begin with living increased distances from pediatric health care centers. Recent trends of increasing centralization of pediatric care mean fewer locations have pediatric nephrology, inpatient, and intensive care services. In addition, access to care for rural populations expands beyond distance and encompasses domains of approachability, acceptability, availability and accommodation, affordability, and appropriateness. Furthermore, the current literature identifies additional barriers to care for rural patients that include limited resources, including finances, education, and community/neighborhood social resources. Rural pediatric kidney failure patients have barriers to kidney replacement therapy options that may be even more limited for rural pediatric kidney failure patients when compared to rural adults with kidney failure. This educational review identifies possible strategies to improve health systems for rural CKD patients and their families: (1) increasing rural patient and hospital/clinic representation and focus in research, (2) understanding and mediating gaps in the geographic distribution of the pediatric nephrology workforce, (3) introducing regionalization models for delivering pediatric nephrology care to geographic areas, and (4) employing telehealth to expand the geographic reach of services and reduce family time and travel burden.

Influence of Body Mass Index on the Evaluation and Management of Pediatric Abdominal Pain in the Emergency Department.

Introduction: Childhood obesity is a serious concern in the United States, with over one third of the pediatric population classified as obese. Abdominal pain is one of the most common chief complaints among pediatric emergency department (ED) visits. We hypothesized that overweight and obese children being evaluated in the ED for abdominal pain would have higher resource utilization than their normal and underweight peers. Methods: This was a retrospective review of pediatric patients <18 years who presented with abdominal pain to the ED of a tertiary care center from January 1, 2014-September 3, 2020. Patients were excluded if they did not have both a height and weight recorded. We categorized patients as underweight (body mass index [BMI] <5th percentile); normal weight (BMI 5th to <85th percentile), overweight (BMI 85th to <95th percentile); or obese (BMI ≥95th percentile). Descriptive statistics were used to examine the study population. We used chi-square tests to examine the differences in patient characteristics between normal/underweight patients and overweight/obese patients. The Kruskal-Wallis test was completed for examining differences in the medians. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine visit characteristics associated with overweight/obese patients, including ED interventions, testing, and length of stay (LOS). Results: Of the 184 subjects included in the analysis, nine (4.9%) were underweight, 108 (58.7%) were normal weight, 21 (11.4%) were overweight, and 46 (25.0%) were obese. Patients with a BMI of ≥85th percentile were older (median 15 vs 13 years, P = 0.01). They were otherwise similar in demographics. There was no significant difference between normal/underweight and overweight/obese subjects in disposition (37% vs 43% discharge, P = 0.38), 72-hour return (7% vs 6%, P = 0.82), ED LOS (median 4.42 vs 3.95 hours, P = 0.195), or inpatient LOS (median 42.0 vs 34.2 hours, P = 0.06). There were no statistically significant differences in total number of ED tests or interventions received by overweight/obese patients compared to normal/underweight patients, and each subject received a median of six tests (interquartile range [IQR] 4-7) and two interventions (IQR 1-3). Conclusion: Among pediatric patients presenting to the ED with abdominal pain, we found that patient characteristics and ED resource utilization (including testing, intervention, disposition, and LOS) did not differ significantly across BMI categories.

Outcomes Associated With Rural Emergency Department Provider-to-Provider Telehealth for Sepsis Care: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that provider-to-provider tele-emergency department care is associated with more 28-day hospital-free days and improved Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) guideline adherence in rural emergency departments (EDs). METHODS: Multicenter (n=23), propensity-matched, cohort study using medical records of patients with sepsis from rural hospitals in an established, on-demand, rural video tele-ED network in the upper Midwest between August 2016 and June 2019. The primary outcome was 28-day hospital-free days, with secondary outcomes of 28-day inhospital mortality and SSC guideline adherence. RESULTS: A total of 1,191 patients were included in the analysis, with tele-ED used for 326 (27%). Tele-ED cases were more likely to be transferred to another hospital (88% versus 8%, difference 79%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 75% to 83%). After matching and regression adjustment, tele-ED cases did not have more 28-day hospital-free days (difference 0.07 days more for tele-ED, 95% CI -0.04 to 0.17) or 28-day inhospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.51, 95% CI 0.16 to 1.60). Adherence with both the SSC 3-hour bundle (aOR 0.59, 95% CI 0.28 to 1.22) and complete bundle (aOR 0.45, 95% CI 0.02 to 11.60) were similar. An a priori-defined subgroup of patients treated by advanced practice providers suggested that the mortality was lower in the cohort with tele-ED use (aOR 0.11, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.73) despite no significant difference in complete SSC bundle adherence (aOR 2.88, 95% CI 0.52 to 15.86). CONCLUSION: Rural emergency department patients treated with provider-to-provider tele-ED care in a mature network appear to have similar clinical outcomes to those treated without.

Challenges and opportunities in creating a deprescribing program in the emergency department: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: As the population of older adults increases, appropriate deprescribing becomes increasingly important for emergency geriatric care. Older adults represent the sickest patients with chronic medical conditions, and they are often exposed to high-risk medications. We need to provide an evidence-based, standardized deprescribing program in the acute care setting, yet the evidence base is lacking and standardized medication programs are needed. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative study with the goal to understand the perspective of healthcare workers, patients, and caregivers on deprescribing high-risk medications in the context of emergency care practices, provider preferences, and practice variability, along with the facilitators and barriers to an effective deprescribing program in the emergency department (ED). To ensure rich, contextual data, the study utilized two qualitative methods: (1) a focus group with physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, pharmacists, and geriatricians involved in care of older adults and their prescriptions in the acute care setting; (2) semi-structured interviews with patients and caregivers involved in treatment and emergency care. Transcriptions were coded using thematic content analysis, and the principal investigator (S.L.) and trained research staff categorized each code into themes. RESULTS: Data collection from a focus group with healthcare workers (n = 8) and semi-structured interviews with patients and caregivers (n = 20) provided evidence of a potentially promising ED medication program, aligned with the vision of comprehensive care of older adults, that can be used to evaluate practices and develop interventions. We identified four themes: (1) Challenges in medication history taking, (2) missed opportunities in identifying high-risk medications, (3) facilitators and barriers to deprescribing recommendations, and (4) how to coordinate deprescribing recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Our focus group and semi-structured interviews resulted in a framework for an ED medication program to screen, identify, and deprescribe high-risk medications for older adults and coordinate their care with primary care providers.

Hospitals That Report Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock Bundle Compliance Have More Structured Sepsis Performance Improvement.

PURPOSE: Sepsis is a common cause of death. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services severe sepsis/septic shock (SEP-1) bundle is focused on improving sepsis outcomes, but it is unknown which quality improvement (QI) practices are associated with SEP-1 compliance and reduced sepsis mortality. The objectives of this study were to compare sepsis QI practices in SEP-1 reporting and nonreporting hospitals and to measure the association between sepsis QI processes, SEP-1 performance, and sepsis mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study linked survey data on QI practices from Iowa hospitals to SEP-1 performance data and mortality. Characteristics of hospitals and sepsis QI practices were compared by SEP-1 reporting status. Univariable and multivariable logistic and linear regression estimated the association of QI practices with SEP-1 performance and observed-to-expected sepsis mortality ratios. RESULTS: One hundred percent of Iowa's 118 hospitals completed the survey. SEP-1 reporting hospitals were more likely to have sepsis QI practices, including reporting sepsis quality to providers (64% versus 38%, P = 0.026) and using the case review process to develop sepsis care plans (87% versus 64%, P = 0.013). Sepsis QI practices were not associated with increased SEP-1 scores. A sepsis registry was associated with decreased odds of being in the bottom quartile of sepsis mortality (odds ratio, 0.37; 95% confidence interval, 0.14 to 0.96, P = 0.041), and presence of a sepsis committee was associated with lower hospital-specific mortality (observed-to-expected ratio, -0.11; 95% confidence interval, -0.20 to 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Hospitals reporting SEP-1 compliance conduct more sepsis QI practices. Most QI practices are not associated with increased SEP-1 performance or decreased sepsis mortality. Future work could explore how to implement these performance improvement practices in hospitals not reporting SEP-1 compliance.

Adapted Helping Babies Breathe approach to neonatal resuscitation in Haiti: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) is an American Academy of Pediatrics neonatal resuscitation program designed to reduce neonatal mortality in low resource settings. The 2017 neonatal mortality rate in Haiti was 28 per 1000 live births and an estimated 85 % of Haitian women deliver at home. Given this, the Community Health Initiative implemented an adapted HBB (aHBB) in Haiti to evaluate neonatal mortality. METHODS: Community Health Workers taught an aHBB program to laypeople, which didn't include bag-valve-mask ventilation. Follow-up after delivery assessed for maternal and neonatal mortality and health. RESULTS: Analysis included 536 births of which 84.3 % (n=452) were attended by someone trained in aHBB. The odds of neonatal mortality was not significantly different among the two groups (aOR=0.48 [0.16-1.44]). Composite outcome of neonatal health as reported by the mother (subjective morbidity and mortality) was significantly lower in aHBB attended births (aOR=0.31 [0.14-0.70]). CONCLUSION: This analysis of the aHBB program indicates that community training to laypersons in low resource settings may reduce neonatal ill-health but not neonatal mortality. This study is likely underpowered to find a difference in neonatal mortality. Further work is needed to evaluate which components of the aHBB program are instrumental in improving neonatal health.

Rural Stroke Patients Have Higher Mortality: An Improvement Opportunity for Rural Emergency Medical Services Systems.

PURPOSE: Early recognition and prompt prehospital care is a cornerstone of acute stroke treatment. Residents of rural areas have worse access to stroke services than urban residents. The purpose of this study was to (1) describe US trends in rural-urban stroke mortality and (2) identify possible factors associated with rural-urban stroke case-fatality disparities. METHODS: This study was a nationwide retrospective cohort study of stroke admissions. The primary exposure was rurality of patient's residence. The primary outcome was death during hospital encounter. The secondary outcome was discharge to a care facility or home healthcare. Univariable and multivariable logistic regressions estimated the odds of mortality by subject rurality among stroke subjects. FINDINGS: Rural stroke subjects had higher mortality than nonrural counterparts (18.6% rural vs 16.9% nonrural). After adjustment for patient and hospital factors, patient rurality was associated with increased odds of mortality (aOR = 1.11; 95% CI: 1.06-1.15; P < .001). For the secondary outcome of discharge to home, rural stroke subjects were less likely to be discharged to a care facility than nonrural stroke visits (aOR 0.94; 95% CI: 0.91-0.97; P < .001). Results were similar after adjusting for thrombolytics administration and transfer status. CONCLUSIONS: Rural stroke patients have higher mortality than their urban counterparts likely due to their increased burden of chronic disease, lower health literacy, and reduced access to prompt prehospital care. There may be an opportunity for emergency medical services systems to assist in increasing stroke awareness for both patients and clinicians and to establish response patterns to expedite emergency care.

Opioid and benzodiazepine use in the emergency department and the recognition of delirium within the first 24 hours of hospitalization.

OBJECTIVE: Delirium is a common and serious brain dysfunction. The objective of our study was to test the hypothesis that opioids and benzodiazepines exposure in the emergency department (ED) is associated with delirium. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study, including patients aged 65 years and older who were hospitalized from ED at an academic medical center from 2014 to 2017. Medication administration records were used to identify opioids and benzodiazepines given during the ED stay. Nurses used the Delirium Observation Screening Scale (DOSS) twice daily to assess delirium during hospitalization. The outcome was a positive DOSS within 1 day of ED encounter. We used logistic regression to predict the outcome of positive delirium screening by opioids and benzodiazepines. RESULTS: A total of 7927 ED encounters that resulted in hospitalization were included in the analysis. We identified 2008 visits (25.3%) with a positive delirium screen. A total of 3304 (41.7%) received opioids, and 1801 (22.7%) received benzodiazepines. In this cohort, opioids were not associated with an increased odds of delirium (OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.87-1.15). Benzodiazepines were associated with increased odds of delirium (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.13-1.65), as were benzodiazepines combined with opioids (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.33-1.97). CONCLUSION: In this study, the use of benzodiazepines was associated with a risk of delirium. The use of opioids did not increase the risk of delirium. Our findings imply that judicious pain management with opioids in the ED might not increase the risk of delirium.

Epinephrine before defibrillation in patients with shockable in-hospital cardiac arrest: propensity matched analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the use of epinephrine (adrenaline) before defibrillation for treatment of in-hospital cardiac arrest due to a ventricular arrhythmia and examine its association with patient survival. DESIGN: Propensity matched analysis. SETTING: 2000-18 data from 497 hospitals participating in the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines-Resuscitation registry. PARTICIPANTS: Adults aged 18 and older with an index in-hospital cardiac arrest due to an initial shockable rhythm treated with defibrillation. INTERVENTIONS: Administration of epinephrine before first defibrillation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Survival to discharge; favorable neurological survival, defined as survival to discharge with none, mild, or moderate neurological disability measured using cerebral performance category scores; and survival after acute resuscitation (that is, return of spontaneous circulation for >20 minutes). A time dependent, propensity matched analysis was performed to adjust for confounding due to indication and evaluate the independent association of epinephrine before defibrillation with study outcomes. RESULTS: Among 34 820 patients with an initial shockable rhythm, 7054 (20.3%) were treated with epinephrine before defibrillation, contrary to current guidelines. In comparison with participants treated with defibrillation first, participants receiving epinephrine first were less likely to have a history of myocardial infarction or heart failure, but more likely to have renal failure, sepsis, respiratory insufficiency, and receive mechanical ventilation before in-hospital cardiac arrest (standardized differences >10% for all). Treatment with epinephrine before defibrillation was strongly associated with delayed defibrillation (median 4 minutes v 0 minutes). In propensity matched analysis (6569 matched pairs), epinephrine before defibrillation was associated with lower odds of survival to discharge (22.4% v 29.7%; adjusted odds ratio 0.69; 95% confidence interval 0.64 to 0.74; P<0.001), favorable neurological survival (15.8% v 21.6%; 0.68; 0.61 to 0.76; P<0.001) and survival after acute resuscitation (61.7% v 69.5%; 0.73; 0.67 to 0.79; P<0.001). The above findings were consistent in a range of sensitivity analyses, including matching according to defibrillation time. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to current guidelines that prioritize immediate defibrillation for in-hospital cardiac arrest due to a shockable rhythm, one in five patients are treated with epinephrine before defibrillation. Use of epinephrine before defibrillation was associated with worse survival outcomes.

High-efficiency Practices of Residents in an Academic Emergency Department: A Mixed-methods Study.

BACKGROUND: Emergency department utilization and crowding is increasing, putting additional pressure on emergency medicine (EM) residency programs to train efficient residents who can meet these demands. Specific practices associated with resident efficiency have yet to be identified. The objective of this study was to identify practices associated with enhanced efficiency in EM residents. METHODS: A mixed-methods study design was utilized to identify behaviors associated with resident efficiency. In Stage 1, eight EM faculty provided 61 efficiency behaviors during semistructured interviews, which were prioritized into eight behaviors by independent ranking. A total of 31 behaviors were tested, including additions from previous literature and the study team. In Stage 2, two 4-hour observations during separate shifts of 27 EM residents were performed to record minute-by-minute timing and frequency of each behavior. In Stage 3, the association between resident efficiency and each of the behaviors was estimated using multivariable regression models adjusted for training year and clustered on resident. The primary efficiency outcome was 6-month average relative value units/hour. A sensitivity analysis was performed using patients/hour. RESULTS: Seven practices were positively associated with efficiency: average patient load, taking initial patient history with nurse present (number/hour, number/new patient), running the board (number/hour), conversations with other care team members (number/hour, % time), dictation use (number/hour, % time), smartphone text communication (number/hour, % time), and nonwork tasks (number/hour). Three practices were negatively associated with efficiency: visits to patient room (number/patient), conversations with attending physicians (% time), and reviewing electronic medical record (number/hour). CONCLUSION: Several discrete behaviors were found to be associated with enhanced resident efficiency. These results can be utilized by EM residency programs to improve resident education and inform evaluations by providing specific, evidence-based practices for residents to develop and improve upon throughout training.

Emergency Department Pediatric Readiness and Potentially Avoidable Transfers.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between potentially avoidable transfers (PATs) and emergency department (ED) pediatric readiness scores and the score's associated components. STUDY DESIGN: This cross-sectional study linked the 2012 National Pediatric Readiness Project assessment with individual encounter data from California's statewide ED and inpatient databases during the years 2011-2013. A probabilistic linkage, followed by deterministic heuristics, linked pretransfer, and post-transfer encounters. Applying previously published definitions, a transferred child was considered a PAT if they were discharged within 1 day from the ED or inpatient care and had no specialized procedures. Analyses were stratified by injured and noninjured children. We compared PATs with necessary transfers using mixed-effects logistic regression models with random intercepts for hospital and adjustment for patient and hospital covariates. RESULTS: After linkage, there were 6765 injured children (27% PATs) and 18 836 noninjured children (14% PATs) who presented to 283 hospitals. In unadjusted analyses, a 10-point increase in pediatric readiness was associated with lower odds of PATs in both injured (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.90-0.96) and noninjured children (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.88-0.93). In adjusted analyses, a similar association was detected in injured patients (aOR 0.92, 95% CI 0.86-0.98) and was not detected in noninjured patients (aOR 0.94, 95% CI 0.88-1.00). Components associated with decreased PATs included having a nurse pediatric emergency care coordinator and a quality improvement plan. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital ED pediatric readiness is associated with lower odds of a PAT. Certain pediatric readiness components are modifiable risk factors that EDs could target to reduce PATs.

TELEmedicine as an intervention for sepsis in emergency departments: a multicenter, comparative effectiveness study (TELEvISED Study).

Sepsis is a life-threatening infection that affects over 1.7 million Americans annually. Low-volume rural hospitals have worse sepsis outcomes, and emergency department (ED)-based telemedicine (tele-ED) has been one promising strategy for improving rural sepsis care. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of tele-ED consultation on sepsis care and outcomes in rural ED patients. The TELEvISED study is a multicenter (n = 25) retrospective propensity-matched comparative effectiveness study of tele-ED care for rural sepsis patients in a mature tele-ED network. Telemedicine-exposed patients will be matched with non telemedicine patients using a propensity score to predict tele-ED use. The primary outcome is 28-day hospital free days, and secondary outcomes include adherence with guidelines, mortality and organ failure. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04441944.

Viewpoints on Healthcare Delivery Science Education Among Practicing Physicians in a Rural State.

INTRODUCTION: Healthcare Delivery Science Education (HDSE) covers important aspects of the business of medicine, including, operations management, managerial accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, negotiations, e-health and policy/advocacy. We need to investigate and understand practicing physicians' viewpoints on HDSE in order to inform interventions capable of preventing the double loss phenomena and improving medical and continuing medical education opportunities in HDSE. This qualitative study aims to provide a rich, contextualized understanding of the HDSE experiences and interests of physicians practicing in a rural state through the intensive study of particular cases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We interviewed 18 practicing physicians from a rural, Midwestern state over the telephone about their viewpoints on past experiences obtaining HDSE, interest in HDSE, barriers to pursuing HDSE, and interest in an example HDSE certificate program. RESULTS: Salient themes in our study were that physicians were interested in HDSE and believed HDSE could lead to improved patient care and practice efficiency. However, many of the respondents had not received longitudinal, diversified, didactic or practical HDSE. Time limited many physicians from pursuing HDSE opportunities. Many physicians in the study were interested in the example HDSE certificate program. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Physicians in our qualitative study were interested in obtaining HDSE and had not received diversified, didactic HDSE in the past. Our research suggests innovative HDSE programs will likely be utilized and pursued if they are developed.