Eliminating Use of Home Oral Antibiotics in Pediatric Complicated Appendicitis.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative oral antibiotic management at discharge for perforated appendicitis varies by institution. A prior study at our institution led to a decrease in antibiotic therapy in patients without leukocytosis. A subsequent protocol change eliminated the white blood cell count check and oral antibiotics if discharge criteria were met by postoperative day seven. We hypothesized this change could be made without an increase in abscess or readmission rates. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of patients with perforated appendicitis over two 1-year periods after institutional review board approval (262061). In the pre-protocol group, a white blood cell count was checked at discharge and patients with leukocytosis were prescribed oral antibiotics to complete a total of 7 d. In the post-protocol group, no white blood cell count was checked and patients were discharged home without antibiotics. RESULTS: There were a total of 174 patients with complicated appendicitis in the two 1-year periods with 129 (74%) patients with perforated appendicitis discharged before postoperative day seven. The pre-protocol group included 71 children, and post-protocol included 58 children. There were no differences between mean postoperative days to discharge (2.57 versus 3, P = 0.0896), postoperative abscess rate (12.7% versus 12.1%, P = 1.0000), or readmission rate (12.7% versus 17.2%, P = 0.6184). None of the patients in the post-protocol group were discharged home with oral antibiotics compared with 22.5% in the pre-protocol group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: For pediatric patients with perforated appendicitis discharged before postoperative day seven, stopping antibiotics at the time of discharge significantly decreased our home antibiotic use without an increase in postoperative morbidity.

Implementation of Guidelines Limiting Postoperative Opioid Prescribing at a Children's Hospital.

OBJECTIVES: Variability in opioid-prescribing practices after common pediatric surgical procedures at our institution prompted the development of opioid-prescribing guidelines that provided suggested dose limitations for narcotics. The aims of this study were to improve opioid prescription practices through implementation of the developed guidelines and to assess compliance and identify barriers preventing guideline utilization. METHODS: We conducted a single-center cohort study of all children who underwent the most common outpatient general surgery procedures at our institution from August 1, 2018, to February 1, 2020. We created guidelines designed to limit opioid prescription doses based on data obtained from standardized postoperative telephone interviews. Three 6-month periods were evaluated: before guideline implementation, after guideline initiation, and after addressing barriers to guideline compliance. Targeted interventions to increase compliance included modification of electronic medical record defaults and provider educations. Differences in opioid weight-based doses prescribed, filled, and taken, as well as protocol adherence between the 3 timeframes were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 1033 children underwent an outpatient procedure during the 1.5-year time frame. Phone call response rate was 72.22%. There was a significant sustained decrease in opioid doses prescribed ( P < 0.0001), prescriptions filled ( P = 0.009), and opioid doses taken ( P = 0.001) after implementation, without subsequent increase in reported pain on postoperative phone call ( P = 0.96). Protocol compliance significantly improved (62.39% versus 83.98%, P < 0.0001) after obstacles were addressed. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a protocol limiting opioid prescribing after frequently performed pediatric general surgery procedures reduced opioids prescribed and taken postoperatively. Interventions that addressed barriers to application led to increased protocol compliance and sustained decreases in opioids prescribed and taken without a deleterious effect on pain control.

Prevalence and outcomes of high versus low ratio plasma to red blood cell resuscitation in a multi-institutional cohort of severely injured children.

BACKGROUND: The benefit of targeting high ratio fresh frozen plasma (FFP)/red blood cell (RBC) transfusion in pediatric trauma resuscitation is unclear as existing studies are limited to patients who retrospectively met criteria for massive transfusion. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of high ratio FFP/RBC transfusion and the association with outcomes in children presenting in shock. METHODS: A post hoc analysis of a 24-institution prospective observational study (April 2018 to September 2019) of injured children younger than 18 years with elevated age-adjusted shock index was performed. Patients transfused within 24 hours were stratified into cohorts of low (<1:2) or high (≥1:2) ratio FFP/RBC. Nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis and χ 2 were used to compare characteristics and mortality. Competing risks analysis was used to compare extended (≥75th percentile) ventilator, intensive care, and hospital days while accounting for early deaths. RESULTS: Of 135 children with median (interquartile range) age 10 (5-14) years and weight 40 (20-64) kg, 85 (63%) received low ratio transfusion and 50 (37%) high ratio despite similar activation of institutional massive transfusion protocols (low-38%, high-46%, p = 0.34). Most patients sustained blunt injuries (70%). Median injury severity score was greater in high ratio patients (low-25, high-33, p = 0.01); however, hospital mortality was similar (low-24%, high-20%, p = 0.65) as was the risk of extended ventilator, intensive care unit, and hospital days (all p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Despite increased injury severity, patients who received a high ratio of FFP/RBC had comparable rates of mortality. These data suggest high ratio FFP/RBC resuscitation is not associated with worst outcomes in children who present in shock. Massive transfusion protocol activation was not associated with receipt of high ratio transfusion, suggesting variability in MTP between centers. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic/Care Management; Level III.

Crystalloid volume is associated with short-term morbidity in children with severe traumatic brain injury: An Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma multicenter trial post hoc analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined differences in clinical and resuscitation characteristics between injured children with and without severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) and aimed to identify resuscitation characteristics associated with improved outcomes following sTBI. METHODS: This is a post hoc analysis of a prospective observational study of injured children younger than 18 years (2018-2019) transported from the scene, with elevated shock index pediatric-adjusted on arrival and head Abbreviated Injury Scale score of ≥3. Timing and volume of resuscitation products were assessed using χ 2t test, Fisher's exact t test, Kruskal-Wallis, and multivariable logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: There were 142 patients with sTBI and 547 with non-sTBI injuries. Severe traumatic brain injury patients had lower initial hemoglobin (11.3 vs. 12.4, p < 0.001), greater initial international normalized ratio (1.4 vs. 1.1, p < 0.001), greater Injury Severity Score (25 vs. 5, p < 0.001), greater rates of ventilator (59% vs. 11%, p < 0.001) and intensive care unit (ICU) requirement (79% vs. 27%, p < 0.001), and more inpatient complications (18% vs. 3.3%, p < 0.001). Severe traumatic brain injury patients received more prehospital crystalloid (25% vs. 15%, p = 0.008), ≥1 crystalloid boluses (52% vs. 24%, p < 0.001), and blood transfusion (44% vs. 12%, p < 0.001) than non-sTBI patients. Among sTBI patients, receipt of ≥1 crystalloid bolus (n = 75) was associated with greater ICU need (92% vs. 64%, p < 0.001), longer median ICU (6 vs. 4 days, p = 0.027) and hospital stay (9 vs. 4 days, p < 0.001), and more in-hospital complications (31% vs. 7.5%, p = 0.003) than those who received <1 bolus (n = 67). These findings persisted after adjustment for Injury Severity Score (odds ratio, 3.4-4.4; all p < 0.010). CONCLUSION: Pediatric trauma patients with sTBI received more crystalloid than those without sTBI despite having a greater international normalized ratio at presentation and more frequently requiring blood products. Excessive crystalloid may be associated with worsened outcomes, including in-hospital mortality, seen among pediatric sTBI patients who received ≥1 crystalloid bolus. Further attention to a crystalloid sparing, early transfusion approach to resuscitation of children with sTBI is needed. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic/Care Management; Level IV.

Timing and volume of crystalloid and blood products in pediatric trauma: An Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma multicenter prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between timing and volume of crystalloid before blood products and mortality, hypothesizing that earlier transfusion and decreased crystalloid before transfusion would be associated with improved outcomes. METHODS: A multi-institutional prospective observational study of pediatric trauma patients younger than 18 years, transported from the scene of injury with elevated age-adjusted shock index on arrival, was performed from April 2018 to September 2019. Volume and timing of prehospital, emergency department, and initial admission resuscitation were assessed including calculation of 20 ± 10 mL/kg crystalloid boluses overall and before transfusion. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards and logistic regression models identified factors associated with mortality and extended intensive care, ventilator, and hospital days. RESULTS: In 712 children at 24 trauma centers, mean age was 7.6 years, median (interquartile range) Injury Severity Score was 9 (2-20), and in-hospital mortality was 5.3% (n = 38). There were 311 patients(43.7%) who received at least one crystalloid bolus and 149 (20.9%) who received blood including 65 (9.6%) with massive transfusion activation. Half (53.3%) of patients who received greater than one crystalloid bolus required transfusion. Patients who received blood first (n = 41) had shorter median time to transfusion (19.8 vs. 78.0 minutes, p = 0.005) and less total fluid volume (50.4 vs. 86.6 mL/kg, p = 0.033) than those who received crystalloid first despite similar Injury Severity Score (median, 22 vs. 27, p = 0.40). On multivariable analysis, there was no association with mortality (p = 0.51); however, each crystalloid bolus after the first was incrementally associated with increased odds of extended ventilator, intensive care unit, and hospital days (all p < 0.05). Longer time to transfusion was associated with extended ventilator duration (odds ratio, 1.11; p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Resuscitation with greater than one crystalloid bolus was associated with increased need for transfusion and worse outcomes including extended duration of mechanical ventilation and hospitalization in this prospective study. These data support a crystalloid-sparing, early transfusion approach for resuscitation of injured children. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, level IV.