Diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia: A mixed methods assessment.

BACKGROUND: Leadership of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia created the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee in 2018 to prioritize diversity work. The Society for Pediatric Anesthesia-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee implemented a baseline survey of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia membership in 2020 to assess demographics, equity in leadership, inclusivity, and attitudes toward diversity work. The Society for Pediatric Anesthesia plays a significant role in shaping the future of pediatric anesthesiology and in supporting our diverse pediatric patients. METHODS: This study is an IRB-exempt, cross-sectional survey of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia membership. Quantitative analysis provided descriptive statistics of demographics, practice characteristics, and involvement within the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia. Qualitative thematic analysis provided an in-depth assessment of perceptions of diversity, challenges faced, and prioritization of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts within the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia. RESULTS: Out of 3 242 Society for Pediatric Anesthesia members, 1 232 completed the survey representing 38% of overall membership. Respondents were 89.2% United States members, 52.7% female, 55.7% non-Hispanic White, 88.6% heterosexual, 95.7% non-military, 59.2% religious, and 2.1% have an Americans with Disabilities Act recognized disability. All major United States geographical areas were represented equally with 71% practicing in urban areas and 67% in academic settings. Ethnic/racial minorities were more likely to be international medical graduates (p < .001). Among United States members, 41.5% report being fluent in a language other than English, and 23.5% of those fluent in another language are certified to interpret. Compared to men, women are less likely to be in leadership roles (p < .003), but we found no difference in participation and leadership when stratified by race/ethnicity, geography, international medical graduate status, or sexuality. Racial/ethnic minorities (p < .028), women (p < .001), and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer members (p < .044) more frequently hold lower academic rank positions when compared to white, heterosexual, and male members. Half of respondents were unsure whether diversity, equity, and inclusion challenges existed within the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia while the other half demonstrated opposing views. Among those who reported diversity, equity, and inclusion challenges, the themes centered around persistent marginalization, the need for more inclusive policies and increased psychological safety, and lack of leadership diversity. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the diversity of the pediatric population we serve, there are still significant gaps in demographic representation within the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia. As well, there is no consensus among Society for Pediatric Anesthesia membership regarding perceptions of diversity, equity, and inclusion in pediatric anesthesia in the United States. Among those who reported diversity challenges, opportunities for the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia and Anesthesiology Departments to better support minoritized members included bolstering workforce diversity efforts and awareness via more inclusive policies, improved psychological safety, and increasing diversity in leadership. If pediatric anesthesiology is like other specialties, gaining consensus and improving diversity in the workforce might advance pediatric anesthesia innovation, quality, and safety for children of all backgrounds in the United States.

Evaluating the Women's Empowerment and Leadership Initiative: Supporting mentorship, career satisfaction, and well-being among pediatric anesthesiologists.

The Society for Pediatric Anesthesia launched the Women's Empowerment and Leadership Initiative (WELI) in 2018 to empower highly productive women pediatric anesthesiologists to achieve equity, promotion, and leadership. WELI is focused on six career development domains: promotion and leadership, networking, conceptualization and completion of projects, mentoring, career satisfaction, and sense of well-being. We sought feedback about whether WELI supported members' career development by surveys emailed in November 2020 (baseline), May 2021 (6 months), and January 2022 (14 months). Program feedback was quantitatively evaluated by the Likert scale questions and qualitatively evaluated by extracting themes from free-text question responses. The response rates were 60.5% (92 of 152) for the baseline, 51% (82 of 161) for the 6-month, and 52% (96 of 185) for the 14-month surveys. Five main themes were identified from the free-text responses in the 6- and 14-month surveys. Members reported that WELI helped them create meaningful connections through networking, obtain new career opportunities, find tools and projects that supported their career advancement and promotion, build the confidence to try new things beyond their comfort zone, and achieve better work-life integration. Frustration with the inability to connect in-person during the coronavirus-19 pandemic was highlighted. Advisors further stated that WELI helped them improve their mentorship skills and gave them insight into early career faculty issues. Relative to the baseline survey, protégés reported greater contributions from WELI at 6 months in helping them clarify their priorities, increase their sense of achievement, and get promoted. These benefits persisted through 14 months. Advisors reported a steady increase in forming new meaningful relationships and finding new collaborators through WELI over time. All the members reported that their self-rated mentoring abilities improved at 6 months with sustained improvement at 14 months. Thus, programs such as WELI can assist women anesthesiologists and foster gender equity in career development, promotion, and leadership.

Empowering Women as Leaders in Pediatric Anesthesiology: Methodology, Lessons, and Early Outcomes of a National Initiative.

Research has shown that women have leadership ability equal to or better than that of their male counterparts, yet proportionally fewer women than men achieve leadership positions and promotion in medicine. The Women's Empowerment and Leadership Initiative (WELI) was founded within the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA) in 2018 as a multidimensional program to help address the significant career development, leadership, and promotion gender gap between men and women in anesthesiology. Herein, we describe WELI's development and implementation with an early assessment of effectiveness at 2 years. Members received an anonymous, voluntary survey by e-mail to assess whether they believed WELI was beneficial in several broad domains: career development, networking, project implementation and completion, goal setting, mentorship, well-being, and promotion and leadership. The response rate was 60.5% (92 of 152). The majority ranked several aspects of WELI to be very or extremely valuable, including the protégé-advisor dyads, workshops, nomination to join WELI, and virtual facilitated networking. For most members, WELI helped to improve optimism about their professional future. Most also reported that WELI somewhat or absolutely contributed to project improvement or completion, finding new collaborators, and obtaining invitations to be visiting speakers. Among those who applied for promotion or leadership positions, 51% found WELI to be somewhat or absolutely valuable to their application process, and 42% found the same in applying for leadership positions. Qualitative analysis of free-text survey responses identified 5 main themes: (1) feelings of empowerment and confidence, (2) acquisition of new skills in mentoring, coaching, career development, and project implementation, (3) clarification and focus on goal setting, (4) creating meaningful connections through networking, and (5) challenges from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the inability to sustain the advisor-protégé connection. We conclude that after 2 years, the WELI program has successfully supported career development for the majority of protégés and advisors. Continued assessment of whether WELI can meaningfully contribute to attainment of promotion and leadership positions will require study across a longer period. WELI could serve as a programmatic example to support women's career development in other subspecialties.

A qualitative analysis of caregiver perceptions of pediatric dental surgery under general anesthesia.

BACKGROUND: Dental surgery under general anesthesia (GA) is a common treatment for severe childhood caries and thus may serve as an event to motivate behavior change. The frequency of recurrent caries, however, indicates opportunities within current practice to change a child's oral health behaviors. AIM: To assess caregiver experiences related to their child's dental surgery to inform development of a behavioral intervention. DESIGN: Semi-structured interviews with caregivers of children receiving GA for dental surgery. Transcripts (n = 19) were analyzed using qualitative thematic methods. RESULTS: Children were 2-5 years of age, mean 3.8 years. Limited access to GA services was a source of caregiver frustration and a barrier to caries treatment. Surgical events elicited emotional reactions including guilt, anxiety, and a sense of caregiver accountability for development of severe caries. There was variation in caregiver awareness and/or motivation to change oral health behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: A child's dental surgery under GA is an emotionally challenging event yet may inspire hope and expectations for improvement. Surgery offers an opportunity to implement interventions at a time when caregivers may be open to assistance with behavior change, though stress and anxiety may create barriers. Behavioral interventions should be tailored to individual caregiver needs/barriers and stage of developmental readiness.

Performance Evaluation of the SAMBA II SARS-CoV-2 Test for Point-of-Care Detection of SARS-CoV-2.

Nucleic acid amplification for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in respiratory samples is the standard method for diagnosis. The majority of this testing is centralized and therefore has turnaround times of several days. Point-of-care (POC) testing with rapid turnaround times would allow more effective triage in settings where patient management and infection control decisions need to be made rapidly. The inclusivity and specificity of the Simple AMplification-Based Assay (SAMBA) II SARS-CoV-2 test were determined by both in silico analyses of the primers and probes and wet testing. The SAMBA II SARS-CoV-2 test was evaluated for performance characteristics. Clinical performance was evaluated in residual combined throat/nose swabs and compared to that of the Public Health England real-time PCR assay targeting the RdRp gene. The SAMBA II SARS-CoV-2 test has an analytical sensitivity of 250 copies/ml for detecting two regions of the genome (open reading frame 1ab [ORF1ab] and nucleocapsid protein [N]). The clinical performance was evaluated in 172 residual combined nose/throat swabs provided by the Clinical Microbiology and Public Health Laboratory, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge (CMPHL), which showed an estimated positive percent agreement of 98.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 93.83 to 99.97) and negative percent agreement of 96.4% (95% CI, 89.92 to 99.26) compared to testing by the CMPHL. The data show that the SAMBA II SARS-CoV-2 test performs equivalently to the centralized testing methods, but with a shorter turnaround time of 86 to 101 min. Point-of-care tests such as SAMBA should enable rapid patient management and effective implementation of infection control measures.

Does Preventive Care Reduce Severe Pediatric Dental Caries?

INTRODUCTION: Tertiary oral health services (caries-related surgery, sedation, and emergency department visits) represent high-cost and ineffective ways to improve a child's oral health. We measured the impact of increased Texas Medicaid reimbursements for preventive dental care on use of tertiary oral health services. METHODS: We used difference-in-differences models to compare the effect of a policy change among children (≤9 y) enrolled in Medicaid in Texas and Florida. Linear regression models estimated 4 outcomes: preventive care dental visit, dental sedation, emergency department use, and surgical event. RESULTS: Increased preventive care visits led to increased sedation visits (1.7 percentage points, P < .001) and decreased emergency department visits (0.3 percentage points, P < .001) for children aged 9 years or younger. We saw no significant change in dental surgical rates associated with increased preventive dental care reimbursements. CONCLUSION: Increased access to preventive dentistry was not associated with improved long-term oral health of Medicaid-enrolled children. Policies that aim to improve the oral health of children may increase the effectiveness of preventive dentistry by also targeting other social determinants of oral health.

Impact of Clinical Guidelines on Revisits After Ambulatory Pediatric Adenotonsillectomy.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric adenotonsillectomies are common and carry known risks of potentially severe complications. Complications that require a revisit, to either the emergency department or hospital readmission, increase costs and may be tied to lower reimbursements by federal programs. In 2011 and 2012, recommendations by pediatric and surgical organizations regarding selection of candidates for ambulatory procedures were issued. We hypothesized that guideline-associated changes in practice patterns would lower the odds of revisits. The primary objective of this study was to assess whether the odds of a complication-related revisit decreased after publication of guidelines after accounting for preintervention temporal trends and levels. The secondary objective was to determine whether temporal associations existed between guideline publication and characteristics of the ambulatory surgical population. METHODS: This study employs an interrupted time series design to evaluate the longitudinal effects of clinical guidelines on revisits. The outcome was defined as revisits after ambulatory tonsillectomy for privately insured patients. Data were sourced from the Truven Health Analytics MarketScan database, 2008-2015. Revisits were defined by the most prevalent complication types: hemorrhage, dehydration, pain, nausea, respiratory problem, infection, and fever. Time periods were defined by surgeries before, between, and after guidelines publication. Unadjusted odds ratios estimated associations between revisits and clinical covariates. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the impact of guidelines on revisits. Differences in revisit trends among pre-, peri-, and postguideline periods were tested using the Wald test. Results were statistically significant at P < .005. RESULTS: A total of 326,993 surgeries met study criteria. The absolute revisit rate increased over time, from 5.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.8-6.0) to 6.7% (95% CI, 6.6-6.9). The proportion of young children declined slightly, from 6.4% to 5.9% (P < .001). The proportion of patients having a tonsillectomy in an ambulatory surgery center increased (16.5%-31%; P < .001), as did the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (7.0%-14.0%; P < .001) and sleep-disordered breathing (20.6%-35.0%; P < .001). In a multivariable logistic regression model adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, and surgical location, odds of a revisit increased during the preguideline period (0.4% increase per month; 95% CI, 0.24%-0.54%; P < .001). This monthly increase did not continue after guidelines (P = .002). CONCLUSIONS: While odds of a postoperative revisit did not decline after guideline publication, there was a significant difference in trend between the pre- and postguideline periods. Changes in the ambulatory surgery population also suggest at least partial adherence to guidelines.

SAMBA HIV semiquantitative test, a new point-of-care viral-load-monitoring assay for resource-limited settings.

Routine viral-load (VL) testing of HIV-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy (ART) is used to monitor treatment efficacy. However, due to logistical challenges, implementation of VL has been difficult in resource-limited settings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the SAMBA semi-Q (simple amplification-based assay semiquantitative test for HIV-1) in London, Malawi, and Uganda. The SAMBA semi-Q can distinguish between patients with VLs above and below 1,000 copies/ml. The SAMBA semi-Q was validated with diluted clinical samples and blinded plasma samples collected from HIV-1-positive individuals. SAMBA semi-Q results were compared with results from the Roche COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 test, v2.0. Testing of 96 2- to 10-fold dilutions of four samples containing HIV-1 subtype C as well as 488 samples from patients in the United Kingdom, Malawi, and Uganda yielded an overall accuracy for the SAMBA semi-Q of 99% (95% confidence interval [CI], 93.8 to 99.9%) and 96.9% (95% CI 94.9 to 98.3%), respectively, compared to to the Roche test. Analysis of VL data from patients in Malawi and Uganda showed that the SAMBA cutoff of 1,000 copies/ml appropriately distinguished treated from untreated individuals. Furthermore, analysis of the viral loads of 232 patients on ART in Malawi and Uganda revealed similar patterns for virological control, defined as either <1,000 copies/ml (SAMBA cutoff) or <5,000 copies/ml (WHO 2010 criterion; WHO, Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV Infection in Adults and Adolescents: Recommendations for a Public Health Approach, 2010). This study suggests that the SAMBA semi-Q has adequate concurrency with the gold standard measurements for viral load. This test can allow VL monitoring of patients on ART at the point of care in resource-limited settings.

Caregiver, community health worker, and dentist feedback on a behavioral intervention for caregivers of children with severe early childhood caries.

Introduction: Severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) is a common disease within marginalized pediatric populations. S-ECC is often treated under general anesthesia to facilitate extensive treatment in young children, but treatment does not address etiology of an infectious disease that is rooted in health behaviors. Without behavior changes related to toothbrushing and sugar consumption, many children experience recurrent disease and some require subsequent surgeries. To improve post-surgery oral health, we developed PROTECT (Preventing Recurrent Operations Targeting Early Childhood Caries Treatment), a community health worker (CHW)-delivered behavioral intervention for caregivers that focuses on children's oral health behaviors. The purpose of this study was to use qualitative research methods to receive feedback on the planned protocol for a pilot study of PROTECT, a six-month intervention initiated at the time of a child's surgery to treat severe early childhood caries. Methods: Study participants included caregivers of children presenting for surgery [n = 12], CHWs [n = 8] and dentists [n = 8] in a series of audio-video recorded semi-structured interviews. Five coders used Braun and Clarke's six-phase framework for data analysis. Results: Participant feedback on the pilot study protocol yielded the following themes: (1) right time, population, and type of support; (2) flexible intervention delivery and content; (3) inclusion of other social determinants of health; and (4) cultural considerations. Implementing a behavioral intervention for caregivers in the immediate time during a child's surgery for treating dental caries was widely deemed important and timely in order to affect post-surgical behavioral and clinical outcomes. Flexibility in content, timing, and communication were all named as facilitators to participant engagement and study retention. Caregivers and CHWs emphasized the relevance of addressing other social determinants of health. CHWs emphasized the importance of training in becoming aware of culture and practicing with understanding and humility, given the influence on health beliefs, behaviors, and family dynamics. Cultural considerations in intervention delivery were deemed an important factor for participant retention and engagement. Discussion: Participant feedback led to critical modifications of the pilot study protocol, specifically in intervention content and CHW-led delivery.

Examining Caregiver- and Family-Level Psychosocial Influences on Child Oral Health Behavioral Outcomes in Racially and Economically Minoritized Urban Families.

OBJECTIVES: Understanding the pathways linking caregiver- and family-level psychosocial factors and child oral health behaviors is critical for addressing oral health disparities. The current study examined the associations between caregiver psychosocial functioning and family chaos and child toothbrushing behaviors in children at high risk for poor oral health outcomes. METHODS: Data were drawn from the baseline wave of the CO-OP Chicago Cohort Study (U01DE030067), a longitudinal study on child/caregiver dyads exploring oral health behaviors and caries development in young children (N = 296 dyads; child mean age = 5.36, SD = 1.03; caregiver mean age = 33.8 years, SD = 6.70; caregiver race = 43% Black; caregiver ethnicity = 55% Latinx). The oral health behavioral outcomes included child toothbrushing frequency, child plaque levels, and caregiver assistance with child toothbrushing. The data included demographics; caregiver depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, social functioning, social support, and resilience; and family-level household chaos. RESULTS: Multiple regression models indicated that greater household chaos was significantly related to lower caregiver assistance with child toothbrushing (p = 0.0075). Additionally, caregiver anxiety and PTSD symptoms as well as number of children in the home significantly predicted higher levels of household chaos (p < 0.01). Notably, 18% of caregivers reported clinically significant PTSD. The relationships between caregiver-level psychosocial factors and child oral health behaviors were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest household chaos may play an important role in child oral health behaviors and highlight the importance of investigating family-level factors for understanding and addressing child oral health risk.

Duplex molecular assay intended for point-of-care diagnosis of influenza A/B virus infection.

Early diagnosis and management of influenza virus infection directly correlates with the effectiveness in disease control. Current molecular influenza virus tests were designed for use in diagnostic testing facilities, where sophisticated equipment and highly trained technicians are available. A longer turnaround time for the centralized testing than when testing near the sample source could delay the initiation of medical intervention, thereby reducing the efficacy of antiviral treatment. The new assay, the SAMBA (simple amplification-based assay) Flu duplex test, is a dipstick-based molecular assay developed to provide a simple, accurate, and cost-effective solution for the diagnosis of influenza A/B viruses intended for near-patient testing. The test presents an alternative format of influenza virus molecular testing that utilizes isothermal amplification and visual detection of nucleic acid on a test strip. The entire test procedure (extraction, amplification, and detection) is integrated into an enclosed semiautomated system. Analytically, the SAMBA Flu duplex test detects 95 and 85 copies of viral genomes for influenza A and B viruses, respectively, with no cross-reactivity observed against other common respiratory pathogens. The clinical performance was established by blind testing of 328 nasal/throat and nasopharyngeal swab specimens from the United Kingdom and Belgium and comparing the results with the quantitative reverse transcription-PCR method routinely used in two public health laboratories. The SAMBA Flu duplex test showed a clinical sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 97.9% for influenza virus A and 100% and 100% for influenza virus B. The test provides a new technology that could facilitate simple and timely identification of influenza virus infection, potentially resulting in more efficient control measures.

Trends in death associated with pediatric dental sedation and general anesthesia.

BACKGROUND: Inadequate access to oral health care places children at risk of caries. Disease severity and inability to cooperate often result in treatment with general anesthesia (GA). Sedation is increasingly popular and viewed as lower risk than GA in community settings. Currently, few data are available to quantify pediatric morbidity and mortality related to dental anesthesia. OBJECTIVE: Summarize dental anesthesia-related pediatric deaths described in media reports. METHODS: Review of media reports in the Lexis-Nexis Academic database and a private foundation website. SETTINGS: Dental offices, ambulatory surgery centers, and hospitals. Patients :US-based children (≤21 years old) who died subsequently receiving anesthesia for a dental procedure between 1980-2011. RESULTS: Most deaths occurred among 2-5 year-olds (n = 21/44), in an office setting (n = 21/44), and with a general/pediatric dentist (n = 25/44) as the anesthesia provider. In this latter group, 17 of 25 deaths were linked with a sedation anesthetic. CONCLUSIONS: This series of media reports likely represent only a fraction of the overall morbidity and mortality related to dental anesthesia. These data may indicate an association between mortality and pediatric dental procedures under sedation, particularly in office settings. However, these relationships are difficult to test in the absence of a database that could provide an estimate of incidence and prevalence of morbidity and mortality. With growing numbers of children receiving anesthesia for dental procedures from providers with variable training, it is imperative to be able to track anesthesia-related adverse outcomes. Creating a national database of adverse outcomes will enable future research to advance patient safety and quality.

Association between neighborhood disadvantage and children's oral health outcomes in urban families in the Chicago area.

Purpose: The prevalence of childhood caries in urban Chicago, compared with national and state data, indicates that neighborhood context influences oral health. Our objective was to delineate the influence of a child's neighborhood on oral health outcomes that are predictive of caries (toothbrushing frequency and plaque levels). Methods: Our study population represents urban, Medicaid-enrolled families in the metropolitan Chicago area. Data were obtained from a cohort of participants (child-parent dyads) who participated in the Coordinated Oral Health Promotion (CO-OP) trial at 12 months of study participation (N = 362). Oral health outcomes included toothbrushing frequency and plaque levels. Participants' neighborhood resource levels were measured by the Area Deprivation Index (ADI). Linear and logistic regression models were used to measure the influence of ADI on plaque scores and toothbrushing frequency, respectively. Results: Data from 362 child-parent dyads were analyzed. The mean child age was 33.6 months (SD 6.8). The majority of children were reported to brush at least twice daily (n = 228, 63%), but the mean plaque score was 1.9 (SD 0.7), classified as "poor." In covariate-adjusted analyses, ADI was not associated with brushing frequency (0.94, 95% CI 0.84-1.06). ADI was associated with plaque scores (0.05, 95% CI 0.01-0.09, p value = 0.007). Conclusions: Findings support the hypothesis that neighborhood-level factors influence children's plaque levels. Because excessive plaque places a child at high risk for cavities, we recommend the inclusion of neighborhood context in interventions and policies to reduce children's oral health disparities. Existing programs and clinics that serve disadvantaged communities are well-positioned to support caregivers of young children in maintaining recommended oral health behaviors.

Community health worker intervention to improve tooth brushing in young children: Results from a cluster randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Coordinated Oral health Promotion (CO-OP) Chicago is a cluster randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of a community health worker (CHW) intervention to improve tooth brushing in low-income children. METHODS: Four hundred twenty children under 3 years old (mean 21.5 months) were recruited from 20 sites in or near Chicago, IL. Children were identified mainly as Black race (41.9%) or Hispanic ethnicity (53.8%) and most (85.2%) had Medicaid. Intervention families were offered four CHW home visits over 1 year. Brushing frequency was self-reported. Plaque score was determined from images collected in homes using disclosing solution. Analyses used GEE logistic models with variable selection at p < .05. RESULTS: At enrolment, 45.0% of families reported twice a day or more child brushing frequency, and child plaque scores were poor (mean of 1.9, SD: 0.6). Data were obtained from 87.1% of children at 6 months and 86.2% at 12 months. In the CHW intervention arm (10 sites, N = 211), 23.7% received 4 visits, 12.8% 3 visits, 21.3% 2 visits, 23.2% 1 visit and 19% no visits from CHWs. No intervention effect was seen for brushing frequency or plaque score. Child brushing frequency improvement over time was associated with a range of child and caregiver factors. The only factor associated with a change in plaque score over time was parent involvement in brushing. CONCLUSIONS: Oral-health-specific CHW services were not associated with improved brushing behaviours in these young children. However, caregiver involvement with brushing supported more quality brushing. More robust interventions are needed to support families during this critical developmental period.

Oral Health Behaviors for Young Low-Income Urban Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Analysis.

This research assessed oral health behaviors changes in urban families with young children during the stay-at-home period of the COVID-19 pandemic (Nov 2020-August 2021). Survey data on oral health behaviors were collected in homes at three points before COVID-19, and via phone during COVID-19. A subset of parents and key informants from clinics and social service agencies completed in-depth interviews via video/phone. Of the 387 parents invited, 254 completed surveys in English or Spanish (65.6%) during COVID-19. Fifteen key informant interviews (25 participants) and 21 family interviews were conducted. The mean child age was 4.3 years. Children identified as mainly Hispanic (57%) and Black race (38%). Parents reported increased child tooth brushing frequency during the pandemic. Family interviews highlighted changes in family routines that impacted oral health behaviors and eating patterns, suggesting less optimal brushing and nutrition. This was linked to changed home routines and social presentability. Key informants described major disruptions in oral health services, family fear, and stress. In conclusion, the stay-at-home period of the COVID-19 pandemic was a time of extreme routine change and stress for families. Oral health interventions that target family routines and social presentability are important for families during times of extreme crisis.

Oral health behaviors for young low-income urban children during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed methods analysis.

This research assessed oral health behaviors changes in urban families with young children during the stay-at-home period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey data on oral health behaviors were collected in homes at three points over one year before COVID-19, and then via phone during COVID-19. Multivariate logistic regression was used to model tooth brushing frequency. A subset of parents completed in-depth interviews via video/phone that expanded on oral health and COVID-19. Key informant interviews via video/phone were also conducted with leadership from 20 clinics and social service agencies. Interview data were transcribed and coded, and themes were extracted. COVID-19 data collection went from Nov 2020 - August 2021. Of the 387 parents invited, 254 completed surveys in English or Spanish (65.6%) during COVID-19. Fifteen key informant (25 participants) and 21 parent interviews were conducted. The mean child age was approximately 4.3 years. Children identified as mainly Hispanic (57%) and Black race (38%). Parents reported increased child tooth brushing frequency during the pandemic. Parent interviews highlighted significant changes in family routines that impacted oral health behaviors and eating patterns, suggesting less optimal brushing and nutrition. This was linked to changed home routines and social presentability. Key informants described major disruptions in their oral health services and significant family fear and stress. In conclusion, the stay-at-home period of the COVID-19 pandemic was a time of extreme routine change and stress for families. Oral health interventions that target family routines and social presentability are important for families during times of extreme crisis.

Visiting the emergency department for dental problems: trends in utilization, 2001 to 2008.

OBJECTIVES: We tested the hypothesis that between 2001 and 2008, Americans increasingly relied upon emergency departments (EDs) for dental care. METHODS: Data from 2001 through 2008 were collected from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). Population-based visit rates for dental problems, and, for comparison, asthma, were calculated using annual US Census Bureau estimates. As part of the analysis, we described patient characteristics associated with large increases in ED dental utilization. RESULTS: Dental visit rates increased most dramatically for the following subpopulations: those aged 18 to 44 years (7.2-12.2 per 1000, P < .01); Blacks (6.0-10.4 per 1000, P < .01); and the uninsured (9.5-13.2 per 1000, P < .01). Asthma visit rates did not change although dental visit rates increased 59% from 2001 to 2008. CONCLUSIONS: There is an increasing trend in ED visits for dental issues, which was most pronounced among those aged 18 to 44 years, the uninsured, and Blacks. Dental visit rates increased significantly although there was no overall change in asthma visit rates. This suggests that community access to dental care compared with medical care is worsening over time.

An Observational Retrospective Study of Adverse Events and Behavioral Outcomes During Pediatric Dental Sedation.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine a university-based dental electronic health records (EHR) database to identify sedation-related adverse events (AEs) and assess patients' behavioral outcomes during routine pediatric dental sedations (PDSs) in a dental school clinic. Methods: A database was screened for patients younger than 18 years old who had received dental sedation in 2019. The qualifying EHRs were then accessed and sedations were reviewed for AEs, which were categorized using a 12-point classification system and the Tracking and Reporting Outcomes of Procedural Sedation Tool. Patient behaviors were assessed using provider progress notes and categorized as presence/ absence of agitation. Results: A total of 690 sedations were reviewed, yielding 28 AEs. Emesis was the most common AE observed in 1.3 percent of sedations. Respiratory and cardiovascular AEs were observed in 0.7 percent and 0.6 percent of sedations, respectively. Agitation was identified in 47.5 percent of sedations, while 34.1 percent of agitations resulted in the documented suspension of dental treatment. Agitation was mainly observed for nitrous oxide and oral sedation resulting in one failed sedation out of five sedations for each method. Conclusions: Potentially serious adverse effects were identified during pediatric dental sedations, but their incidence was low. A significant proportion of the sedated children experienced agitation, resulting in some sedation failures. Such events need to be tracked and examined for risk assessment reduction and quality-of-care improvement.