Health care quality measures for children and adolescents in Foster Care: feasibility testing in electronic records.

BACKGROUND: Preventive quality measures for the foster care population are largely untested. The objective of the study is to identify healthcare quality measures for young children and adolescents in foster care and to test whether the data required to calculate these measures can be feasibly extracted and interpreted within an electronic health records or within the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System. METHODS: The AAP Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care served as the guideline for determining quality measures. Quality measures related to well child visits, developmental screenings, immunizations, trauma-related care, BMI measurements, sexually transmitted infections and depression were defined. Retrospective chart reviews were performed on a cohort of children in foster care from a single large pediatric institution and related county. Data available in the Ohio Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System was compared to the same population studied in the electronic health record review. Quality measures were calculated as observed (received) to expected (recommended) ratios (O/E ratios) to describe the actual quantity of recommended health care that was received by individual children. RESULTS: Electronic health records and the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System data frequently lacked important information on foster care youth essential for calculating the measures. Although electronic health records were rich in encounter specific clinical data, they often lacked custodial information such as the dates of entry into and exit from foster care. In contrast, Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System included robust data on custodial arrangements, but lacked detailed medical information. Despite these limitations, several quality measures were devised that attempted to accommodate these limitations. CONCLUSIONS: In this feasibility testing, neither the electronic health records at a single institution nor the county level Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System was able to independently serve as a reliable source of data for health care quality measures for foster care youth. However, the ability to leverage both sources by matching them at an individual level may provide the complement of data necessary to assess the quality of healthcare.

Radiologic importance of a high-resistive vertebral artery Doppler waveform on carotid duplex ultrasonography.

OBJECTIVE: The appearance of the vertebral artery (VA) waveform on a pulsed Doppler examination performed during standard carotid duplex ultrasonography (CDU) may suggest vertebrobasilar disease. We sought to determine the radiographic importance of high-resistive (HR) pulsed Doppler VA waveforms seen on CDU. METHODS: The Noninvasive Vascular Laboratory database was queried for CDU studies noting the HR VA Doppler signal. Studies with unilateral or bilateral HR and antegrade VA waveforms with correlative neuroimaging studies within 60 days were included. Imaging reports were reviewed to determine the following: (1) a normal VA; (2) at least moderate distal VA or basilar artery (BA) stenosis, occlusion, or dissection; (3) a congenitally diminutive VA; or (4) other abnormalities. RESULTS: Of 1338 studies with 1 or more HR VA waveforms, 79 studies met all inclusion criteria (n = 157 arteries) and had adequate correlative neuroimaging. There were 90 HR VAs, and HR waveforms were equally distributed between right and left sides. The mean peak systolic velocity of HR versus low-resistive (LR) VAs was 51.7 versus 63.6 cm/s (P = .04); the mean end-diastolic velocity of HR versus LR VAs was 4.6 versus 17.3 cm/s (P < .001); and the resistive index of HR versus LR VAs was 0.92 versus 0.73 (P < .001). Of all HR VAs, 18.9% were normal; 38.9% had distal vertebrobasilar stenosis or occlusion; 35.6% were congenitally diminutive; and 6.7% had other abnormalities (proximal stenosis, excessive tortuosity, fibromuscular dysplasia, and BA hypoplasia). CONCLUSIONS: The finding of an HR spectral Doppler signal in the VA was associated with major vertebrobasilar disease (46% of cases) and should prompt additional neuroimaging in the appropriate clinical situation.

Sacral nerve stimulation allows for decreased antegrade continence enema use in children with severe constipation.

BACKGROUND: Sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) can be beneficial for children with constipation, but no studies have focused on children with constipation severe enough to require antegrade continence enemas (ACEs). Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of SNS in children with constipation treated with ACE. METHODS: Using a prospective patient registry, we identified patients <21years old who were receiving ACE prior to SNS placement. We compared ACE/laxative usage, PedsQL Gastrointestinal Symptom Scale (GSS), Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale (FIQL), Fecal Incontinence Severity Index (FISI), and Vancouver Dysfunctional Elimination Syndrome Score (DES) at baseline and progressive follow-up time intervals. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients (55% male, median 12years) were included. Median ACE frequency decreased from 7 per week at baseline to 1 per week at 12months (p<0.0001). Ten children (45%) had their cecostomy/appendicostomy closed. Laxative use, GSS, FIQL, and DES did not change. FISI improved over the first 12months with statistical significance reached only at 6months (p=0.02). Six (27%) children experienced complications after SNS that required further surgery. CONCLUSIONS: In children with severe constipation dependent on ACE, SNS led to a steady decrease in ACE usage with nearly half of patients receiving cecostomy/appendicostomy closure within 2years. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.

The Role of Health Literacy in Predicting Multiple Healthcare Outcomes Among Hispanics in a Nationally Representative Sample: A Comparative Analysis by English Proficiency Levels.

Health literacy (HL) research among Hispanics currently focuses on individuals with limited English proficiency but impacts of HL on healthcare outcomes among other English language proficiency groups is relatively unknown. Regression models assessed associations between HL and healthcare outcomes for Hispanics overall (n = 4013) and for proficiency level sub-populations using the 2007 Pew Hispanic Health Survey. Overall, Hispanics with adequate HL percieved US medical care as "excellent," were more satisfied with their doctor's help, and reported "excellent" overall health. In the sub-population analysis, "excellent" perception of US healthcare was associated with HL among the Spanish and English dominant groups. Among bilinguals, adequate HL was associated with decreased use of traditional medicine. The effect of adequate HL varied within English proficiency groups. HL research that focuses only on Spanish dominant speakers can exclude a substantial percentage of English proficient or bilingual populations who have low HL.

Determinants of quality of life in children with colorectal diseases.

BACKGROUND: Health related Quality of Life (HRQoL) is an important outcome in medical care. The aim of our study was to identify characteristics associated with lower HRQoL scores in children with anorectal malformation (ARM) and Hirschsprung disease (HD). METHODS: Patients younger than 18years, with HD or ARM, who were evaluated at our center from April 2014 to August 2015, were identified. The results of comprehensive questionnaires regarding diagnosis, symptoms, comorbidities and previous medical/surgical history, and validated tools to assess urinary status, stooling status and HRQoL were evaluated. RESULTS: In children aged 0-4years, vomiting and abdominal distension were found to be associated with a significant reduction in total HRQoL scores. In children >4years of age, vomiting, nausea, abdominal distension, and abdominal pain were also associated with a significantly lower HRQoL. The strongest predictor of lower HRQoL scores on regression tree analysis, in all age groups, was the presence of a psychological, behavioral or developmental comorbidity. CONCLUSION: Patients with either HD or an ARM who have a psychological, behavioral or developmental problem experience significantly lower HRQoL than children without such problems, suggesting that provision of behavioral/developmental support as part of the multidisciplinary care of these children may have a substantial impact on their HRQoL.

Effectiveness of Patient Choice in Nonoperative vs Surgical Management of Pediatric Uncomplicated Acute Appendicitis.

IMPORTANCE: Current evidence suggests that nonoperative management of uncomplicated appendicitis is safe, but overall effectiveness is determined by combining medical outcomes with the patient's and family's perspective, goals, and expectations. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of patient choice in nonoperative vs surgical management of uncomplicated acute appendicitis in children. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Prospective patient choice cohort study in patients aged 7 to 17 years with acute uncomplicated appendicitis presenting at a single pediatric tertiary acute care hospital from October 1, 2012, through March 6, 2013. Participating patients and families gave informed consent and chose between nonoperative management and urgent appendectomy. INTERVENTIONS: Urgent appendectomy or nonoperative management entailing at least 24 hours of inpatient observation while receiving intravenous antibiotics and, on demonstrating improvement of symptoms, completion of 10 days of treatment with oral antibiotics. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the 1-year success rate of nonoperative management. Successful nonoperative management was defined as not undergoing an appendectomy. Secondary outcomes included comparisons of the rates of complicated appendicitis, disability days, and health care costs between nonoperative management and surgery. RESULTS: A total of 102 patients were enrolled; 65 patients/families chose appendectomy (median age, 12 years; interquartile range [IQR], 9-13 years; 45 male [69.2%]) and 37 patients/families chose nonoperative management (median age, 11 years; IQR, 10-14 years; 24 male [64.9%]). Baseline characteristics were similar between the groups. The success rate of nonoperative management was 89.2% (95% CI, 74.6%-97.0%) at 30 days (33 of 37 children) and 75.7% (95% CI, 58.9%-88.2%) at 1 year (28 of 37 children). The incidence of complicated appendicitis was 2.7% in the nonoperative group (1 of 37 children) and 12.3% in the surgery group (8 of 65 children) (P = .15). After 1 year, children managed nonoperatively compared with the surgery group had fewer disability days (median [IQR], 8 [5-18] vs 21 [15-25] days, respectively; P < .001) and lower appendicitis-related health care costs (median [IQR], $4219 [$2514-$7795] vs $5029 [$4596-$5482], respectively; P = .01). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: When chosen by the family, nonoperative management is an effective treatment strategy for children with uncomplicated acute appendicitis, incurring less morbidity and lower costs than surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01718275.

High failure rate of nonoperative management of acute appendicitis with an appendicolith in children.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of nonoperative management of acute appendicitis in children with an appendicolith identified on preoperative imaging. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a prospective nonrandomized trial of nonoperative management of uncomplicated acute appendicitis with an appendicolith in children aged 7 to 17years. The primary outcome was the failure rate of nonoperative management, defined as having undergone an appendectomy. Early termination was set to occur if the lower limit of the 95% confidence interval of the failure rate was greater than 20% at 30days or 30% at 1year. RESULTS: Recruitment for this study was halted after enrollment of 14 patients (N=5 nonoperative; N=9 surgery). The failure rate of nonoperative management was 60% (3/5) at a median follow-up of 4.7months (IQR 1.0-7.6) with a 95% CI of 23%-88%. None of the three patients that failed nonoperative management had complicated appendicitis at the time of appendectomy, while six out of nine patients who chose surgery had complicated appendicitis (0/3 vs. 6/9, p=0.18). The trial was stopped for concerns over patient safety. CONCLUSIONS: Nonoperative management of acute appendicitis with an appendicolith in children resulted in an unacceptably high failure rate.

Sacral nerve stimulation: a promising therapy for fecal and urinary incontinence and constipation in children.

PURPOSE: This study describes our series of children with bowel and bladder dysfunction (BDD) treated with sacral nerve stimulation in order to begin to identify characteristics associated with better outcomes and guide future therapies. METHODS: Between May 2012 and February 2014, 29 patients were evaluated before and after sacral nerve stimulator (SNS) placement. A prospective data registry was developed that contains clinical information and patient-reported measures: Fecal Incontinence Qualify of Life Scale, Fecal Incontinence Severity Scale, PedsQL Gastrointestinal Symptom Scale, and Vancouver DES Symptom Scale. RESULTS: The median age of patients was 12.1 (interquartile range: 9.4, 14.3) years and the median follow-up period was 17.7 (12.9, 36.4) weeks. 93% had GI complaints and 65.5% had urinary symptoms while 7% had urologic symptoms only. The most common etiologies of BBD were idiopathic (66%) and imperforate anus (27%). Five patients required reoperation due to a complication with battery placement. Six of 11 patients (55%) with a pre-SNS cecostomy tube no longer require an antegrade bowel regimen as they now have voluntary bowel movements. Ten of eleven patients (91%) no longer require anticholinergic medications for bladder overactivity after receiving SNS. Significant improvements have been demonstrated in all four patient-reported instruments for the overall cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Early results have demonstrated improvements in both GI and urinary function after SNS placement in pediatric patients with bowel and bladder dysfunction.

Feasibility of a nonoperative management strategy for uncomplicated acute appendicitis in children.

BACKGROUND: For decades, urgent operation has been considered the only appropriate management of acute appendicitis in children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of nonoperative management of uncomplicated acute appendicitis in children. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective nonrandomized clinical trial of children with uncomplicated acute appendicitis comparing nonoperative management with urgent appendectomy was performed. The primary result was 30-day success rate of nonoperative management. Secondary outcomes included comparisons of disability days, missed school days, hospital length of stay, and measures of quality of life and health care satisfaction. RESULTS: Seventy-seven patients were enrolled during October 2012 to October 2013; 30 chose nonoperative management and 47 chose surgery. There were no significant differences in demographic or clinical characteristics. The immediate and 30-day success rates of nonoperative management were 93% (28 of 30) and 90% (27 of 30). There was no evidence of progression of appendicitis to rupture at the time of surgery in the 3 patients for whom nonoperative management failed. Compared with the surgery group, the nonoperative group had fewer disability days (3 vs 17 days; p < 0.0001), returned to school more quickly (3 vs 5 days; p = 0.008), and exhibited higher quality of life scores in both the child (93 vs 88; p = 0.01) and the parent (96 vs 90; p = 0.03), but incurred a longer length of stay (38 vs 20 hours; p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Nonoperative management of uncomplicated acute appendicitis in children is feasible, with a high 30-day success rate and short-term benefits that include quicker recovery and improved quality of life scores. Additional follow-up will allow for determination of longer-term success rate, safety, and cost effectiveness.