Interprofessional/interdisciplinary teamwork during the early COVID-19 pandemic: experience from a children's hospital within an academic health center.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created multiple, complex and intense demands on hospitals, including the need for surge planning in the many locations outside epicenters such as northern Italy or New York City. We here describe such surge planning in an Academic Health Center that encompasses a children's hospital. Interprofessional teams from every aspect of inpatient care and hospital operations worked to prepare for a COVID-19 surge. In so doing, they successfully innovated ways to integrate pediatric and adult care and maximize bed capacity. The success of this intense collaborative effort offers an opportunity for ongoing teamwork to enhance efficient, effective, and high-quality patient care.

Understanding Laboratory Testing for SARS-CoV-2.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has impacted millions of lives worldwide. Molecular assays and serological tests have been approved under EUA (emergency use authorization) by the FDA (food and drug administration), given these unprecedented times. These tests are not only critical for confirming the clinical diagnosis and making therapeutic decisions but also play an important role in the understanding of the epidemiology of the pandemic. There is limited experience with currently available tests and differences may exist among tests even using similar technology. The focus of this review is to improve clinicians' understanding of SARS-CoV-2 test procedures including their limitations. We discuss the impact of different host and environmental factors on test results.

Patient and clinician factors associated with uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among adolescent patients of a primary care network.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates for adolescents remain relatively low. The purpose of this study is to examine patient and clinician factors associated with HPV vaccination among patients, ages 11-17, of a large community-based primary care network. METHODS: Electronic health records and administrative data from a large primary care network from January 2017 - June 2018 for patients ages 11-17 (n = 10,682) and the 198 primary care clinicians that saw them were analyzed. Mixed effects logistic regression models examined the association of patient and clinician factors with HPV vaccine uptake. RESULTS: Most patients (63.0%) had at least one dose of the HPV vaccine, and 37.7% were up to date. In adjusted analyses, patients who received the tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) vaccine (OR = 2.8, 95% CI: 2.1-3.9) compared to those who did not receive the vaccine and patients with five or more medical visits (OR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.6-2.2) had the greatest odds of being up to date with the HPV vaccine series. Compared to White patients, African American/Black (OR = 0.8, 95% CI: 0.6 - 1.0) and Alaskan Native/American Indian (OR = 0.5, 95% CI: 0.3-0.9) patients were less likely to be up to date. Boys were also less likely to be up to date with the HPV vaccine series compared to girls (OR = 0.7, 95% CI: 0.7-0.8). Additionally, patients with family/general practice primary care clinicians were less likely to have their patients up to date than those with pediatricians (OR = 0.8, 95% CI: 0.6 - 1.0). CONCLUSION: HPV vaccine uptake varied by patient characteristics, heath care utilization and primary care clinician specialty. These findings may inform future evidence-based interventions aimed at increasing HPV vaccine uptake among adolescents by targeting patient sub-groups and reducing missed opportunities for vaccination.

Evaluation of Seasonal Respiratory Virus Activity Before and After the Statewide COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place Order in Northern California.

Importance: Public health initiatives that include shelter-in-place orders are expensive and unpopular. Demonstrating the success of these initiatives is essential to justify their systemic or individual cost. Objective: To examine the association of a shelter-in-place order with lower rates of seasonal respiratory viral activity. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study with interrupted time series analysis obtained monthly counts of respiratory virus testing results at UC Davis Health from August 1, 2014, to July 31, 2020. Patients of all ages underwent testing conducted by the laboratory at UC Davis Health, a referral center for a 65 000-square-mile area that includes 33 counties and more than 6 million Northern California residents. Exposures: A statewide shelter-in-place order was instituted on March 19, 2020, restricting residents to their homes except for traveling for essential activities. Large social gatherings were prohibited, schools were closed, and nonessential personnel worked remotely. Those who had to leave their homes were mandated to wear face masks, engage in frequent handwashing, and maintain physical distancing. Main Outcomes and Measures: Positivity rates of common respiratory viruses within the community served by UC Davis Health. Results: A total of 46 128 tests for viral respiratory pathogens over a 6-year period were included in the analysis. For the postexposure period (March 25-July 31), approximately 168 positive test results occurred for the studied organisms in the 2020 virus year, a positivity rate of 9.88 positive results per 100 tests that was much lower than the positivity rate of 29.90 positive results per 100 tests observed for this date range in the previous 5 virus years. In contrast, the positivity rates were similar for the preexposure time frame (August 1-March 24) in the 2020 virus year and for the same time periods in the 5 previous years (30.40 vs 33.68 positive results per 100 tests). In the regression analyses, statistically significant decreases in viral activity were observed in the postexposure period for influenza (93% decrease; incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.07; 95% CI, 0.02-0.33) and for rhinovirus or enterovirus (81% decrease; IRR, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.09-0.39) infections. Lower rates of postexposure viral activity were seen for respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenzavirus, coronaviruses, and adenoviruses; however, these associations were not statistically significant. Conclusions and Relevance: Using interrupted time series analysis of testing for viral respiratory pathogens, this study found that statistically significant lower rates of common community respiratory viruses appeared to be associated with a shelter-in-place order during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Review of Clinical Presentation, Hypothetical Pathogenesis, and Proposed Management.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may result in the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). The clinical presentation of MIS-C includes fever, severe illness, and the involvement of two or more organ systems, in combination with laboratory evidence of inflammation and laboratory or epidemiologic evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Some features of MIS-C resemble Kawasaki Disease, toxic shock syndrome, and secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome. The relationship of MIS-C to SARS-CoV-2 infection suggests that the pathogenesis involves post-infectious immune dysregulation. Patients with MIS-C should ideally be managed in a pediatric intensive care environment since rapid clinical deterioration may occur. Specific immunomodulatory therapy depends on the clinical presentation. The relationship between the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in development and MIS-C requires further study.

"There's Always Next Year": Primary Care Team and Parent Perspectives on the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine.

Acceptance of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among parents and clinicians is high, but uptake remains low. Little is known about organizational and primary care team factors that influence the uptake of the HPV vaccine. Interviews with clinicians, clinic support staff, and parents of adolescent patients were conducted to better understand the interrelationships among the people and the organizational processes that influence HPV vaccine uptake at the point of care. Between July 2016 and February 2017, semi-structured interviews of 40 participants (18 clinicians, 12 clinic support staff, and 10 parents of adolescent patients) in a primary care network were conducted. Organizational structures and processes, such as electronic provider reminders, availability of "vaccination only" appointments, and knowledgeable primary care team members contributed to HPV vaccine uptake. Consistently high support of HPV vaccination was found among key informants; however, rather than refuse HPV vaccination, parents are opting to delay vaccination to a future visit. When parents express the desire to delay, clinicians and care team members described often recommending addressing HPV vaccination at a future visit, giving parents the impression that receiving the vaccine was not time-sensitive for their child. Discordance in HPV vaccination recommendations among providers and clinic support staff may contribute to delayed HPV vaccination. Strong, high-quality HPV vaccine recommendations are needed from all primary team members. Clinic interventions to accelerate HPV vaccine uptake may benefit from a team-based approach where every member of the primary care team is delivering the same consistent messaging about the importance of timely HPV vaccination.

Five-fold increase in pediatric parapneumonic empyema since introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

A retrospective review of medical records for all pediatric parapneumonic empyema (PPE) patients admitted to our hospital from 1996 to 2006 revealed that PPE increased 5-fold in the post-heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) period (2001-2005) relative to the pre-PCV7 period (1996-2000), from 13 cases to 65. Most of this increase was associated with culture-negative empyema, which accounted for 61% of all post-2000 cases; 19% was culture-positive pneumococcal empyema. Our analysis indicates that non-PCV7 serotypes became more prevalent at our institution after introduction of the vaccine.

Guidelines for the use of antibiotics in acute upper respiratory tract infections.

To help physicians with the appropriate use of antibiotics in children and adults with upper respiratory tract infection, a multidisciplinary team evaluated existing guidelines and summarized key practice points. Acute otitis media in children should be diagnosed only if there is abrupt onset, signs of middle ear effusion, and symptoms of inflammation. A period of observation without immediate use of antibiotics is an option for certain children. In patients with sinus infection, acute bacterial rhinosinusitis should be diagnosed and treated with antibiotics only if symptoms have not improved after 10 days or have worsened after five to seven days. In patients with sore throat, a diagnosis of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus pharyngitis generally requires confirmation with rapid antigen testing, although other guidelines allow for empiric therapy if a validated clinical rule suggests a high likelihood of infection. Acute bronchitis in otherwise healthy adults should not be treated with antibiotics; delayed prescriptions may help ease patient fears and simultaneously reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics.