Providing mental health resources for pediatric patients with low-risk suicidality.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Suicide is a leading cause of death among youth in the United States. Pediatric emergency department visits for non-psychiatric concerns present an opportunity to identify youth at risk for suicidality. This quality improvement initiative was undertaken to ensure that those patients identified as low risk for suicide receive resources, bridging the gap between identifying at-risk youth and providing them with appropriate follow up mental health resources. The aim of this project was to increase the proportion of after visit summaries containing mental health resources by 25 % within 6 months for medical patients who are found to have non-acute low suicide risk and are discharged from the emergency department. METHODS: The primary outcome measure was the proportion of discharged medical patients who screened positive for suicidal ideation and were determined to be at low risk for suicide who received mental health resources on discharge before and after intervention. A multidisciplinary team targeted the following 3 key drivers: 1) multidisciplinary engagement 2) training and education of providers and 3) health information technology. Plan, Do, Study and Act cycles included the following: 1) an educational campaign with regular multidisciplinary meetings, educational updates, and email reminders; 2). an electronic health record change; and 3) An individual report to providers. RESULTS: After the intervention, the percentage of medical patients with low-risk suicidality being discharged with mental health resources increased by more than 70 %. CONCLUSIONS: A champion led multidisciplinary team, using PDSA methodology, can implement sustained improvements in mental health resource distribution.

Long-term inflammation and glucocorticoid therapy impair skeletal modeling during growth in childhood Crohn disease.

CONTEXT: Glucocorticoids and inflammation inhibit bone formation; however, the impact on skeletal modeling is unknown. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study were to examine changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and cortical structure after Crohn disease (CD) diagnosis and identify associations with growth, glucocorticoids, and disease activity. DESIGN/PARTICIPANTS: This was a prospective cohort study among 76 CD participants, aged 5-21 years. Tibia quantitative computed tomography trabecular BMD and cortical dimensions were obtained at diagnosis and 6 and 12 and a median of 42 months later; 51 completed the final visit. OUTCOMES: Sex, race, and age-specific Z-scores were generated for outcomes based on more than 650 reference participants, and cortical dimension Z-scores were further adjusted for tibia length. Generalized estimating equations were used to model changes in Z-scores. RESULTS: Disease activity improved over the study interval (P < .001). Trabecular BMD Z-scores improved over the first 6 months; increases were associated with improved disease activity (P < .001), younger age (P = .005), and increases in vitamin D levels (P = .02). Greater increases in tibia length were associated with greater increases in cortical area Z-scores (P < .001). Greater glucocorticoid doses and disease activity were significantly associated with failure to accrue cortical area and were more pronounced with greater linear growth (interaction P < .05). Mean (±SD) trabecular BMD (-1.0 ± 1.21) and cortical area (-0.57 ± 1.10) Z-scores at the final visit were significantly reduced. CONCLUSIONS: CD was associated with persistent deficits in trabecular BMD, although younger participants demonstrated a greater potential for recovery. In addition, greater linear growth was associated with a greater recovery of cortical dimensions, especially among participants with less glucocorticoid exposure and inflammation. These data suggest that younger age and concurrent growth provide a window of opportunity for skeletal recovery.