Association of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs With Opioid Prescribing and Overdose in Adolescents and Young Adults.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Prescription opioid use is associated with substance-related adverse outcomes among adolescents and young adults through a pathway of prescribing, diversion and misuse, and addiction and overdose. Assessing the effect of current prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) on opioid prescribing and overdoses will further inform strategies to reduce opioid-related harms. METHODS: We performed interrupted time series analyses to measure the association between state-level implementation of PDMPs with annual opioid prescribing and opioid-related overdoses in adolescents (13 to 18 years) and young adults (19 to 25 years) between 2008 and 2019. We focused on PDMPs that included mandatory reviews by providers. Data were obtained from a commercial insurance company. RESULTS: Among 9,344,504 adolescents and young adults, 1,405,382 (15.0%) had a dispensed opioid prescription, and 6,262 (0.1%) received treatment for an opioid-related overdose. Mandated PDMP review was associated with a 4.2% (95% CI, 1.9% to 6.4%) reduction in annual opioid dispensations among adolescents and a 7.8% (95% CI, 4.7% to 10.9%) annual reduction among young adults. For opioid-related overdoses, mandated PDMP review was associated with a 16.1% (95% CI, 3.8 to 26.7) and 15.9% (95% CI, 7.6 to 23.4) reduction in annual opioid overdoses for adolescents and young adults, respectively. CONCLUSION: PDMPs were associated with sustained reductions in opioid prescribing and overdoses in adolescents and young adults. Although these findings support the value of mandated PDMPs as part of ongoing strategies to reduce opioid overdoses, further studies with prospective study designs are needed to characterize the effect of these programs fully.

Resource utilization among children presenting with cannabis poisonings in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Exploratory pediatric cannabis poisonings are increasing. The aim of this study is to provide a national assessment of the frequency and trends of diagnostic testing and procedures in the evaluation of pediatric exploratory cannabis poisonings. METHODS: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study of the Pediatric Health Information Systems database involving all cases of cannabis poisoning for children age 0-10 years between 1/2016 and 12/2021. Cannabis poisoning trends were assessed using a negative binomial regression model. A new variable named "ancillary testing" was created to isolate testing that would not confirm the diagnosis of cannabis poisoning or be used to exclude co-ingestion of acetaminophen or aspirin. Ancillary testing was assessed with regression analyses, with ancillary testing as the outcomes and year as the predictor, to assess trends over time. RESULTS: A total of 2001 cannabis exposures among 1999 children were included. Cannabis exposures per 100,000 ED visits increased 68.7% (95% CI, 50.3, 89.3) annually. There was a median of 4 (IQR 2.0, 6.0) diagnostic tests performed per encounter. 64.5% of encounters received blood tests, 28.8% received a CT scan, and 2.4% received a lumbar puncture. Compared to White individuals, Black individuals were more likely to receive ancillary testing (OR 1.52 [95% CI, 1.23, 1.89]). Compared to those 2-6 years, those <2 years were more likely to receive ancillary testing (OR 1.55 [95% CI, 1.19, 2.02). We found no significant annual change in the odds of receiving ancillary testing (OR 1.04 [95% CI, 0.97, 1.12]). CONCLUSIONS: We found no change in the proportion of encounters associated with ancillary testing, despite increases in exploratory cannabis poisonings over the study period. Given the increasing rate of pediatric cannabis poisonings, emergency providers should consider this diagnosis early in the evaluation of a pediatric patient with acute change in mental status. While earlier use of urine drug screening may reduce ancillary testing and invasive procedures, even a positive urine drug screen does not rule out alternative pathologies and should not replace a thoughtful evaluation.

Pediatric sepsis survival in pediatric and general emergency departments.

OBJECTIVE: Understanding differences in mortality rate secondary to sepsis between pediatric and general emergency departments (EDs) would help identify strategies to improve pediatric sepsis care. We aimed to determine if pediatric sepsis mortality differs between pediatric and general EDs. METHODS: We performed a nationally representative, retrospective cohort study using the 2008-2017 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) to examine visits by patients less than 19 years old with a diagnostic code of severe sepsis or septic shock. We generated national estimates of study outcomes using NEDS survey weights. We compared pediatric to general EDs on the outcomes of ED mortality and hospital mortality. We determined adjusted mortality risk using logistic regression, controlling for age, gender, complex care code, and geographic region. RESULTS: There were 54,129 weighted pediatric ED visits during the study period with a diagnosis code of severe sepsis or septic shock. Of these visits, 285 died in the ED (0.58%) and 5065 died during their hospital stay (9.8%). Mortality risk prior to ED disposition in pediatric and general EDs was 0.31% and 0.72%, respectively (adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.36 (0.14-0.93)). Mortality risk prior to hospital discharge in pediatric and general EDs was 7.5% and 10.9%, respectively (aOR, 95% CI: 0.55 (0.41-0.72)). CONCLUSIONS: In a nationally representative sample, pediatric mortality from severe sepsis or septic shock was lower in pediatric EDs than in general EDs. Identifying features of pediatric ED care associated with improved sepsis mortality could translate into improved survival for children wherever they present with sepsis.

The Effect of COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Orders on the Rate of Pediatric Foreign Body Ingestions.

BACKGROUND: Foreign body ingestions are a common presentation in the emergency department (ED), particularly in young children. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns had an effect on the proportion of foreign body ingestions. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of the Pediatric Health Information System for patients younger than 19 years who were identified by International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes for foreign body ingestion. We analyzed patients in the following three groups: young children (younger than 5 years), school-aged children (5-12 years), and adolescents (13 years and older), using an interrupted time series analysis. Our primary outcome was the difference in proportion of foreign body ingestions. We compared 1 year after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 13, 2020 to March 31, 2021) with the previous 3 years (March 1, 2017 to March 12, 2020). RESULTS: Total pediatric ED encounters decreased in the post period (p < 0.01); 4902 patients per year presented for foreign body ingestion pre-COVID-19 shutdown vs. 5235 patients per year post-COVID-19 shutdown. In all three age groups (young children, school-age children, and adolescents), there was a higher proportion of foreign body ingestions post-COVID-19 shutdown (p < 0.01, p < 0.01, and p = 0.028, respectively), driven primarily by the decrease in total ED encounters. In the youngest age group (younger than 5 years), there was also a significant increase in slope for foreign body ingestions post-COVID-19 (p = 0.010). CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of foreign body ingestions increased after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily driven by an overall decrease in total ED volume.

Pharmacologic Restraint Use During Mental Health Visits in Pediatric Emergency Departments.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the trends and hospital variation in the use of pharmacologic restraint among pediatric mental health visits in the emergency department (ED). STUDY DESIGN: We examined ED visits with a mental health diagnosis in patients aged 3-21 years at children's hospital EDs from 2009 to 2019. We calculated the frequency of pharmacologic restraint use and determined visit characteristics associated with restraint use. We calculated cumulative percent change for visits with restraints and for all mental health visits. We used logistic regression to test trends over time and evaluate hospital variation in the frequency of restraint use. RESULTS: We identified 389 885 mental health ED visits (54.9% female, median age 14.3 years) and 13 643 (3.5%) visits with pharmacologic restraint use. Characteristics associated with pharmacologic restraint use were late adolescent age (18-21 years), male sex, Black race, non-Latino ethnicity, public insurance, and admission to the hospital (P < .001). During the study period, both mental health ED visits increased by 268% and mental health ED visits with pharmacologic restraint use increased by 370%. The rate of pharmacologic restraint in this patient population remained constant. Hospital use of pharmacologic restraint for mental health visits varied significantly across hospitals (1.6%-11.8%, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric mental health ED visits with and without pharmacologic restraint are increasing over time. In addition, the overall number of pharmacologic restraint use has increased threefold. Significant hospital variation in pharmacologic restraint use signifies an opportunity for standardization of care and restraint reduction.

Outcomes of Patients with Sepsis in a Pediatric Emergency Department after Automated Sepsis Screening.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of an automated sepsis screening tool on treatment and outcomes of severe sepsis in a pediatric emergency department (ED). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of encounters of patients with severe sepsis in a pediatric ED with a high volume of pediatric sepsis cases over a 2-year period. The automated sepsis screening algorithm replaced a manual screen 1 year into the study. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients treated for sepsis while in the ED. Secondary outcomes were time from ED arrival to first intravenous (IV) antibiotic and first IV fluid bolus, volume of fluid administered in the ED, 30-day mortality, intensive care unit-free days, and hospital-free days. RESULTS: In year 1 of the study, 8910 of 61 026 (14.6%) of encounters had a manual sepsis screen; 137 patients met criteria for severe sepsis. In year 2, 100% of 61 195 encounters had an automated sepsis screen and there were 136 cases of severe sepsis. There was a higher proportion of patients with severe sepsis who had an active malignancy and indwelling central venous catheter in year 2. There were no differences in the proportion of patients treated for sepsis in the ED, time to first IV antibiotic or first IV fluid bolus, fluid volume delivered in the ED, hospital-free days, intensive care unit-free days, or 30-day mortality after implementation of the automated screening algorithm. CONCLUSIONS: An automated sepsis screening algorithm introduced into an academic pediatric ED with a high volume of sepsis cases did not lead to improvements in treatment or outcomes of severe sepsis in this study.

Is lymphangitic streaking associated with different pathogens?

OBJECTIVES: Little is known regarding the differences in microbiology associated with cellulitis or abscess with or without lymphangitic streaking. The objective of our study is to assess whether there are differences in the pathogens identified from wound cultures of patients with paronychia with and without associated lymphangitis. METHODS: Retrospective cross-sectional study at a tertiary pediatric emergency department over 25 years. We opted to assess patients with paronychia of the finger, assuming that these cases will have a greater variety of causative pathogens compared to other cases of cellulitis and soft tissue abscess that are associated with nail biting. Case identification was conducted using a computerized text-screening search that was refined by manual chart review. We included patients from 1 month to 20 years of age who underwent an incision and drainage (I&D) of a paronychia and had a culture obtained. The presence or absence of lymphangitis was determined from the clinical narrative in the medical record. We excluded patients treated with antibiotics prior to I&D as well as immune-compromised patients. We used descriptive statistics for prevalence and χ2 tests for categorical variables. RESULTS: Two hundred sixty-six patients met inclusion criteria. The median age was 9.7 years [IQR 4.7, 15.4] and 45.1% were female. Twenty-two patients (8.3%) had lymphangitic streaking associated with their paronychia. Patients with lymphangitis streaking were similar to those without lymphangitis in terms of age and sex (p = 0.52 and p = 0.82, respectively). Overall, the predominant bacteria was MSSA (40%) followed by MRSA (26%). No significant differences were found between the pathogens in the 22 patients with associated lymphangitis compared to the 244 patients without. CONCLUSION: Staphylococcus aureus represent the majority of pathogens in paronychia, although streptococcal species and gram-negative bacteria were also common. Among patients with paronychia of the finger, there seems to be no association between pathogen type and presence of lymphangitic streaking.

Implementation of a pediatric early warning score tool in a pediatric oncology Ward in Palestine.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric Early Warning Scores (PEWS) are nurse-administered clinical assessment tools utilizing vital signs and patient signs and symptoms to screen for patients at risk for clinical deterioration.1-3 When utilizing a PEWS system, which consists of an escalation algorithm to alert physicians of high risk patients requiring a bedside evaluation and assessment, studies have demonstrated that PEWS systems can decrease pediatric intensive care (PICU) utilization, in-hospital cardiac arrests, and overall decreased mortality in high income settings. Yet, many hospital based settings in low and lower middle income countries (LMIC) lack systems in place for early identification of patients at risk for clinical deterioration. METHODS: A contextually adapted 16-h pediatric resuscitation program included training of a PEWS tool followed by implementation and integration of a PEWS system in a pediatric hematology/oncology ward in Beit Jala, Palestine. Four PDSA cycles were implemented post-implementation to improve uptake and scoring of PEWS which included PEWS tool integration into an existing electronic medical record (EMR), escalation algorithm and job aid implementation, data audits and ward feedback. RESULTS: Frequency of complete PEWS vital sign documentation reached a mean of 89.9%. The frequency and accuracy of PEWS scores steadily increased during the post-implementation period, consistently above 89% in both categories starting from data audit four and continuing thereafter. Accuracy of PEWS scoring was unable to be assessed during week 1 and 2 of data audits due to challenges with PEWS integration into the existing EMR (PDSA cycle 1) which were resolved by the 3rd week of data auditing (PDSA cycle 2). CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a PEWS scoring tool in an LMIC pediatric oncology inpatient unit is feasible and can improve frequency of vital sign collection and generate accurate PEWS scores. CONTRIBUTION TO THE LITERATURE: This study demonstrates how to effectively implement a PEWS scoring tool into an LMIC clinical setting. This study demonstrates how to utilize a robust feedback mechanism to ensure a quality program uptake. This study demonstrates an effective international partnership model that other institutions may utilize for implementation science.

Prediction of the Development of Severe Sepsis Among Children With Intestinal Failure and Fever Presenting to the Emergency Department.

OBJECTIVES: Children with intestinal failure (IF) and fever are frequently bacteremic, but risk factors for development of sepsis in this population are not well delineated. Our objective was to determine what clinical factors available on arrival to the emergency department (ED), including commonly used vital sign thresholds, predicted the subsequent development of severe sepsis in children with IF and fever. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study of children younger than 21 years with IF presenting to a tertiary care ED between 2010 and 2016 with fever who did not have hypotensive septic shock on arrival. The primary outcome was development of severe sepsis within 24 hours of ED arrival, as defined by consensus criteria. We identified predictors of severe sepsis using both univariate and multivariate models and calculated the test characteristics of 3 different sets of vital sign criteria in determining risk of severe sepsis. RESULTS: In 26 (9.4%) of 278 encounters, the patient developed severe sepsis within 24 hours of arrival to the ED; 3 were excluded due to hypotensive shock on arrival. Predictors of severe sepsis included history of intestinal pseudo-obstruction (odds ratio, 8.2; 95% confidence interval, 2.3-30.2) and higher initial temperature (odds ratio, 1.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-2.3). The 3 sets of vital sign criteria had widely varying sensitivity and specificity in identifying development of severe sepsis. CONCLUSIONS: History of intestinal pseudo-obstruction and higher fever predicted increased risk of severe sepsis among children with IF and fever presenting to an ED. No single set of vital sign criteria had both high sensitivity and specificity for this diagnosis.

Provision of Guideline-Based Pediatric Asthma Care in US Emergency Departments.

OBJECTIVES: National guidelines for routine pediatric acute asthma care recommend providing corticosteroids, and discourage routinely obtaining chest radiographs (CXRs) and using antibiotics. We examined rates of adherence to all 3 of these aspects during emergency department (ED) visits and compared performance between pediatric and general EDs. METHODS: Using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, we included all nontransfer ED visits for patients younger than 19 years with a diagnosis of asthma and treatment with albuterol from 2005 to 2015. Guideline-based care, defined as (1) corticosteroids, (2) no antibiotics, and (3) no CXR, was assessed for each visit. Hospitals were categorized as pediatric or general and compared according to rates of guideline-based care. Multivariable analyses were used to identify demographic and hospital-level characteristics associated with guideline-based care. RESULTS: More than 7 million ED visits met eligibility criteria. Antibiotic provision and CXR acquisition were significantly higher in general EDs (20% vs 11%, 40% vs 26%, respectively), while steroid provision was similar (63% vs 62%). Overall, 34% of visits involved guideline-based care, with a higher rate for pediatric EDs compared with general EDs (42% to 31%). Visit at a pediatric ED (odds ratio, 1.62 [confidence interval 1.17-2.25]) and black race (odds ratio, 1.48 [confidence interval 1.07-2.02]) were independently associated with guideline-based care in a multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Guideline-based care was more common in pediatric EDs, although only one-third of all pediatric-age visits met the definition of guideline-based care. Future policy and education efforts to reduce unnecessary antibiotic and CXR use for children with asthma are warranted.

Trends in Severe Pediatric Emergency Conditions in a National Cohort, 2008 to 2014.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the incidence and recent trends in serious pediatric emergency conditions. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample from 2008 through 2014, and included patients with age below 18 years with a serious condition, defined as each diagnosis group in the diagnosis grouping system with a severity classification system score of 5. We calculated national incidences for each serious condition using annualized weighted condition counts divided by annual United States census child population counts. We determined the highest-incidence serious conditions over the study period and calculated percentage changes between 2008 and 2014 for each serious condition using a Poisson model. RESULTS: The 2008 incidence of serious conditions across the national child population was 1721 visits per million person-years (95% confidence interval, 1485-1957). This incidence increased to 2020 visits per million person-years (95% confidence interval, 1661-2379) in 2014. The most common serious conditions were serious respiratory diseases, septicemia, and serious neurologic diseases. Anaphylaxis was the condition with the largest change, increasing by 147%, from 101 to 249 visits per million person-years. CONCLUSIONS: The most common serious condition in children presenting to United States emergency departments is serious respiratory disease. Anaphylaxis is the fastest increasing serious condition. Additional research attention to these diagnoses is warranted.

Prescription opioid use and misuse among adolescents and young adults in the United States: A national survey study.

BACKGROUND: Prescription opioid misuse has become a leading cause of unintentional injury and death among adolescents and young adults in the United States. However, there is limited information on how adolescents and young adults obtain prescription opioids. There are also inadequate recent data on the prevalence of additional drug abuse among those misusing prescription opioids. In this study, we evaluated past-year prevalence of prescription opioid use and misuse, sources of prescription opioids, and additional substance use among adolescents and young adults. METHODS AND FINDINGS: This was a retrospective analysis of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) for the years 2015 and 2016. Prevalence of opioid use, misuse, use disorder, and additional substance use were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), stratified by age group and other demographic variables. Sources of prescription opioids were determined for respondents reporting opioid misuse. We calculated past-year prevalence of opioid use and misuse with or without use disorder, sources of prescription opioids, and prevalence of additional substance use. We included 27,857 adolescents (12-17 years of age) and 28,213 young adults (18-25 years of age) in our analyses, corresponding to 119.3 million individuals in the extrapolated national population. There were 15,143 respondents (27.5% [95% CI 27.0-28.0], corresponding to 32.8 million individuals) who used prescription opioids in the previous year, including 21.0% (95% CI 20.4-21.6) of adolescents and 32.2% (95% CI 31.4-33.0) of young adults. Significantly more females than males reported using any prescription opioid (30.3% versus 24.8%, P < 0.001), and non-Hispanic whites and blacks were more likely to have had any opioid use compared to Hispanics (28.9%, 28.1%, and 25.8%, respectively; P < 0.001). Opioid misuse was reported by 1,050 adolescents (3.8%; 95% CI 3.5-4.0) and 2,207 young adults (7.8%; 95% CI 7.3-8.2; P < 0.001). Male respondents using opioids were more likely to have opioid misuse without use disorder compared with females (23.2% versus 15.8%, respectively; P < 0.001), with similar prevalence by race/ethnicity. Among those misusing opioids, 55.7% obtained them from friends or relatives, 25.4% from the healthcare system, and 18.9% through other means. Obtaining opioids free from friends or relatives was the most common source for both adolescents (33.5%) and young adults (41.4%). Those with opioid misuse reported high prevalence of prior cocaine (35.5%), hallucinogen (49.4%), heroin (8.7%), and inhalant (30.4%) use. In addition, at least half had used tobacco (55.5%), alcohol (66.9%), or cannabis (49.9%) in the past month. Potential limitations of the study are that we cannot exclude selection bias in the study design or socially desirable reporting among participants, and that longitudinal data are not available for long-term follow-up of individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study suggest that the prevalence of prescription opioid use among adolescents and young adults in the US is high despite known risks for future opioid and other drug use disorders. Reported prescription opioid misuse is common among adolescents and young adults and often associated with additional substance abuse, underscoring the importance of drug and alcohol screening programs in this population. Prevention and treatment efforts should take into account that greater than half of youths misusing prescription opioids obtain these medications through friends and relatives.

Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection among Children with Intestinal Failure Presenting to the Emergency Department with Fever.

OBJECTIVES: To determine which factors confer the greatest risk of central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) in children with intestinal failure and fever presenting to an emergency department (ED), and to assess whether a low-risk group exists that may not require the standard treatment of admission for 48 hours on intravenous antibiotics pending culture results. STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective cohort study included children with intestinal failure and fever presenting to an ED over a 6-year period. Multivariable models were created using risk factors selected a priori to be associated with CLABSI as well as univariate predictors with P < .2. RESULTS: Among 81 patients with 278 ED encounters, 132 (47.5%) CLABSI episodes were identified. Multivariable models showed higher initial temperature in the ED (aOR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.25-3.17) and low white blood cell count (aOR, 2.65; 95% CI, 1.03-6.79) and platelet count (aOR, 2.65; 95% CI, 1.20-5.87) relative to age-specific reference ranges were strongly associated with CLABSI. Among the 63 encounters in which the patient had none of these risk factors, the rate of CLABSI was 25.4%. CONCLUSIONS: Children with intestinal failure who present to the ED with fever have high rates of CLABSI. Although higher temperature in the ED, lower white blood cell count, and lower platelet count are strongly associated with CLABSI, patients without these risk factors frequently have positive blood cultures as well. Antibiotics should, therefore, be given to all children with intestinal failure and fever until CLABSI is ruled out.

Pediatric drug information available at the time of new drug approvals: A cross-sectional analysis.

PURPOSE: Greater than 50% of drugs lack pediatric labeling information, resulting in widespread "off-label" use in children. To increase pediatric prescribing information, the Pediatric Research Equity Act (PREA) was passed in 2003, requiring new drug applications to include pediatric assessments. We evaluated the study of new drugs in children since PREA was implemented. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of new drug applications submitted to the FDA from December 2003 to July 2012, using publicly available documents at Drugs@FDA. We calculated the proportion of new drugs that included a pediatric assessment at the time of approval and at a final review performed in July 2016. RESULTS: We identified 92 new drugs requiring pediatric assessments. Only 20 (21.7%) had been fully studied in children at the time of approval, while 9 (9.8%) had been partially assessed, and 63 (68.5%) did not have pediatric data. Among drugs approved without pediatric assessments, 4.2% met FDA deferral deadlines and 34.9% eventually submitted pediatric data. At the time of our final review, allowing for a mean of 8.6 years since drug approval, 57.6% of new drugs had not been fully assessed in children. The mean time between approval in adults and availability of pediatric data for drugs approved without pediatric assessments was 6.5 years. CONCLUSIONS: These results represent a comprehensive evaluation of the study of new drugs in children and demonstrate that many drugs continue to be approved without pediatric data. Our findings serve to inform approaches to strengthen adherence to PREA requirements.

Variation in the evaluation of testicular conditions across United States pediatric emergency departments.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the variation in diagnostic testing and management for males diagnosed with three testicular conditions (testicular torsion, appendix testis torsion, epididymitis/orchitis) using a large pediatric health care database. Diagnostic testing is frequently used in evaluation of the acute scrotum; however, there is likely variability in the use of these tests in the emergency department setting. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of males with the diagnoses of testicular torsion, appendix testis torsion, and epididymitis/orchitis. We identified emergency department patients in the Pediatric Health Information Systems (PHIS) database from 2010 to 2015 using diagnostic and procedure codes from the International Classification of Diseases Codes 9 and 10. Frequencies of diagnoses by demographic characteristics and of procedures and diagnostic testing (ultrasound, urinalysis, urine culture and sexually transmitted infection testing) by age group were calculated. We analyzed testing trends over time. RESULTS: We identified 17,000 males with the diagnoses of testicular torsion (21.7%), appendix testis torsion (17.9%), and epididymitis/orchitis (60.3%) from 2010 to 2015. There was substantial variation among hospitals in all categories of testing for each of the diagnoses. Overall, ultrasound utilization ranged from 33.1-100% and urinalysis testing ranged from 17.0-84.9% for all conditions. Only urine culture testing decreased over time for all three diagnoses (40.6% in 2010 to 31.5 in 2015). CONCLUSIONS: There was wide variation in the use of diagnostic testing across pediatric hospitals for males with common testicular conditions. Development of evaluation guidelines for the acute scrotum could decrease variation in testing.

Complexity and Severity of Pediatric Patients Treated at United States Emergency Departments.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the complexity and severity of presentation of children in general vs pediatric emergency departments (EDs). STUDY DESIGN: We performed a cross-sectional study of pediatric ED visits using the National Emergency Department Sample from 2008 to 2012. We classified EDs as "pediatric" if >75% of patients were <18 years old; all other EDs were classified as "general." The presence of an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision code for a complex chronic condition was used as an indicator of patient complexity. Patient severity was evaluated with the severity classification system. In addition, rates of critical procedures and hospitalization were assessed. RESULTS: We identified 9.6 million encounters to pediatric EDs and 169 million to general EDs. Younger children account for a greater proportion of visits at pediatric EDs than general EDs; children <1 year of age account for 18% of visits to a pediatric ED compared with 9% of visits to a general ED (P < .01). Encounters at pediatric EDs had greater complexity (5% vs 2%; P < .01). Although severity classification system scores did not significantly differ by ED type, pediatric EDs had greater rates of hospitalization (10% vs 4%). CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric EDs provided care to a greater proportion of medically complex children than general EDs and had greater rates of hospitalization. This information may inform educational efforts in residency or postgraduate training to ensure high-quality care for children with complex health care needs.

Detection of Pulmonary Embolism in High-Risk Children.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate 2 commonly used adult-based pulmonary embolism (PE) algorithms in pediatric patients and to derive a pediatric-specific clinical decision rule to evaluate children at risk for PE, given the paucity of data to guide diagnostic imaging in children for whom PE is suspected. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a single-center retrospective study among 561 children <22 years of age undergoing either D-dimer testing or radiologic evaluation (computed tomography or ventilation-perfusion scan) in the emergency department setting for concern of PE. A diagnosis of PE required radiologic confirmation and anticoagulant treatment. We evaluated the test characteristics of the Wells criteria and Pulmonary Embolism Rule-out Criteria (PERC) low-risk rule and used recursive partition analysis to derive a clinical decision rule. RESULTS: Among the 561 patients included in the study, 36 (6.4%) were diagnosed with PE. The Wells criteria demonstrated a sensitivity and specificity of 86% and 60%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the PERC were 100% and 24%, respectively. A clinical decision rule including the presence of oral contraceptive use, tachycardia, and oxygen saturation <95% demonstrated a sensitivity and specificity of 90% and 56%, respectively, a positive and negative likelihood ratio of 2.0 and 0.2, and a positive and negative predictive value of 0.12 and 0.99, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of PE is low among children not receiving estrogen therapy and without tachycardia and hypoxia in those with an initial suspicion of PE. Application of the PERC rule and Wells criteria should be used cautiously in the pediatric population.

Financial conflicts of interest and conclusions about neuraminidase inhibitors for influenza: an analysis of systematic reviews.

BACKGROUND: Industry funding and financial conflicts of interest may contribute to bias in the synthesis and interpretation of scientific evidence. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between financial conflicts of interest and characteristics of systematic reviews of neuraminidase inhibitors. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: Reviews that examined the use of neuraminidase inhibitors in the prophylaxis or treatment of influenza, were published between January 2005 and May 2014, and used a systematic search protocol. MEASUREMENTS: Two investigators blinded to all information regarding the review authors independently assessed the presentation of evidence on the use of neuraminidase inhibitors as favorable or not favorable. Financial conflicts of interest were identified using the index reviews, other publications, and Web-based searches. Associations between financial conflicts of interest, favorability assessments, and presence of critical appraisals of evidence quality were analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-six systematic reviews were identified, of which 13 examined prophylaxis and 24 examined treatment, accounting for 37 distinct assessments. Among assessments associated with a financial conflict of interest, 7 of 8 (88%) were classified as favorable, compared with 5 of 29 (17%) among those without a financial conflict of interest. Reviewers without financial conflicts of interest were more likely to include statements about the quality of the primary studies than those with financial conflicts of interest. LIMITATIONS: The heterogeneity in populations and outcomes examined in the reviews precluded analysis of the contribution of selective inclusion of evidence on the discordance of the assessments made in the reviews. Many of the systematic reviews had overlapping authorship. CONCLUSION: Reviewers with financial conflicts of interest may be more likely to present evidence about neuraminidase inhibitors in a favorable manner and recommend the use of these drugs than reviewers without financial conflicts of interest. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Australian National Health and Medical Research Council.

Exposure to potentially lethal weapons and drugs among U.S. adolescents with recent depressive symptoms or suicidality in the Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey.

The scope of lethal means exposure (i.e. guns, intravenous drugs, prescription drugs) relative to depressive symptoms and suicidality in adolescents is not well described. Using the Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES), we found lethal means exposure increased in a dose dependent manner with increasing depressive symptoms, adjusting for age, sex, race, and ethnicity. Adolescent males were more than 6 times more likely to have exposure to guns and intravenous drugs compared to adolescent females.

Psychotropic Medication Administration in Pediatric Emergency Departments.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Visits by youth to the emergency department (ED) with mental and behavioral health (MBH) conditions are increasing, yet use of psychotropic medications during visits has not been well described. We aimed to assess changes in psychotropic medication use over time, overall and by medication category, and variation in medication administration across hospitals. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of ED encounters by youth aged 3-21 with MBH diagnoses using the Pediatric Health Information System, 2013-2022. Medication categories included psychotherapeutics, stimulants, anticonvulsants, antihistamines, antihypertensives, and other. We constructed regression models to examine trends in use over time, overall and by medication category, and variation by hospital. RESULTS: Of 670 911 ED encounters by youth with a MBH diagnosis, 12.3% had psychotropic medication administered. The percentage of MBH encounters with psychotropic medication administered increased from 7.9% to16.3% from 2013-2022 with the odds of administration increasing each year (odds ratio, 1.09; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.13). Use of all medication categories except for antianxiety medications increased significantly over time. The proportion of encounters with psychotropic medication administered ranged from 4.2%-23.1% across hospitals (P < .001). The number of psychotropic medications administered significantly varied from 81 to 792 medications per 1000 MBH encounters across hospitals (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Administration of psychotropic medications during MBH ED encounters is increasing over time and varies across hospitals. Inconsistent practice patterns indicate that opportunities are available to standardize ED management of pediatric MBH conditions to enhance quality of care.