Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physicians' Perspectives on Emergency Care of Children With Medical Complexity: A Multi-institution Mixed-Methods Assessment.

OBJECTIVE: Children with medical complexity (CMC) compose 1% of the pediatric population but account for 20% of pediatric emergency department (ED) visits. Previous descriptions of challenges and interventions to ensure quality of care are limited. Our objective was to elicit pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) physicians' perspectives on challenges and opportunities for improvement of emergency care of CMC, with a focus on emergency information forms (EIFs). METHODS: We conducted a web-based survey of PEM physicians participating the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Emergency Medicine Survey listserv. The survey was designed using an expert panel, and subsequently piloted and revised to an 18-item survey. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-one of 495 respondents (30%) completed the survey. Most respondents (62.9%) reported caring for >10 CMC per month. Whereas overall medical fragility and time constraints were major contributors to the challenges of caring for CMC in the ED, communication with known providers and shared care plans were identified as particularly helpful. Most respondents did not report routine use of EIFs. Anticipated emergencies/action plan was deemed the most important component of EIFs. CONCLUSIONS: Most PEM physicians view the care for CMC in the ED as challenging despite practicing in high-resource environments. Further research is needed to develop and implement strategies to improve care of CMC in the ED. Understanding experiences of providers in general ED settings is also an important next step given that 80% of CMC present for emergency care outside of major children's hospitals.

The Pediatric Emergency Research Network: A Decade of Global Research Cooperation in Pediatric Emergency Care.

OBJECTIVES: The Pediatric Emergency Research Network (PERN) was launched in 2009 with the intent for existing national and regional research networks in pediatric emergency care to organize globally for the conduct of collaborative research across networks. METHODS: The Pediatric Emergency Research Network has grown from 5- to 8-member networks over the past decade. With an executive committee comprising representatives from all member networks, PERN plays a supportive and collaborative rather than governing role. The full impact of PERN's facilitation of international collaborative research, although somewhat difficult to quantify empirically, can be measured indirectly by the observed growth of the field, the nature of the increasingly challenging research questions now being addressed, and the collective capacity to generate and implement new knowledge in treating acutely ill and injured children. RESULTS: Beginning as a pandemic response with a high-quality retrospective case-controlled study of H1N1 influenza risk factors, PERN research has progressed to multiple observational studies and ongoing global randomized controlled trials. As a recent example, PERN has developed sufficient network infrastructure to enable the rapid initiation of a prospective observational study in response to the current coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. In light of the ongoing need for translation of research knowledge into equitable clinical practice and to promote health equity, PERN is committed to a coordinated international effort to increase the uptake of evidence-based management of common and treatable acute conditions in all emergency department settings. CONCLUSIONS: The Pediatric Emergency Research Network's successes with global research, measured by prospective observational and interventional studies, mean that the network can now move to improve its ability to promote the implementation of scientific advances into everyday clinical practice. Achieving this goal will involve focus in 4 areas: (1) expanding the capacity for global randomized controlled trials; (2) deepening the focus on implementation science; (3) increasing attention to healthcare disparities and their origins, with growing momentum toward equity; and (4) expanding PERN's global reach through addition of sites and networks from resource-restricted regions. Through these actions, PERN will be able to build on successes to face the challenges ahead and meet the needs of acutely ill and injured children throughout the world.

Maintenance of Certification Pediatrics: Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM): The New Part 3 Maintenance of Certification Assessment Option.

ABSTRACT: Starting in 2022, the American Board of Pediatrics will launch the Maintenance of Certification Assessment for Pediatrics: Pediatric Emergency Medicine (MOCA-Peds: PEM) longitudinal assessment, which will provide an at-home alternative to the point-in-time examination. This longitudinal assessment will help engage PEM physicians participating in continuing certification in a more flexible and continuous lifelong, self-directed learning process while still providing a summative assessment of their knowledge. This commentary provides background information on MOCA-Peds and an introduction to MOCA-Peds: PEM and how it gives the PEM physician another option to participate in continuing certification.

PEMCRC anaphylaxis study protocol: a multicentre cohort study to derive and validate clinical decision models for the emergency department management of children with anaphylaxis.

INTRODUCTION: There remain significant knowledge gaps about the management and outcomes of children with anaphylaxis. These gaps have led to practice variation regarding decisions to hospitalise children and length of observation periods following treatment with epinephrine. The objectives of this multicentre study are to (1) determine the prevalence of and risk factors for severe, persistent, refractory and biphasic anaphylaxis, as well as persistent and biphasic non-anaphylactic reactions; (2) derive and validate prediction models for emergency department (ED) discharge; and (3) determine data-driven lengths of ED and inpatient observation prior to discharge to home based on initial reaction severity. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The study is being conducted through the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Collaborative Research Committee (PEMCRC). Children 6 months to less than 18 years of age presenting to 30 participating EDs for anaphylaxis from October 2015 to December 2019 will be eligible. The primary outcomes for each objective are (1) severe, persistent, refractory or biphasic anaphylaxis, as well as persistent or biphasic non-anaphylactic reactions; (2) safe ED discharge, defined as no receipt of acute anaphylaxis medications or hypotension beyond 4 hours from first administered dose of epinephrine; and (3) time from first to last administered dose of epinephrine and vasopressor cessation. Analyses for each objective include (1) descriptive statistics to estimate prevalence and generalised estimating equations that will be used to investigate risk factors for anaphylaxis outcomes, (2) least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression and binary recursive partitioning to derive and validate prediction models of children who may be candidates for safe ED discharge, and (3) Kaplan-Meier analyses to assess timing from first to last epinephrine doses and vasopressor cessation based on initial reaction severity. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: All sites will obtain institutional review board approval; results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated via traditional and social media, blogs and online education platforms.

Interobserver Agreement in the Assessment of Clinical Findings in Children with Headaches.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the interobserver agreement of history and physical examination findings in children undergoing evaluation in the emergency department (ED) for headaches. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a prospective, cross-sectional study of children aged 2-17 years evaluated at 3 tertiary-care pediatric EDs for non-traumatic headaches. Two clinicians independently completed a standardized assessment of each child and documented the presence or absence of history and physical examination variables. Unweighted κ statistics were determined for 68 history and 24 physical examination variables. RESULTS: We analyzed 191 paired observations; median age was 12 years, with 19 (9.9%) children younger than 7 years. Interrater reliability was at least moderate (κ ≥ 0.41) for 41 (60.3%) patient history variables. Eleven (61.1%) of 18 physical examination variables for which κ statistics could be calculated had a κ that was at least moderate. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial number of history and physical examination findings demonstrated at least moderate κ statistic values when assessed in children with headaches in the ED. These variables may be generalizable across different types of clinicians for evaluation of children with headaches. If also found to predict the presence or absence of emergent intracranial abnormalities, the more reliable clinical findings may be helpful in the development of clinical prediction rules or risk stratification models that could be used across settings for children with headaches.

Research Interest in Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellows.

OBJECTIVE: Factors predictive of research career interest among pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) fellows are not known. We sought to determine the prevalence and determinants of interest in research careers among PEM fellows. METHODS: We performed an electronically distributed national survey of current PEM fellows. We assessed demographics, barriers to successful research, and beliefs about research using 4-point ordinal scales. The primary outcome was the fellow-reported predicted percentage of time devoted to clinical research 5 years after graduation. We measured the association between barriers and beliefs and the predicted future clinical research time using the Spearman correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Of 458 current fellows, 231 (50.4%) submitted complete responses to the survey. The median predicted future clinical research time was 10% (interquartile range, 5%-20%). We identified no association between sex, residency type, and previous research exposure and predicted future research time. The barrier that most correlated with decreased predicted clinical research time was difficulty designing a feasible fellowship research project (Spearman coefficient [ρ], 0.20; P = 0.002). The belief that most correlated with increased predicted clinical research time was excitement about research (ρ = 0.69, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Most fellows expect to devote a minority of their career to clinical research. Excitement about research was strongly correlated with career research interest.

Development of a Quality Improvement Curriculum in a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship.

Quality improvement (QI) is a science of systematic analysis and improvement of health care delivery systems. Working knowledge of QI models is imperative to professional development of future pediatric emergency medicine practitioners. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has established a list of QI and patient safety expectations for trainees. In order to address educational needs in this area, we have created a novel QI curriculum for pediatric emergency medicine fellows that include didactic sessions, active participation in QI projects, and mentorship by QI faculty. As a part of the curriculum, fellows are required to participate in variety of QI and patient safety activities, such as Morbidity and Mortality conferences, QI and Patient Case Review committees, and Clinical Care Guideline work groups. As a measure of success, fellows who have participated in this curriculum have shared their successful QI work at the local and national levels. This goal of this report is to share our experience in order to provide other institutions a framework for their own curriculum development.

Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Properties of Metronidazole in Pediatric Patients With Acute Appendicitis: A Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND: Metronidazole is traditionally dosed every 6-8 hours even though in adults it has a long half-life, concentration-dependent killing, and 3-hour postantibiotic effect. Based on this logic, some pediatric hospitals adopted once-daily dosing for appendicitis, despite limited pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) in children. We studied pediatric patients with appendicitis given metronidazole once daily to determine whether this dosing would meet target area under the curve (AUC)/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ratio of ≥70 for Bacteroides fragilis. METHODS: One hundred pediatric patients aged 4-17 years had an average of 3 blood draws per patient during the first 24 hours after a 30 mg/kg per dose of intravenous metronidazole. Concentrations of drug were determined using validated liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. A NONMEM model was constructed for determining PK, followed by Monte Carlo simulations to generate a population of plasma concentration-time AUC of metronidazole and hydroxy-metronidazole. RESULTS: Simulated AUC values met target attainment (AUC/MIC ratio of ≥70 to B fragilis MICs) for 96%-100% of all patients for an MIC of 2 mcg/mL. For MICs of 4 and 8 mcg/mL, target attainment ranged from 61% to 97% and 9% to 71%, respectively. Areas under the curve were similar to that of adults receiving 1000 mg and 1500 mg q24, or 500 mg q8 hours. CONCLUSIONS: Metronidazole, 30 mg/kg per dose, once daily achieved AUC target attainment for B fragilis with an MIC of 2 mcg/mL or less in pediatric appendicitis patients. Based on this and studies in adults, there does not seem to be any PK/PD advantage of more frequent dosing in this population.

Comparison of Ultrasound Guidance vs. Clinical Assessment Alone for Management of Pediatric Skin and Soft Tissue Infections.

BACKGROUND: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) can potentially help distinguish cellulitis from abscess, which can appear very similar on physical examination but necessitate different treatment approaches. OBJECTIVE: To compare POCUS guidance vs. clinical assessment alone on the management of pediatric skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) in the emergency department (ED) setting. METHODS: Children ages 6 months to 18 years presenting to participating EDs with SSTIs ≥ 1 cm were eligible. All treatment decisions, including use of POCUS, were at the discretion of the treating clinicians. Patients were divided into those managed with POCUS guidance (POCUS group) and those managed using clinical assessment alone (non-POCUS group). Primary outcome was clinical treatment failure at 7-10 days (unscheduled ED return visit or admission, procedural intervention, change in antibiotics therapy). Secondary outcomes were ED length of stay, discharge rate, use of alternative imaging, and need for procedural sedation. POCUS utility and impact on management decisions were also assessed by treating clinicians. RESULTS: In total, 321 subjects (327 lesions) were analyzed, of which 299 (93%) had completed follow-up. There was no significant difference between the POCUS and non-POCUS groups in any of the primary or secondary outcomes. Management plan was changed in the POCUS group in 22.9% of cases (13.8% from medical to surgical, 9.1% from surgical to medical). Clinicians reported increased benefit of POCUS in cases of higher clinical uncertainty. CONCLUSIONS: Use of POCUS was not associated with decreased ED treatment failure rate or process outcomes in pediatric SSTI patients. However, POCUS changed the management plan in approximately one in four cases.

Comparison of clinicians to radiologists in assessment of abdominal radiographs for suspected intussusception.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to determine agreement of abdominal radiography (AXR) interpretation and to compare test characteristics, between pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) physicians and pediatric radiologists for evaluation of intussusception. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of children aged 3 months to 3 years presenting to a pediatric emergency department (ED) between 2007 and 2009. For inclusion, subjects required an ED presentation for suspected intussusception, performance of a 2-view AXR (supine and upright/lateral decubitus views) and abdominal ultrasound performed during the ED visit, and a subsequent criterion-standard measure for intussusception available (contrast enema, operative report, or clinical follow-up). All AXRs were reviewed by 2 blinded PEM physicians and 2 pediatric radiologists. Interrater agreement (κ) for AXR interpretation and diagnostic test characteristics were calculated for comparison. RESULTS: A total of 286 children were included; intussusception was present in 61 patients (21.3%). Moderate agreement was present between the PEM physicians and radiologists for AXR assessment, with κ = 0.57 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.47-0.66). Radiologist AXR interpretation had specificity of 86.7% (95% CI, 81.6-90.5), sensitivity of 62.3% (95% CI, 49.8-73.4), positive predictive value of 55.9% (95% CI, 43.3-67.9), and negative predictive value of 89.4% (95% CI, 84.6-93.2). Pediatric emergency medicine physician AXR interpretation had specificity of 68.9% (95% CI, 62.6-74.6), sensitivity of 78.7% (95% CI, 66.9-87.1), positive predictive value of 40.7% (95% CI, 32.2-49.7), and negative predictive value of 92.3% (95% CI, 87.1-95.5). CONCLUSIONS: Agreement between PEM physicians and pediatric radiologists for evaluation of AXR in suspected intussusception is moderate. Sensitivity and negative predictive value of AXR alone are not sufficiently high overall to exclude intussusception; however, PEM physician interpretation of AXR may possess utility in determining need for abdominal ultrasound in low-risk patients given the high negative predictive value.

Variation in resource utilization across a national sample of pediatric emergency departments.

OBJECTIVE: To describe variations in emergency department (ED) quality measures and determine the association between ED costs and outcomes for 3 pediatric conditions: asthma, gastroenteritis, and simple febrile seizure. STUDY DESIGN: This cross-sectional analysis of ED visits used the Pediatric Health Information System database. Children aged ≤ 18 years who were evaluated in an ED between July 2009 and June 2011 and had a discharge diagnosis of asthma, gastroenteritis, or simple febrile seizure were included. Two quality of care metrics were evaluated for each target condition, and Spearman correlation was applied to evaluate the relationship between ED costs (reflecting overall resource utilization) and admission and revisit rates among institutions. RESULTS: More than 250,000 ED visits at 21 member hospitals were analyzed. Among children with asthma, the median rate of chest radiography utilization was 35.1% (IQR, 31.3%-41.7%), and that of corticosteroid administration was 82.6% (IQR, 78.5%-86.5%). For children with gastroenteritis, the median rate of ondansetron administration was 52% (IQR, 43.2%-57.0%), and that of intravenous fluid administration was 18.1% (IQR, 15.3%-21.3%). Among children with febrile seizures, the median rate of computed tomography utilization was 3.1% (IQR, 2.7%-4.3%), and that of lumbar puncture was 4.0% (IQR, 2.3%-5.6%). Increased costs were not associated with lower admission rate or 3-day ED revisit rate for the 3 conditions. CONCLUSION: We observed variation in quality measures for patients presenting to pediatric EDs with common conditions. Higher costs were not associated with lower hospitalization or ED revisit rates.

Urgency classification methods for emergency department visits: do they measure up?

Across the United States, emergency departments (EDs) are plagued by overcrowding and its deleterious effects. Consequently, investigators have attempted to identify a subset of nonurgent patients who could potentially be managed in alternative settings to help alleviate the burden of overcrowding. Previous authors have used several methods to define ED visit urgency; however, the lack of a single valid method has resulted in widely variable estimates of nonurgent ED use. Accurate identification of nonurgent ED visits is necessary to compare nonurgent populations across health care settings and design safe, effective interventions aimed at reducing ED overcrowding. In this paper, we review the currently used methods for the classification of ED visit urgency, discuss the implications of measurement of ED urgency for health care stakeholders, and suggest future directions for the feasible, practical measurement of ED urgency.

Association between parental and childhood emergency department utilization.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between parental emergency department (ED) utilization and child ED utilization for overall numbers of ED visits, as well as numbers of nonurgent ED visits. METHODS: This was a secondary data analysis of the 2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a nationally representative survey of health care utilization. The numbers of overall self-reported ED visits were collected for parents and a single child randomly selected from each family. Negative binomial linear regression, with clustering within families, was used to determine the association between parental ED and child ED use, controlling for potential confounders. The analysis was repeated for nonurgent ED visits, classified with standard and modified versions of previously published criteria. RESULTS: The mean age of the 3182 children analyzed was 9.4 years; 51% were male, 18.1% were publicly insured, and 8.2% were uninsured. The mean number of overall ED visits in 2000 was 0.17 visits per year for the children (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.15-0.19 visits per year), 0.18 visits per year for the mothers (95% CI; 0.15-0.21 visits per year), and 0.11 visits per year for the fathers (95% CI: 0.09-0.13 visits per year). Each maternal ED visit was associated with 1.30 additional child ED visits (95% CI: 1.07-1.59 visits); each paternal ED visit was associated with an additional 1.33 child ED visits (95% CI: 1.07-1.65 visits). The relationship between parental and child nonurgent ED visits was even more pronounced. CONCLUSIONS: Increased parental ED utilization is significantly associated with increased childhood ED utilization. Parental patterns of ED use may have implications for childhood ED use. Future interventions aimed at decreasing ED utilization should focus on parental or family utilization.

Children referred to an emergency department by an after-hours call center: complaint-specific analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Approximately 20% of phone calls to after-hours call centers result in referrals to the emergency department (ED), but data regarding ED management and disposition are lacking. We sought to determine the acuity of illness of referred children as reflected by triage classifications and need for therapeutic interventions, diagnostic testing, and hospitalization, and to stratify the analysis of ED management and dispositions by chief complaints. DESIGN AND METHODS: Patients referred to the ED by the after-hours call centers, without physician consultation, were identified. The 4 most common groups of chief complaints resulting in ED referral were determined, and the records of these children were analyzed. RESULTS: The 525 patients with chief complaints related to the following organ systems were studied: lower respiratory tract, 263 (50%); gastrointestinal, 104 (20%); head, ears, eyes, nose, and throat, 84 (16%); and upper respiratory tract, 74 (14%). The proportion of children referred for lower respiratory tract complaints who received the after-hours call centers call dispositions (99%) or ED triage classifications (38%) of highest priorities, or who required therapeutic interventions (73%), diagnostic testing (40%), or hospitalization (22%) was significantly higher than for all other categories. Thirteen percent with gastrointestinal complaints, referred primarily for dehydration, required intravenous fluids, and 2% of head, ears, eyes, nose, and throat patients required hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: Children referred to the ED for illnesses related to the lower respiratory tract, principally wheezing, had illnesses of high acuity. On the other hand, current criteria for ED referral for children in the gastrointestinal, head, ears, eyes, nose, and throat, and upper respiratory tract categories result in the referral of many children with nonurgent problems. These data support a reassessment of current referral practices for children with these complaints.