Adolescent and caregiver attitudes towards telemedicine use in pediatric nephrology.

BACKGROUND: Telemedicine is increasingly utilized as an alternative to in person consultation. Current pandemic conditions are providing additional impetus to virtual care delivery. We compared both adolescent and caregiver (parent or guardian) attitudes towards telemedicine (here as tertiary center to remote health care location) as a crucial determinant of longer-term effectiveness. METHODS: This qualitative research study analyzed transcribed structured telephone interviews with both 11-18 year-old pediatric nephrology patients and their caregivers and performed a quantitative analysis of patient demographics, disease factors and distance to tertiary center vs. telemedicine center. RESULTS: The study was conducted in a medium-sized tertiary pediatric nephrology centre with a large catchment area of over 0.5 million square kilometers and 629,000 children and adolescents under 18 years of age. Eleven dyads of adolescents and caregivers were enrolled. Five adolescents were male. The mean age of the adolescents was 14.4 ± 2.5 years (range 11.2-18.0). The median distance to our tertiary center was 191 km (range 110-1378 km). Four adolescents lived more than 500 km from our tertiary center. The 11 adolescents had a total of 334 in person visits (mean 30 ± 25) and 86 telemedicine visits (mean 8 ± 7). A ratio of 2:1 telemedicine to in-person visits was favored; with caregivers more in favor of remote care than adolescents. Qualitative analysis found that experiences with telemedicine were distinguished by consultation-specific factors and contextual factors. Contextual factors (travel/cost savings) were valued for telemedicine by adolescents and caregivers. Consultation-specific factors, such as the ability to show the doctor physical symptoms, were more valued during in-person consultations, especially by adolescents. The overall visit type preference was related to the nature of the consultation. For regular check-ups, and for adolescents with less complex needs, participants felt that telemedicine offered a comparable experience to in-person visits. Adolescents with more complex conditions preferred in-person visits. CONCLUSIONS: Indiscriminate transfer to chronic care predicated on mainly telemedicine approach is not compatible with user expressed attitudes (especially among adolescents). Accurately mapping models of care to these attitudes is an essential determinant of effective management and longer-term engagement with potentially life-long health challenges.

Deviations from the expected relationship between serum FGF23 and other markers in children with CKD: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: High levels of fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) are associated with mortality. In chronic kidney disease (CKD), FGF23 levels rise as renal function declines. We analyzed the contribution of laboratory values to the variance of FGF23 levels in relationship to a curve of expected FGF23 levels for a given GFR. METHODS: Following approval by the research ethics boards, we measured FGF23, CysC eGFR, creatinine, urea, albumin, calcium, phosphate, vitamin D metabolites, PTH, alkaline phosphatase, CRP, and venous gases in 141 pediatric CKD patients (45, 37, 32, 13 and 14 CKD stages I, II, III, IV, and V, respectively). Data were expressed as median (25th, 75th percentile). RESULTS: FGF23 correlated significantly with CysC, CysC eGFR, PTH, 1.25 (OH)2 vitamin D, phosphate, and pH. The correlation of the latter three remained significant in the multivariate analysis. We calculated a formula for the expected FGF23 value for a given level of eGFR which reads Y = 1295 * e-0.07247*X + 38.35. Deviation by more than 20% from the curve also depended on phosphate, 1.25 (OH)2 vitamin D and pH. CONCLUSIONS: Our data emphasize the importance of phosphate and 1.25 (OH)2 vitamin D levels. The impact of acidosis on FGF23 warrants further studies.

Promoting mental well-being among parents in the neonatal intensive care unit: a perspective on the role of Physician Associates.

Emotional disorders in parents of infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) carry the potential for serious ramifications in neonatal and childhood outcomes. Despite this, current NICU mental health supports are less than optimum; postpartum mental health screening is limited, often missed in parents of inpatient infants, and may not be applicable to all family structures. Current evidence demonstrates improved outcomes in neonates and family members with early identification and multidisciplinary approaches to managing mental health problems. Physician Associates/Assistants (PAs) are a skilled group of advanced practice providers who are often a point of first contact for parents in the NICU, helping maintain continuity of care. In this perspective, we underscore leveraging the skills of PAs to promote the emotional wellbeing of parents in the NICU by way of practice and policy involvement. We also included a generic set of recommendations to equip PAs in this role.

Does Vitamin D Affect Chronic Renal Allograft Function in Pediatric Transplant Patients?

BACKGROUND Correction of hypovitaminosis D is simple, but it is unclear whether it is associated with an accelerated decline of renal allograft function in pediatric renal transplantation patients. This retrospective single center cohort study aimed at analyzing the effect of vitamin D and covariates on the slope of 1/creatinine after the first year. MATERIAL AND METHODS After ethics committee approval, 37 (14 male) pediatric renal transplant recipients on mycophenolate mofetil, who were followed between 2006 and 2014, were included in this study. We analyzed the slope of 1/creatinine, length of follow-up, average vitamin D levels, calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase levels, intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels, and therapeutic drug monitoring parameters. RESULTS Median slope of 1/creatinine was -2.587e-006 L/µmol. We divided the 37 patients into two groups based on slope: 18 patients with a poorer slope and 19 patients with a good slope, with the median slope of 1/creatinine being significantly different between the two groups. Creatinine and cystatin C at one-year post-transplantation did not differ between the two groups. Average vitamin D levels were 71.4±31.01 pmol/L and identical in each group (averages 71.67 and 69.23 pmol/L, respectively). Only the mycophenolic acid coefficient of variation (MPA CV), which may promote formation of donor-specific antibodies, and PTH levels were significantly associated with 1/creatinine slope. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that the impact of mild and moderate decreased levels of vitamin D can have a mild impact on the progression of allograft dysfunction in transplant recipients. However, given the medication burden and adherence challenges in adolescents, correction of mildly decreased vitamin D levels may not be necessary.