Qualitative Study of Food Insecurity in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: Food insecurity (FI) is defined as limited or uncertain access to sufficient food for a healthy and active lifestyle. Our objective was to explore how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected the FI status of pediatric patients and their families through interviewing caregivers who screen positive for FI. METHODS: Caregivers of all hospitalized patients at a tertiary children's hospital who screen positive for FI with a two-question screening tool were approached about enrolling in the study. Those who consented completed a presurvey and participated in a semistructured individual interview. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed according to the guidelines of thematic analysis using NVivo 12. RESULTS: Interviews were conducted with 15 caregivers between July 2021 and January 2022. Caregivers were 100% female and 80% Black, 13% White, and 7% Hispanic/Latinx, with a mean age of 33 years. Seventy-three percent did not experience FI until the COVID-19 pandemic. Themes include lost wages, mothers forced out of the workforce due to childcare limitations, inflation and shortages of goods, increased stress/anxiety for caregivers and children, the centrality of extended family support, and the necessity/inadequacy of federal food programs. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted unemployment and poverty and consequently exacerbated FI. Our findings point to the need to focus on proximal societal solutions, such as federal policies aimed at food assistance and childcare. Understanding the challenges related to FI that caregivers and patients experience can improve screening, support, and treatment of patients presenting for care and inform the design of necessary interventions for individuals and communities beyond COVID-19.

Trends in Anthropometric Measurements of Internationally Adopted Children.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe anthropometric measures from internationally adopted children. Internationally adopted children are at risk for poor growth and development and there is no standardized growth chart evaluation for internationally adopted children due to variations in growth, genetics, and environmental exposures. METHODS: This is a retrospective chart review of 882 patients seen in an international adoption clinic between 2010 and 2017. Anthropometric measurements were converted to Z scores for weight, height, head circumference, and body mass index. RESULTS: A total of 41 countries and 16 subregions were represented. Central America, northern Africa, southern Africa, and southern Europe were the only subregions that had positive mean Z scores for weight, and southeast Asia had the lowest mean Z score for weight (n = 40, -1.76). No subregion had a positive mean Z score for height, and western Asia had the lowest overall mean Z score for height (n = 2, -2.44). Mean Z score for body mass index was positive in several subregions. CONCLUSIONS: Growth is an important predictor of health and development, and this study adds to the literature on growth patterns of internationally adopted children.

Food Insecurity Screening of Hospitalized Patients: A Descriptive Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to describe an advocacy effort to implement a food insecurity (FI) screening during hospital admission and describe characteristics of hospitalized patients with household FI. METHODS: This is a descriptive study after the implementation of FI screening at a quaternary-care children's hospital in the Southeastern United States between August 2020 and April 2021. The Hunger Vital Sign, a 2-question screening tool for FI, was added to the intake questionnaire performed on inpatient admissions. A positive screen triggered a social work consult to connect patients with resources. Chart review and statistical analyses were performed on patients with household FI. RESULTS: There were 7751 hospital admissions during the study period, of which 4777 (61.6%) had an FI screen completed. Among those with a completed screen, 233 patients (4.9%) were positive for household FI. Patients with household FI were more likely to be Black (P <.001) and have Medicaid (P <.001). Social work documented care specific to FI in 125 of the 233 (56%) FI patients, of which 39 (31%) were not enrolled in the Women, Infants, and Children Program/Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. CONCLUSIONS: This initiative highlights hospitalization as an opportunity to screen for FI using a multidisciplinary approach. Our findings underscore the importance of identifying FI with the goal of reducing FI and mitigating the adverse effects of FI on child health outcomes.

Early supported hospital discharge for foot disease: a co-design study.

BACKGROUND: There are more than 10,000 admissions each year in Australia for foot disease, with an average length of hospital stay of 26 days. Early supported discharge (ESD) has been shown to improve patient satisfaction and reduce length of stay without increasing the risk of 30-day readmissions. This research aims to gain consensus on an optimal model of early supported discharge for foot disease. METHODS: Three focus groups were held where preliminary components for an early discharge model, as well as inclusion and exclusion criteria, were identified with a purposefully sampled group of medical, nursing, allied health staff and consumers. Two researchers independently systematically coded focus group transcripts to identify components of an ESD model using an iterative constant comparative method. These components then formed the basis of a three phase Delphi study, with all individuals from the focus groups were invited to act as panellists. Panellists rated components for their importance with consensus established as a rating of either essential or very important by ≥80% of the panel. RESULTS: Twenty-nine experts (including 5 consumers) participated across the two study phases. Twenty-three (3 consumers) participated in the focus groups in phase one. Twenty-eight of the twenty-nine experts participated in the phase 2 Delphi. 21/28 completed round 1 of the Delphi (75% response rate), 22/28 completed round 2 (79% response rate), and 16/22 completed round 3 (72% response rate). Consensus was achieved for 17 (29%) of 58 components. These included changes to the way patients are managed on wards (both location and timeliness of care by the multidisciplinary team) and the addition of new workforce roles to improve co-ordination and management of the patients once they are at home. CONCLUSIONS: A model of early supported discharge that would allow individuals to return home earlier in a way that is safe, acceptable, and feasible may result in improving patient satisfaction while reducing health system burden. Future trial and implementation of the ESD model identified in this study has the potential to make a significant contribution to the experience of care for patients and to the sustainability of the health system.

Viral gastroenteritis in Charleston, West Virginia, in 2007: from birth to 99 years of age.

OBJECTIVE: To describe factors associated with a rectal swab or stool sample positive for norovirus, rotavirus, or adenovirus. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Charleston Area Medical Center, a regional academic medical center in Charleston, West Virginia. METHODS: Rectal swab or stool samples were obtained from patients suspected of having viral gastroenteritis. These samples were sent to the Charleston Area Medical Center virology laboratory for testing in 2007. Viral antigen in rectal swab and stool samples is detected by use of commercially available immunoassay kits for each virus. Data were extracted from the virology laboratory database for the following 1-year time period: January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007. When necessary, additional information was obtained from electronic administrative data on patients. RESULTS: There were 2,867 rectal swab and stool samples available for viral testing. Of these samples, 1,261 (44%) were positive for a virus. Of these positive samples, 972 (77%) were positive for norovirus, 182 (14%) were positive for rotavirus, and 110 (9%) were positive for adenovirus. The patients in the youngest age group had the highest number of test results positive for all 3 viruses. When the test results for the youngest age group (0-9 years) were compared with those for all the other age groups combined (10-99 years), the proportion of positive cases was highest for the youngest age group (P<.001). There were significant seasonal trends for all 3 viruses. Multivariate analysis of norovirus showed that season, source, sex, and age were significant predictors of a positive test result. Multivariate analysis of rotavirus showed that season and source were significant predictors of a positive test result. Multivariate analysis of adenovirus showed that season and age were significant predictors of a positive test result. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude (1) that these 3 viruses are common causes of gastroenteritis in Charleston, West Virginia; (2) that infants and young children are more likely to test positive for these viruses than are older individuals; (3) that norovirus was the most common cause of gastroenteritis; and (4) that there are seasonal trends for all 3 viruses.

High-frequency alloreactive T cells augment effector function of low-frequency CD8+ T-cell responses under CD28/CD154 blockade.

BACKGROUND: Blockade of costimulatory molecules is a potent method of inducing long-term graft survival. We have previously addressed the issue of donor-reactive T-cell precursor frequency on relative costimulation dependence and found that the presence of a high precursor frequency of donor-reactive CD8 T cells resulted in costimulation blockade-resistant graft rejection, whereas the presence of a low-frequency donor-reactive population did not. To address the mechanisms by which high-frequency T cells obviated the requirement for costimulation, we asked whether a low-frequency population responding concomitantly with a high-frequency response also demonstrated costimulation independence. METHODS: A model system was established in which B6 mice containing a low frequency of anti-membrane bound chicken ovalbumin (mOVA) responders and a high frequency of anti-BALB/c responders received a skin graft from B6.mOVAxBALB/c F1 donors in the presence or absence of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 Ig/anti-CD154 costimulatory blockade. RESULTS: The results revealed that in the presence of costimulation blockade, high-frequency anti-BALB/c T cells augmented the effector activity of low-frequency anti-mOVA T cells, but it did not enhance the accumulation of anti-mOVA T cells capable of mediating graft rejection. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that both antigen-specific and antigen-independent factors contribute to the relative costimulation independence of high-frequency T-cell responses.

IFN-gamma dictates allograft fate via opposing effects on the graft and on recipient CD8 T cell responses.

CD8 T cells are necessary for costimulation blockade-resistant rejection. However, the mechanism by which CD8 T cells mediate rejection in the absence of major costimulatory signals is poorly understood. IFN-gamma promotes CD8 T cell-mediated immune responses, but IFN-gamma-deficient mice show early graft loss despite costimulation blockade. In contrast, we found that IFN-gamma receptor knockout mice show dramatically prolonged graft survival under costimulation blockade. To investigate this paradox, we addressed the effects of IFN-gamma on T cell alloresponses in vivo independent of the effects of IFN-gamma on graft survival. We identified a donor-specific CD8 T cell breakthrough response temporally correlated with costimulation blockade-resistant rejection. Neither IFN-gamma receptor knockout recipients nor IFN-gamma-deficient recipients showed a CD8 breakthrough response. Graft death on IFN-gamma-deficient recipients despite costimulation blockade could be explained by the lack of IFN-gamma available to act on the graft. Indeed, the presence of IFN-gamma was necessary for graft survival on IFN-gamma receptor knockout recipients, as either IFN-gamma neutralization or the lack of the IFN-gamma receptor on the graft precipitated early graft loss. Thus, IFN-gamma is required both for the recipient to mount a donor-specific CD8 T cell response under costimulation blockade as well as for the graft to survive after allotransplantation.

A critical precursor frequency of donor-reactive CD4+ T cell help is required for CD8+ T cell-mediated CD28/CD154-independent rejection.

Ag-specific precursor frequency is increasingly being appreciated as an important factor in determining the kinetics, magnitude, and degree of differentiation of T cell responses, and recently was found to play a critical role in determining the relative requirement of CD8(+) T cells for CD28- and CD154-mediated costimulatory signals during transplantation. We addressed the possibility that variations in CD4(+) T cell precursor frequency following transplantation might affect CD4(+) T cell proliferation, effector function, and provision of help for donor-reactive B cell and CD8(+) T cell responses. Using a transgenic model system wherein increasing frequencies of donor-reactive CD4(+) T cells were transferred into skin graft recipients, we observed that a critical CD4(+) T cell threshold precursor frequency was necessary to provide help following blockade of the CD28 and CD154 costimulatory pathways, as measured by increased B cell and CD8(+) T cell responses and precipitation of graft rejection. In contrast to high-frequency CD8(+) T cell responses, this effect was observed even though the proliferative and cytokine responses of Ag-specific CD4(+) T cells were inhibited. Thus, we conclude that an initial high frequency of donor-reactive CD4(+) T cells uncouples T cell proliferative and effector cytokine production from the provision of T cell help.