"I Want Them to Still Trust Me with Their Child's Care": A Longitudinal Study of Pediatric Residents' Reactions to and Communication with Parents about Medical Uncertainty across Residency.

Physicians in residency training experience high levels of medical uncertainty, yet they are often hesitant to discuss uncertainty with parents. Guided by the theory of motivated information management and a multiple goals perspective, this mixed-methods longitudinal study examines associations among residents' tolerance of and reactions to uncertainty, efficacy communicating about uncertainty, and perceptions of parents' trust in them as physicians. To contextualize these associations, we also examined residents' task, identity, and relational goals when communicating about uncertainty with parents. We surveyed 47 pediatric residents at the beginning of each year of their residency program. As they progressed through their training, residents' uncertainty-related anxiety and reluctance to communicate uncertainty to parents decreased, and their efficacy communicating uncertainty with parents increased. Residents' concerns about bad outcomes remained unchanged. Residents pursued multiple, often conflicting, conversational goals when communicating uncertainty with parents. Results reveal important considerations for addressing how residents can manage their uncertainty in productive ways.

Residents' Communication With Attendings About Uncertainty: A Single-Site Longitudinal Survey.

OBJECTIVE: Managing uncertainty is a core competency of pediatric residents. However, discussing uncertainty with attending physicians can be challenging. Research is needed to understand residents' goals when communicating about uncertainty with attending physicians and how residents' perceptions of communication change during residency. Therefore, we assessed changes in residents' perceptions of their own ability to communicate uncertainty and their perceptions of attending physicians' willingness to discuss uncertainty effectively. We also identify residents' goals and challenges communicating uncertainty. METHODS: We conducted a 3-year (2018-2021) survey with 2 cohorts of residents at a US children's hospital. Of the 106 eligible residents, 100 enrolled and completed Phase I (94% response rate), 61 of the enrolled residents completed Phase II (61% response rate), and 53 completed Phase III (53% response rate). We employed hierarchical linear modeling to account for clustering of the data (Phases within residents) and to assess changes in communication efficacy and target efficacy over time. We coded open-ended responses to identify residents' communication goals and challenges. RESULTS: Communication efficacy and target efficacy significantly increased over time. Open-ended responses indicated that residents managed multiple task, identity, and relational goals. Residents described persistent challenges related to wanting to appear competent and working with attending physicians who were unwilling to discuss uncertainty. CONCLUSIONS: Although residents may grow more confident communicating uncertainty, such conversations are complex and can present challenges throughout residency. Our results support the value of training on communication about uncertainty, not only for residents, but also attending physicians.

Dexmedetomidine-Associated Fever in a Critically Ill Obese Child.

Dexmedetomidine use in the pediatric intensive care unit has increased in recent years. Reports of dexmedetomidine-associated drug fever have been described in adult patients; however, this has not been reported in the pediatric population. We report a case of persistent fever that resolved with the discontinuation of dexmedetomidine and successful transition to clonidine. This is the first report of dexmedetomidine drug fever in a pediatric patient.

High frequency oscillatory ventilation in a cohort of children with respiratory failure.

OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to determine survival and variables associated with poor outcomes for patients requiring high frequency oscillatory ventilator (HFOV) support. We tested the ability of markers of oxygenation to predict outcome, specifically, the oxygenation index (OI), both prior to and after initiation of HFOV. We also aimed to examine the effect of immunocompromised condition (IC), and specifically stem cell transplant (SCT), on outcome. DESIGN: A retrospective, observational study was performed at two pediatric intensive care units (ICU) and included patients treated with HFOV over a 5 year time period. Oxygenation index and PF ratios were calculated for all patients prior to and at 24 h of HFOV support. RESULTS: Of the 134 patients meeting inclusion criteria, mortality was 42% with a higher rate of mortality (P < 0.001) for both immunocompromised (66%) and SCT patients (83%). Survivors had improved markers of oxygenation at 24 h as compared to non-survivors (P < 0.001). IC and SCT were the variables most closely associated with mortality. Survivors were placed on HFOV earlier than non-survivors. The OI at 24 h of HFOV support was the best predictor of mortality among markers of oxygenation. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of patients, use of HFOV for pediatric respiratory failure demonstrated a mortality rate in keeping with published data. The presence of an immunocompromised condition was a risk factor for mortality in severe respiratory failure with SCT recipients having the lowest survival rate. The OI at 24 h was the best predictor of mortality, especially in immunocompromised and SCT patients.