Change in Pediatric Adenotonsillectomy Postoperative Visit Patterns After Opioid Food and Drug Administration Warning.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the association between opioid prescriptions given after tonsillectomy with adenoidectomy (T + A) and pain-related return visit rates in pediatric patients. Determine association between Food and Drug Administration (FDA) black box warning against opioid use in this population and pain-related return visit rates. METHODS: This was a single-institution retrospective cohort study of pediatric patients who underwent T + A between April 2012 and December 2015 and had return visits to the emergency department or urgent care center. Data were obtained from the hospital electronic warehouse using International Classification of Diseases-9/10 procedure codes. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for return visits were calculated. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to measure association between opioid prescriptions and return visit rates as well as FDA warning and return visit rates adjusting for confounders. RESULTS: There were 4778 patients who underwent T + A, median age, 5 years. Of these, 752 (15.7%) had return visits. Pain-related return visits were higher in patients who received opioid prescriptions (adjusted OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.09-1.57). After FDA warning, opioids were prescribed at a lower rate (47.9%) compared with previous (98.6%) (OR, 0.01; 95% CI, 0.008-0.02). Pain-related return visits were lower after FDA warning (OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.61-0.87). Steroid prescription rate increased after FDA warning (OR, 415; 95% CI, 197-874). CONCLUSIONS: Opioid prescriptions were associated with higher pain-related return visits after T + A, whereas issuance of FDA black box warning against codeine use was associated with lower pain-related return visits. Our data suggest that the black box warning potentially had unintended benefits in pain management and health care usage.

Poor Perception and Knowledge of Electronic Cigarettes Among Adolescents and Their Parents.

OBJECTIVES: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) and vaping are a popular form of substance abuse among adolescents. Studies have shown that adolescents have a poor understanding of e-cigs but little is known about parental understanding. The primary objective was to assess if a discrepancy in perception and knowledge regarding the content and safety profile of e-cigs between adolescents and their parents exists. METHODS: Single-site prospective questionnaire analysis of adolescents (12-21 years) and their parents between November 2018 and March 2019 was performed. Each participant pair received an anonymous, confidential, electronic questionnaire. Data were collected via Research Electronic Data Capture. χ2 and independent t tests were used for comparative analysis. RESULTS: A total of 300 adolescent/parent pairs were included for analysis. The mean age of adolescents was 15.1 years (SD, 2.1), and that of parents was 43.9 years (SD, 8.7). Overall knowledge of e-cigs was inadequate in both adolescents and parents: 93.7% and 88.3%, respectively (P < 0.0001). Less adolescents (49.0%) compared with parents (71.0%) perceived any health risks to smoking e-cigs (P < 0.0001). Among adolescents, 17% admitted to smoking e-cigs compared with 5.4% smoking conventional tobacco cigarettes (P < 0.0001), and they reported using e-cigs (17.0%) more often than any other substance except alcohol (27.3%). Only 49.7% of adolescents reported receiving formal education at school regarding e-cigs. Parents reported discussing e-cigs risks/benefits with adolescents less often than other topics (71.3% vs 79.0% to 84.3%; P < 0.0007). CONCLUSIONS: This analysis suggests that perception and knowledge regarding the content and safety profile of e-cigs are poor among both adolescents and parents. These findings support the need for tighter federal regulation and an increase in public health awareness programs.

Approach to the diagnosis and treatment of acute subarachnoid hemorrhage in a patient with sickle cell disease.

We report a case of subarachnoid hemorrhage in a 38-year-old patient with sickle cell anemia. This case highlights the limitations of non contrast computed tomography in the diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage in patients with sickle cell disease as well as the special needs of this patient population in addressing the treatment of stroke.