Corticosteroids in the Treatment of Pediatric Retropharyngeal and Parapharyngeal Abscesses.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Treatment of retropharyngeal abscesses (RPAs) and parapharyngeal abscesses (PPAs) includes antibiotics, with possible surgical drainage. Although corticosteroids may decrease inflammation, their role in the management of RPAs and PPAs is unclear. We evaluated the association of corticosteroid administration as part of initial medical management on drainage rates and length of stay for children admitted with RPAs and PPAs. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study using administrative data of children aged 2 months to 8 years discharged with RPAs and PPAs from 2016 to 2019. Exposure was defined as systemic corticosteroids administered as part of initial management. Primary outcome was surgical drainage. Bivariate comparisons were made between patients in the corticosteroid and noncorticosteroid groups by using Wilcoxon rank or χ2 tests. Outcomes were modeled by using generalized linear mixed-effects models. RESULTS: Of the 2259 patients with RPAs and PPAs, 1677 (74.2%) were in the noncorticosteroid group and 582 (25.8%) were in the corticosteroid group. There were no significant differences in age, sex, or insurance status. There was a lower rate of drainage in the corticosteroid cohort (odds ratio: 0.28; confidence interval: 0.22-0.36). Patients in this group were more likely to have repeat computed tomography imaging performed, had lower hospital costs, and were less likely to have opioid medications administered. The corticosteroid cohort had a higher 7-day emergency department revisit rate, but there was no difference in length of stay (rate ratio 0.97; confidence interval: 0.92-1.02). CONCLUSIONS: Corticosteroids were associated with lower odds of surgical drainage among children with RPAs and PPAs.

Who Speaks First? Promoting Senior Resident Autonomy on Family-Centered Rounds: A QI Initiative.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Graduated autonomy is fundamental as trainees transition to independent practice. Family-centered rounds (FCR), the leading model of inpatient rounding in pediatrics, is an opportunity for trainees to demonstrate their competence in leading a health care team, which is an entrustable professional activity for all pediatric residents. At our institution, senior residents (SRs) at baseline performed at a novice level on the basis of the Senior Resident Empowerment Actions 21 (SREA-21), a validated tool that is used to assess SR autonomy during FCR. Our objective for this study was to increase the median percentage of SREA-21 domains in which SRs perform at a competent level from 38% to 75% within 6 months. METHODS: Researchers observed 4 FCR encounters weekly and calculated SREA-21 scores after 2 weeks on the basis of actions promoting SR autonomy performed by the SR-hospitalist dyad. The primary outcome measure was the percentage of SREA-21 domains in which the SR achieved a competent score on the SREA-21. We used the model for improvement to identify key drivers and test proposed interventions using serial plan-do-study-act cycles. Interventions included creation of unified inpatient SR expectations, introduction of a SR-hospitalist pre-FCR huddle, auditing of FCR interruptions, and direct feedback to the SR-hospitalist dyad after FCR. Run charts were used to track SR and hospitalist scores on the SREA-21. RESULTS: After multiple plan-do-study-act cycles, there was special cause improvement with a desirable shift upward in the centerline to 100%, which correlated with the project's interventions and surpassed our goal. CONCLUSIONS: Using quality improvement methodology, we improved SR autonomy during FCR, as measured by the SREA-21.

Clinical Factors Associated With Chest Imaging Findings in Hospitalized Infants With Bronchiolitis.

Despite recommendations against routine imaging, chest radiography (CXR) is frequently performed on infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis. We conducted a review of 811 infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis to identify clinical factors associated with imaging findings. CXR was performed on 553 (68%) infants either on presentation or during hospitalization; 466 readings (84%) were normal or consistent with viral illness. Clinical factors significantly associated with normal/viral imaging were normal temperature (odds ratio = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.03-2.67) and normal oxygen saturation (odds ratio = 1.77; 95% CI = 1.1-2.83) on presentation. Afebrile patients with normal oxygen saturations were nearly 3 times as likely to have a normal/viral CXR as patients with both fever and hypoxia. Our findings support the limited role of radiography in the evaluation of hospitalized infants with bronchiolitis, especially patients without fever or hypoxia.

3% Hypertonic Saline Versus Normal Saline in Inpatient Bronchiolitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Bronchiolitis, the most common reason for hospitalization in children younger than 1 year in the United States, has no proven therapies effective beyond supportive care. We aimed to investigate the effect of nebulized 3% hypertonic saline (HS) compared with nebulized normal saline (NS) on length of stay (LOS) in infants hospitalized with bronchiolitis. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial in an urban tertiary care children's hospital in 227 infants younger than 12 months old admitted with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis (190 completed the study); 113 infants were randomized to HS (93 completed the study), and 114 to NS (97 completed the study). Subjects received 4 mL nebulized 3% HS or 4 mL 0.9% NS every 4 hours from enrollment until hospital discharge. The primary outcome was median LOS. Secondary outcomes were total adverse events, subdivided as clinical worsening and readmissions. RESULTS: Patient characteristics were similar in groups. In intention-to-treat analysis, median LOS (interquartile range) of HS and NS groups was 2.1 (1.2-4.6) vs 2.1 days (1.2-3.8), respectively, P = .73. We confirmed findings with per-protocol analysis, HS and NS groups with 2.0 (1.3-3.3) and 2.0 days (1.2-3.0), respectively, P = .96. Seven-day readmission rate for HS and NS groups were 4.3% and 3.1%, respectively, P = .77. Clinical worsening events were similar between groups (9% vs 8%, P = .97). CONCLUSIONS: Among infants admitted to the hospital with bronchiolitis, treatment with nebulized 3% HS compared with NS had no difference in LOS or 7-day readmission rates.

Decreasing unnecessary utilization in acute bronchiolitis care: results from the value in inpatient pediatrics network.

BACKGROUND: Acute viral bronchiolitis is the most common diagnosis resulting in hospital admission in pediatrics. Utilization of non-evidence-based therapies and testing remains common despite a large volume of evidence to guide quality improvement efforts. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to reduce utilization of unnecessary therapies in the inpatient care of bronchiolitis across a diverse network of clinical sites. METHODS: We formed a voluntary quality improvement collaborative of pediatric hospitalists for the purpose of benchmarking the use of bronchodilators, steroids, chest radiography, chest physiotherapy, and viral testing in bronchiolitis using hospital administrative data. We shared resources within the network, including protocols, scores, order sets, and key bibliographies, and established group norms for decreasing utilization. RESULTS: Aggregate data on 11,568 hospitalizations for bronchiolitis from 17 centers was analyzed for this report. The network was organized in 2008. By 2010, we saw a 46% reduction in overall volume of bronchodilators used, a 3.4 dose per patient absolute decrease in utilization (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4-5.8). Overall exposure to any dose of bronchodilator decreased by 12 percentage points as well (95% CI 5%-25%). There was also a statistically significant decline in chest physiotherapy usage, but not for steroids, chest radiography, or viral testing. CONCLUSIONS: Benchmarking within a voluntary pediatric hospitalist collaborative facilitated decreased utilization of bronchodilators and chest physiotherapy in bronchiolitis.