School Absenteeism as a Marker for Community COVID-19 Rates.

BACKGROUND: Reported community transmission rates of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may not be accurate, particularly since at-home testing has become widely available. School absenteeism may serve as a marker of broader community COVID-19 transmission. METHODS: We performed an observational study of North Carolina kindergarten through 12th grade schools participating in the ABC Science Collaborative that offered in-school instruction, and contributed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 data for at least 2 of 4 weeks monthly for the 2021-2022 academic year. Additionally, we analyzed publicly available databases including the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 Data Repository, and National Center for Education Statistics. We described community and school COVID-19 infection rates compared with student monthly absenteeism rates to determine if the relationship between community COVID-19 infection rates and student absenteeism varied over time. RESULTS: We included 500 192 students from 27 school districts. For the 2021-2022 academic year, the student and community COVID-19 infection rates did not show a significant difference (P > .05) across each month of comparison. Student absenteeism rates and community COVID-19 infection rates by month showed a similar trend across the academic year. For every 1% increase in community infection percentage, we found a 1.68% (1.12-2.25%) increase in absenteeism (P < .001); for every 1 month change in time, we found a 0.12% (0.01-0.24%) increase in absenteeism (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Student absenteeism and infection rates may be a useful marker of COVID-19 community infection rates when testing frequency and results reporting are inconsistent.

Late-Onset Sepsis Evaluation and Empiric Therapy in Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborns.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about late-onset sepsis (LOS) evaluations in extremely low gestational age newborns (ELGANs). We describe frequencies of LOS evaluation in ELGANs, infant characteristics, and empiric therapy choices during evaluations. METHODS: Cohort study of infants 22-28 weeks gestational age (GA) discharged from 243 centers from 2009 to 2018, excluding infants with congenital anomalies, discharged or deceased prior to postnatal day (PND) 2, or admitted after PND 2. A new LOS evaluation was defined as the first blood culture obtained between PND 3 and 90, or one obtained ≥1 day following a negative culture and ≥10 days from prior positive cultures. We determined numbers of evaluations and percentage positive by GA, center, and over time. We described characteristics associated with positive evaluations, infants with LOS, and empiric antimicrobials. We calculated descriptive and comparative statistics using Wilcoxon rank sum, Fisher's exact, or Pearson chi-square tests, as appropriate. RESULTS: Of 47,187 included infants, 67% had ≥1 LOS evaluation and 21% of evaluated infants had ≥1 LOS (culture positive) episode; 1.6 evaluations occurred per infant and 10% were positive. The percentage of infants evaluated and positive for LOS was higher at earlier GA. LOS was associated with inotrope support (15% vs. 9%; p < .001) and invasive mechanical ventilation (66% vs. 51%; p < .001). Infants with positive cultures were more likely than infants with negative cultures to receive empiric antimicrobials during the LOS evaluation (95% vs. 73%; p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Among ELGANs, earlier GA and postnatal age were associated with LOS evaluation and positive cultures. Most infants undergoing evaluation were started on empiric antimicrobials.

Caregiver Inclusivity and Empowerment During Family-Centered Rounds.

OBJECTIVE: Despite widespread adoption of family-centered rounds, few have investigated differences in the experience of family-centered rounds by family race and ethnicity. The purpose of this study was to explore racial and ethnic differences in caregiver perception of inclusion and empowerment during family-centered rounds. METHODS: We identified eligible caregivers of children admitted to the general pediatrics team through the electronic health record. Surveys were completed by 99 caregivers (47 non-Latinx White and 52 Black, Latinx, or other caregivers of color). To compare agreement with statements of inclusivity and empowerment, we used the Wilcoxon rank sum test in unadjusted analyses and linear regression for the adjusted analyses. RESULTS: Most (91%) caregivers were satisfied or extremely satisfied with family-centered rounds. We found no differences by race or ethnicity in statements of satisfaction or understanding family-centered rounds content. However, in both unadjusted and adjusted analyses, we found that White caregivers more strongly agreed with the statements "I felt comfortable participating in rounds," "I had adequate time to ask questions during rounds," and "I felt a valued member of the team during rounds" compared with Black, Latinx, and other caregivers of color. CONCLUSIONS: Congruent with studies of communication in other settings, caregivers of color may experience barriers to inclusion in family-centered rounds, such as medical team bias, less empathic communication, and shorter encounters. Future studies are needed to better understand family-centered rounds disparities and develop interventions that promote inclusive rounds.

Medication Use in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Changes from 2010 to 2018.

OBJECTIVE: To provide up-to-date medication prescribing patterns in US neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and to examine trends in prescribing patterns over time. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a cohort study of 799 016 infants treated in NICUs managed by the Pediatrix Medical Group from 2010 to 2018. We used 3 different methods to report counts of medication: exposure, courses, and days of use. We defined the change in frequency of medication administration by absolute change and relative change. We examined the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) package insert for each medication to determine whether a medication was labeled for use in infants and used PubMed to search for pharmacokinetics (PK) studies. RESULTS: The most frequently prescribed medications included ampicillin, gentamicin, caffeine citrate, poractant alfa, morphine, vancomycin, furosemide, fentanyl, midazolam, and acetaminophen. Of the top 50 medications used in infants with extremely low birth weight, only 20 (40%) are FDA-labeled for use in infants; of the 30 that are not labeled for use in infants, 13 (43%) had at least 2 published PK studies. The medications with the greatest relative increase in use from 2010 to 2018 included dexmedetomidine, clonidine, rocuronium, levetiracetam, atropine, and diazoxide. The medications with the greatest relative decrease in use included tromethamine acetate, pancuronium, chloral hydrate, imipenem + cilastatin, and amikacin. CONCLUSION: Trends of medication use in the NICU change substantially over time. It is imperative to identify changes in medication use in the NICU to better inform further prospective studies.

Long-term Outcomes after Postnatal Cytomegalovirus Infection in Low Birthweight Preterm Infants: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common viral infection seen in newborns. Although postnatally acquired CMV (pCMV) infection rarely results in serious manifestations in term infants, preterm infants can develop severe clinical illness. However, the long-term implications of pCMV infection of preterm infants are unknown. Few robust studies on long-term outcomes of pCMV infection have been performed, and those reported often present conflicting results. Our objective was to assess the long-term outcomes for low birthweight (LBW) preterm infants after pCMV infection. METHODS: A systematic review of English and non-English articles using MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, and Web of Science was conducted. Search strategies included a mix of keywords and database-specific subject headings for CMV and LBW infants. Editorials, comments, reviews and animal-only studies were excluded. Case reports, observational, experimental and randomized controlled trials that examined pCMV in preterm or VLBW infants and long-term (>1 month) impact of pCMV were included. RESULTS: pCMV infection in preterm infants is associated with increased risk for pulmonary and neurologic complications and increases length of stay. There is less evidence to suggest that pCMV is associated with necrotizing enterocolitis, ophthalmologic, audiologic and anthropomorphic complications in preterm infants. CONCLUSIONS: Preterm infants with pCMV, especially those with symptomatic infection, may have long-term pulmonary and neurodevelopmental morbidity compared with their pCMV negative counterparts. Our results highlight the importance of pCMV detection and prevention in preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Large prospective studies are needed to fully define outcomes and determine if treatment improves outcomes.

Dosing of Antimicrobials in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Does Clinical Practice Reflect Pharmacokinetics-based Recommendations?

BACKGROUND: We sought to compare meropenem and fluconazole dosing in the neonatal intensive care unit with recommendations based on published pharmacokinetic (PK) studies in infants. METHODS: We performed an observational cohort study of infants <90 days postnatal age who received a course of meropenem or fluconazole who were treated in neonatal intensive care units managed by the Pediatrix Medical Group (1997-2016). We defined any dose amount from 80% to 120% of the published recommendation to constitute an appropriate dose of either antimicrobial. We calculated the percentage of appropriately dosed courses overall and by discharge year. We then evaluated the change in appropriate dosing over time using a nonparametric test of trend to evaluate the proportion of appropriately dosed courses of each antimicrobial by discharge year. RESULTS: A total of 3608 infants were administered 2025 courses of meropenem and 1201 courses of fluconazole. Of all meropenem courses, 32% were dosed appropriately (increased significantly over time; P = 0.01), while 17% of fluconazole courses were dosed appropriately (increased significantly over time; P = 0.01). Median dosing for both meropenem and fluconazole was at or below recommendations; therefore, under-dosing was more common. CONCLUSIONS: There was marked discordance between actual fluconazole and meropenem dosing and dosing recommendation in PK publications, yet adherence to PK-based doses showed improvement over time.

A Pathogenic Relationship of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia and Retinopathy of Prematurity? A Review of Angiogenic Mediators in Both Diseases.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) are common and significant morbidities of prematurely born infants. These diseases have in common altered and pathologic vascular formation in the face of incomplete organ development. Therefore, it is reasonable to question whether factors affecting angiogenesis could have a joint pathogenic role for both diseases. Inhibition or induced expression of a single angiogenic factor is unlikely to be 100% causative or protective of either of BPD or ROP. It is more likely that interactions of multiple factors leading to disordered angiogenesis are present, increasing the likelihood of common pathways in both diseases. This review explores this possibility by assessing the evidence showing involvement of specific angiogenic factors in the vascular development and maldevelopment in each disease. Theoretical interactions of specific factors mutually contributing to BPD and ROP are proposed and, where possible, a timeline of the proposed relationships between BPD and ROP is developed. It is hoped that future research will be inspired by the theories put forth in this review to enhance the understanding of the pathogenesis in both diseases.

Twelve tips for teaching brief motivational interviewing to medical students.

BACKGROUND: Shifting from paternalistic to patient-centred doctor-patient relationships has seen a growing number of medical programs incorporate brief motivational interviewing training in their curriculum. Some medical educators, however, are unsure of precisely what, when, and how to incorporate such training. AIMS: This article provides educators with 12 tips for teaching brief motivational interviewing to medical students, premised on evidence-based pedagogy. METHODS: Tips were drawn from the literature and authors' own experiences. RESULTS: The 12 tips are: (1) Set clear learning objectives, (2) Select experienced educators, (3) Provide theoretical perspectives, (4) Share the evidence base, (5) Outline the "spirit", principles, and sequence, (6) Show students what it looks like, (7) Give students a scaffold to follow, (8) Provide opportunities for skill practice, (9) Involve clinical students in teaching, (10) Use varied formative and summative assessments, (11) Integrate and maintain, and (12) Reflect and evaluate. CONCLUSIONS: We describe what to include and why, and outline when and how to teach the essential components of brief motivational interviewing knowledge and skills in a medical curriculum.