The Voice of Travel Nurses: Facilitating Effective Staffing During Pandemic and Expansion-Related Demands in a Children's Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the experience and perceived value of travel nurses in a children's hospital. BACKGROUND: Children's hospitals face unique challenges related to highly specialized care requirements and workforce expansion limitations. Travel nurses can augment nurse staffing capacity during times of intense demand and may offer insights as organizations seek to strengthen work environments. METHODS: Pediatric travel nurses currently contracted at the hospital were invited to participate in a focus group or interview. Content analysis was used to summarize information and identify themes. RESULTS: From the 56 participants, 5 themes emerged. The themes were financial, flexibility, searching for healthy work environments, nursing care, and solutions. CONCLUSIONS: Hearing the voices of travel nurses may offer valuable feedback to strengthen future professional practice environments.

Perceptions of Interprofessional Practitioners Regarding Pediatric Palliative Transports.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric palliative transport (PPT) is the practice of offering critically and terminally ill children requiring life-sustaining measures the opportunity to be discharged from the hospital to home or a hospice facility for end-of-life care. Although studies have shown PPT to favorably affect both children and their families, limited research exists on the perspectives of health care practitioners. OBJECTIVES: To understand the experience of interprofessional practitioners who have cared for a critically or terminally ill child during a PPT and their perception of PPT as a care option. METHODS: This study is a qualitative descriptive inquiry conducted using 8 focus groups. Participants included interprofessional staff from 4 specialty intensive care units, the pediatric advanced care team, and the critical care transport team at a quaternary, freestanding children's hospital. Content analysis was used to summarize themes and recommendations. RESULTS: Five overarching themes were identified: PPT as a care pathway, education, communication, support, and closure. Use of PPT was perceived as aligned with the hospital's mission of family-centered care and as providing a way for the health care team to support a family's choice. Participants recommended further development of information to guide communication and processes of care that would enhance the experience for families and staff and support PPT as a care pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric palliative transport is considered a feasible, valuable, and critical end-of-life intervention. The value that PPT has brought to participating families warrants continued investment in the intervention's standardization and enhancement.

Failure to tolerate continuous subcutaneous treprostinil in pediatric pulmonary hypertension patients.

Continuous subcutaneous (SubQ) treprostinil is an effective therapy for pediatric patients diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension (PH). To date, the clinical characteristics and factors associated with failure to tolerate this therapy have not been described. The purpose was to describe patient-reported factors contributing to SubQ treprostinil intolerance in pediatric patients with PH. A retrospective descriptive study was performed at 11 participating sites in the United States and Canada for patients younger than 21 years of age diagnosed with PH who failed treatment to tolerate SubQ treprostinil between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2019. All data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Forty-one patients met the inclusion criteria. The average age at SQ treprostinil initiation, and length of treatment, was 8.6 years and 22.6 months, respectively. The average maximum dose, concentration, and rate were 95.8 ng/kg/min, 6.06 mg/mL, and 0.040 mL/h, respectively. The reasons for failure to tolerate SubQ treprostinil included intractable site pain (73.2%), frequent site changes (56.1%), severe site reactions (53.7%), infections (26.8%), and noncompliance/depression/anxiety (17.1%). Thirty-nine (95.1%) patients transitioned to a prostacyclin therapy with 23 patients transitioning to intravenous prostacyclin, 5 to inhaled prostacyclin, 5 to oral prostacyclin, and 7 to a prostacyclin receptor agonist. A subset of pediatric PH patients failed to tolerate SubQ treprostinil infusions despite advances in SubQ site maintenance and pain management strategies. Intractable site pain, frequent SubQ site changes, and severe localized skin reactions were the most common reasons for failure.

Moving from Vaccine Hesitancy to Acceptance: Engaging Underrepresented Employees in a Pediatric Academic Medical Center.

Underrepresented populations historically underserved by the healthcare system and/or marginalized by systematic policies regionally and nationally were particularly vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. While vaccine hesitancy has been described among hospital employees, the employees' experiences from an underrepresented population cohort have not been reported. We, therefore, sought to understand employees' vaccine experiences, hesitancy, and ways to enhance ongoing COVID-19 vaccine education and communication to build a hospital-wide culture of vaccine acceptance. Methods: We invited interprofessional staff from 5 clinical departments to participate in qualitative focus groups. Guiding questions were used to explore the experiences and perceptions of the staff. Using content analysis, we identified themes and recommendations for improvement. Results: We conducted 5 focus group sessions with over 50 participants. Four themes emerged; "Vaccine Fears Past and Present," "Access to Information," "Worries for Families," and "Our Hospital is a Trusted Name." Participants also provided recommendations for improvement in the messaging around the vaccine rollout. Consideration of how different employees access information, listening to staff needs, and recognizing the role of race and history were critical to engaging and improving the underrepresented employees' vaccine acceptance. Conclusions: Exploring the concerns and fears of the COVID-19 vaccine within groups of underrepresented staff members through qualitative methods was key to understanding their vaccine hesitancy and implementing strategies to move toward vaccine acceptance in the hospital.

Validation of the withdrawal assessment tool-1 (WAT-1) in pediatric cardiovascular patients on an inpatient unit.

PURPOSE: Sedation and analgesia are administered to critically ill patients, which may result in physical dependence and subsequent iatrogenic withdrawal. The Withdrawal Assessment Tool-1 (WAT-1) was developed and validated as an objective measurement of pediatric iatrogenic withdrawal in intensive care units (ICUs), with a WAT-1 score ≥ 3 indicative of withdrawal. This study's objectives were to test interrater reliability and validity of the WAT-1 in pediatric cardiovascular patients in a non-ICU setting. DESIGN AND METHODS: This prospective observational cohort study was conducted on a pediatric cardiac inpatient unit. WAT-1 assessments were performed by the patient's nurse and a blinded expert nurse rater. Intra-class correlation coefficients were calculated, and Kappa statistics were estimated. A two-sample, one-sided test of proportions of weaning (n = 30) and nonweaning (n = 30) patients with a WAT-1 ≥3 were compared. RESULTS: Interrater reliability was low (K = 0.132). The WAT-1 area under the receiver operating curve was 0.764 (95% confidence interval; ± 0.123). There was a significantly higher proportion (50%, p = 0.009) of weaning patients with WAT-1 scores ≥3 compared to the nonweaning patients (10%). The WAT-1 elements of moderate/severe uncoordinated/repetitive movement and loose, watery stools were significantly higher in the weaning population. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Methods to improve interrater reliability warrant further examination. The WAT-1 had good discrimination at identifying withdrawal in cardiovascular patients on an acute cardiac care unit. Frequent nurse re-education may increase accurate tool use. The WAT-1 tool may be used in the management of iatrogenic withdrawal in pediatric cardiovascular patients in a non-ICU setting.

Nurses' perceptions and use of near infrared spectroscopy in paediatric cardiac intensive care.

BACKGROUND: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-invasive technology that estimates regional oxygen saturation. Literature demonstrates that NIRS can provide valuable data for clinical staff. However, little research has addressed the nursing care and management of NIRS in the critical care environment. AIMS: To assess nurses' perception around the use of NIRS and current NIRS practice within paediatric cardiac intensive care unit (PCICUs). STUDY DESIGN: A 53-item cross-sectional electronic survey was developed to assess indications for NIRS, critical value thresholds and interventions, barriers to use, policies and procedures, and nursing perceptions. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize and aggregate data. RESULTS: Among the 28 responding sites (63.6% response rate), usage of NIRS was variable and patient-dependent. Most nurses reported using NIRS in patients with unstable physiology such as post-operative single ventricle (n = 25, 89.3%) and concern for shock (n = 21, 75.0%). Critically low cerebral values varied among respondents from less than 40 (n = 3, 10.7%) to less than 60 (n = 4, 14.3%), with lower critical values permitted for single ventricle physiology: less than 40 (n = 8, 28.6%) to less than 50 (n = 6, 21.4%). Reported barriers to using NIRS included skin breakdown (n = 9, 32.1%), lack of consistency in decision-making among physicians (n = 13, 46.4%), and not using NIRS data when developing a plan of care (n = 11, 39.3%). Most (n = 24, 85.7%) nurses reported that NIRS provided valuable information and was perceived to be beneficial for patients. CONCLUSIONS: NIRS monitoring is a common technology in the care of complex congenital heart disease patients. Most nurses valued this technology, but inconsistencies and practicalities around its use in guiding patient management were found to be problematic. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: NIRS is commonly used in the PCICU and although nurses perceived NIRS to be useful for their practice, the variability in the interpretation of values and inconsistent protocols and decision-making by physicians was challenging.

Effects of COVID-19 on paediatric cardiac centres in low-income and middle-income countries: a mixed-methods study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cardiac services in critical access centres in low-income and middle-income countries. DESIGN: A mixed-methods approach was used. SETTING: Critical access sites that participate in the International Quality Improvement Collaborative (IQIC) for congenital heart disease (CHD) were identified. PARTICIPANTS: Eight IQIC sites in low-income and middle-income countries agreed to participate. OUTCOME MEASURES: Differences in volume and casemix before and during the pandemic were identified, and semistructured interviews were conducted with programme representatives and analysed by two individuals using NVivo software. The qualitative component of this study contributed to a better understanding of the centres' experiences and to identify themes that were common across centres. RESULTS: In aggregate, among the seven critical access sites that reported data in both 2019 and 2020, there was a 20% reduction in case volume, though the reduction varied among programmes. Qualitative analysis identified a universal impact for all programmes related to Access to Care/Clinical Services, Financial Stability and Professional/Personal Issues for healthcare providers. CONCLUSIONS: Our study identified and quantified a significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on critical access to CHD surgery in low-income and middle-income countries, as well as a significant adverse impact on both the skilled workforce needed to treat CHD and on the institutions in which care is delivered. These findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a major threat to access to care for children with CHD in resource-constrained environments and that this effect may be long-lasting beyond the global emergency. Efforts are needed to preserve vulnerable CHD programmes even during unprecedented pandemic situations.

Use of Music for Newborns After Cardiac Surgery: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Music can benefit the neurodevelopmental and clinical care of newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit. Newborns in the cardiac intensive care unit experience similar stressors to those in the neonatal intensive care unit, but music therapy has not been widely studied in the cardiac intensive care unit population. OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of implementing nurse-led music therapy in a cohort of newborns recovering from cardiac surgery in the cardiac intensive care unit. METHODS: Lullabies were prerecorded and played for 20 minutes, 2 times per day. Bedside nurses recorded several metrics at designated times during the 1 hour surrounding the music therapy and were asked about the ease of initiating the therapy and their perception of any benefit to the newborns. Parents were invited to complete a 9-question Likert survey exploring their perception of and satisfaction with the music therapy. RESULTS: Nurse-led music therapy was initiated in 44 of 50 eligible shifts (88%) for the 8 newborns who successfully completed the study. The newborns' physiological status remained stable throughout the music therapy sessions. None of the newborns experienced adverse events related to music therapy. All nurses (100%) reported that the music therapy was easy to administer. Parents "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that they were satisfied with the music therapy provided to their newborns. CONCLUSION: Nurse-led music therapy was highly feasible for hemodynamically stable newborns recovering from cardiac surgery. Parents and nursing staff responded positively to the music therapy.

Measuring Acuity and Pediatric Critical Care Nursing Workload by Using ICU CAMEO III.

BACKGROUND: The Intensive Care Unit Complexity Assessment and Monitoring to Ensure Optimal Outcomes (ICU CAMEO III) acuity tool measures patient acuity in terms of the complexity of nursing cognitive workload. OBJECTIVE: To validate the ICU CAMEO III acuity tool in US children's hospitals. METHODS: Using a convenience sample, 9 sites enrolled children admitted to pediatric intensive care units (ICUs). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize patient, nursing, and unit characteristics. Concurrent validity was evaluated by correlating the ICU CAMEO III with the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System-Children (TISS-C) and the Pediatric Risk of Mortality III (PRISM III). RESULTS: Patients (N = 840) were enrolled from 15 units (7 cardiac and 8 mixed pediatric ICUs). The mean number of ICU beds was 23 (range, 12-34). Among the patients, 512 (61%) were diagnosed with cardiac and 328 (39%) with noncardiac conditions; 463 patients (55.1%) were admitted for medical reasons, and 377 patients (44.9%) were surgical. The ICU CAMEO III median score was 99 (range, 59-163). The ICU CAMEO complexity classification was determined for all 840 patients: 60 (7.1%) with level I complexity; 183 (21.8%) with level II; 201 (23.9%), level III; 267 (31.8%), level IV; and 129 (15.4%), level V. Strong correlation was found between ICU CAMEO III and both TISS-C (ρ = .822, P < .001) and PRISM III (ρ = .607, P < .001) scores, and between the CAMEO complexity classifications and the PRISM III categories (ρ = .575, P = .001). CONCLUSION: The ICU CAMEO III acuity tool and CAMEO complexity classifications are valid measures of patient acuity and nursing cognitive workload compared with PRISM III and TISS-C in academic children's hospitals.

#Healthcare: Patient and Family Uses and Perceptions of Health Care Social Media.

BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION: Although social media is becoming a primary resource for information and support in all aspects of life, including health care, limited information is available describing social media use in parents whose child undergoes surgical care. OBJECTIVES/AIMS: The aims of this study were to describe how patients/families use social media to address health care needs and understand their perceptions of social media privacy and reliability. METHODS: A descriptive survey of 39 questions, both fixed choice and open ended, was distributed to a convenience sample of parents during their child's preoperative visit. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize fixed-choice responses. Content analysis was used to assess open-ended responses and comments. RESULTS: A total of 205 completed surveys were available for review. Overall, 195 (95.6%) reported using social media, with 70 (35%) using social media up to 5 times a day and another 61 (30.5%) using it 6 to 40 times a day. Respondents used social media for medical information (122/60.1%), to make health care decisions (53/26.5%), after a diagnosis (104/52%), after a medical visit (88/44%), and to update friends and family (129/65.5%). Most respondents were undecided (111/58.1%) when asked how reliable medical information was on social media sites, with 33 (17.3%) believing medical information to be "reliable to very reliable" on social media sites. Among the 61 comments received, 4 themes emerged: Spectrum of Social Media Use, Social Media and Health Care Interaction, Social Media as a Source of Support and Peer Experience, and Reliability of Social Media. DISCUSSION: Most respondents utilized social media for health care information while reporting feeling undecided on the reliability of the information. Understanding the multiple ways patients and families utilize social media provides health care members opportunities to discuss medical information, inform health care decision making, and support patient and family needs.

Individualized Family-Centered Developmental Care for Infants With Congenital Heart Disease in the Intensive Care Unit.

BACKGROUND: Individualized family-centered developmental care (IFDC) is considered the standard of care for premature/medically fragile newborns and their families in intensive care units (ICUs). Such care for infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) varies. OBJECTIVE: The Consortium for Congenital Cardiac Care- Measurement of Nursing Practice (C4-MNP) was surveyed to determine the state of IFDC for infants younger than 6 months with CHD in ICUs. METHODS: An electronic survey was disseminated to 1 nurse at each participating center. The survey included questions on IFDC-related nursing practice, organized in 4 sections: demographics, nursing practice, interdisciplinary practice, and parent support. Data were summarized by using descriptive statistics. Differences in IFDC practices and IFDC-related education were assessed, and practices were compared across 3 clinical scenarios of varying infant acuity by using the χ2 test. RESULTS: The response rate was 66% (25 centers). Most respondents (72%) did not have IFDC guidelines; 63% incorporated IFDC interventions and 67% documented IFDC practices. Only 29% reported that their ICU had a neurodevelopmental team. Significant differences were reported across the 3 clinical scenarios for 11 of 14 IFDC practices. Skin-to-skin holding was provided least often across all levels of acuity. Nurse education related to IFDC was associated with more use of IFDC (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Practices related to IFDC vary among ICUs. Opportunities exist to develop IFDC guidelines for infants with CHD to inform clinical practice and nurse education. Next steps include convening a C4-MNP group to develop guidelines and implement IFDC initiatives for collaborative evaluation.

Parent Perception of Their Role in the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION: One way the goal of establishing a partnership with families is accomplished, specific to the pediatric intensive care units, is 24-hour visitation and presence/participation during medical rounds and procedures. Despite the breadth of literature on the positive effect of parent presence, as well as the nearly nationwide adoption of 24-hour pediatric intensive care unit visitation, there is little to no research about how these changes have affected parents' perception of their role in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (PCICU). OBJECTIVES/AIMS: The purpose of this study was to explore and better understand the experience of parents in the PCICU within a patient/family-centered care model. METHODS: Using a qualitative descriptive approach, interviews were conducted with parents of children currently admitted as inpatients in the PCICU. Participants were asked broad, open-ended questions and probes to attain qualitative descriptions of their experiences and perceptions of their parental role in the PCICU. The research design for this study was based on naturalistic inquiry and was used to describe rather than interpret parental experiences in their own words. RESULTS: Eleven parents from 7 families were interviewed; parents described their role in terms of 2 main categories, as one who is an advocate and decision maker and one who provides emotional and physical support. Parents valued the expertise of the PCICU team but also shared the significance of the team recognizing their role as parents. Incorporating parents as an integral member of the health care team is a fundamental component to PCICU care. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: The role of parents is irreplaceable, particularly in the PCICU. The medical complexity of the intensive care can be a barrier to act as parents resulting in a disruption of family-centered care. Nursing staff avert this disruption through modeling parenting to their child's present circumstances and involvement in normal parenting tasks.

Refinement of the Intensive Care Unit Complexity Assessment and Monitoring to Ensure Optimal Outcomes III Acuity Tool.

BACKGROUND: The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Complexity Assessment and Monitoring to Ensure Optimal Outcomes (CAMEO) acuity tool quantifies patient acuity in terms of nursing cognitive workload complexity. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to refine the ICU CAMEO II acuity tool. An expert panel of nursing staff from 4 pediatric ICUs convened to refine the CAMEO II across a large, freestanding children's hospital in the United States. METHOD: This study used a modified Delphi technique. RESULTS: Through a series of 4 Delphi rounds, the expert panel identified Domains of Care and nursing care items that were suitable to be collapsed or bundled. The number of Domains of Care decreased from 18 to 10. Each of the expert panel members then completed the ICU CAMEO II tool and the newly revised tool, ICU CAMEO III, on 5 to 10 patients. Sixty completed ICU CAMEO II tools, and ICU CAMEO III tools were available for comparison. The average difference of the 2 tools' total scores was 5 points (minimum, 4; maximum, 7). The level of agreement between the 2 tools by CAMEO Complexity Classification level (I-V) was 90%. DISCUSSION: The ICU CAMEO III acuity tool is a streamlined measure to describe and quantify the acuity of pediatric critical care nursing. Use of this acuity measure will support projection of staffing models, staffing assignments, and benchmarking across pediatric ICUs. Further research is underway to validate the CAMEO III for multisite use.

Steroid Use for Management of Vasoactive Resistant Shock in Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Patients: Experience of the Consortium of Congenital Cardiac Care-Measurement of Nursing Practice.

BACKGROUND: Although a variety of doses and duration of hydrocortisone have been reported as a treatment modality for congenital heart surgery patients with refractory hypotension, there remains a lack of understanding of the clinical use in pediatric cardiac programs. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to describe the current practice of steroid use for refractory hypotension in postoperative congenital heart surgery patients. METHOD: Survey participants were recruited from the Consortium of Congenital Cardiac Care-Measurement of Nursing Practice. The survey focused on 4 areas: diagnosis, intervention, duration of therapy, and clinical decision making. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Among the programs, 24 of 31 (77%) responded, with 21 (95%) using hydrocortisone as a treatment modality. Most, 20 (83%), reported no written clinical guideline for the use of hydrocortisone. Variation in dosing existed as 3 centers (14%) use 50 mg/m2/d, 6 (29%) use 100 mg/m2/d, and 8 (38%) indicated that dosing varies by provider. DISCUSSION: Nearly all centers reported using hydrocortisone for the treatment of hypotension refractory to fluid resuscitation and vasoactive medications. Substantial variation in practice exists in areas of diagnosis, dosing, and duration of hydrocortisone. More research is needed to develop a clinical practice guideline to standardize practice.

Factors Associated With Increased Laboratory Use in the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

BACKGROUND: Laboratory testing is frequently used to guide postoperative management and contributes to hospital resource utilization; however, there is little evidence identifying patient or clinical factors to inform the appropriate frequency of laboratory testing in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit. OBJECTIVES: To examine the factors associated with increased laboratory utilization following pediatric congenital heart surgery. METHODS: For each patient, the total number of tests and types of laboratory tests were recorded. Patients whose number of tests was greater than the 90th percentile were categorized as increased laboratory use. RESULTS: A sample of 250 unique patients and 909 nursing shifts were obtained for patient- and shift-level analyses. The top 10% of patients identified as the high laboratory utilization group (>128 laboratory tests). High-use group reported significantly younger patients and longer bypass time (P < .001). Patients in the highest Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery 1 risk category were 34.7 times more likely to be in high laboratory utilization group (P = .006), independent of age at time of surgery and time on bypass (receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.855). At the shift level, time on bypass (P = .002), age younger than 30 days at surgery (P < .001), 3 to 5 years' registered nurse experience (P < .001), staff precepting (P = .03), and weekday shift status (P = .03) were all independently associated with high laboratory utilization. CONCLUSIONS: There are multiple factors associated with increased laboratory utilization. Recognition of specific patient and nursing factors can be used to impact patient management.

Development and Implementation of an Inpatient CAMEO© Staffing Algorithm to Inform Nurse- Patient Assignments in a Pediatric Cardiac Inpatient Unit.

BACKGROUND: Nursing workload measurement systems are vital to determine nurse staffing for safe care. The Inpatient Complexity and Assessment and Monitoring to Ensure Optimal Outcomes (CAMEO©) acuity tool provides a standardized language to communicate the acuity and complexity of nursing care in the pediatric inpatient setting. DESIGN AND METHODS: A process improvement project was implemented on a pediatric cardiac inpatient unit to utilize the Inpatient CAMEO© tool to inform nurse-patient assignments. Development of the Inpatient CAMEO© Staffing Algorithm utilized a modified Delphi methodology. Six Delphi rounds were performed for algorithm development, addressing potential implementation barriers, educating nursing staff, piloting feasibility, and final full implementation. RESULTS: The cardiac inpatient unit's charge nurses' algorithm utilization was 86% (n = 12) during the feasibility pilot. The algorithm impacted and changed 28% (n = 4) of the shifts' assignments. One-year post algorithm implementation, CAMEO© documentation rates increased from 25 to 30% to >60%. A retrospective, two-week point-prevalence analysis one-year post-implementation described adherence to the Inpatient CAMEO© Staffing Algorithm for 87% (n = 375) of the nurses' patient assignments. CONCLUSIONS: The Inpatient CAMEO© Staffing Algorithm was developed based upon the Inpatient CAMEO© tool and the Inpatient CAMEO© Complexity Classification System to inform nurse-patient assignments and allocate nursing resources. The Inpatient CAMEO© Staffing Algorithm was feasible and sustainable for over one year following implementation at a single center's pediatric cardiac inpatient unit.

Expanding Hospital Capacity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Family Voice Matters.

During the initial COVID-19 response, this children's hospital reduced its inpatient capacity by 52 beds with double rooms' conversion to single patient occupancy, causing significant capacity constraints. To solve this challenge, the family perspective was engaged to safely redouble patient rooms and expand capacity as clinical activity increased during the COVID-19 response. METHODS: The team conducted qualitative descriptive interviews with parents of children undergoing congenital heart surgery admitted to the inpatient cardiac unit in a 404-bed free-standing children's hospital. A 2-week pilot study utilizing patient-specific inclusion criteria, newly developed patient room guidelines, universal masking, physical distancing, and inpatient room enhancements with parent COVID-19 testing was conducted. RESULTS: Interviews were conducted [pre (n = 7) and post (n = 6)] regarding patient room redoubling. Participants perceived utilization of double rooms as safe with increased protection, including universal masking, physical distancing, room enhancements, and increased bathroom cleaning. However, some families verbalized anxiety regarding visitation restriction to one parent at a time at the bedside. Additional concerns were voiced around the timing of communication about the need to be placed in a double room. In response, visitation increased to 2 parents at bedside and communication of utilization of double rooms was included in preoperative preparations postpilot. Inclusion criteria were expanded to patients of all ages and included full use of shared in-room bathrooms by parents and patients. CONCLUSIONS: Parents perceived patient room redoubling as safe and family centered. Findings from the pilot study were used to scale broad utilization and increase access to care across the institution.

The acuity of pediatric neuroscience nursing using the Inpatient Complexity Assessment and Monitoring to Ensure Optimal Outcomes (CAMEO© ) tool.

PURPOSE: The neuroscience nurse must possess advanced knowledge and skills to care for a wide range of unique congenital and acquired neurological diagnoses. For each of these clinical scenarios, the measurement of complexity and acuity of patient care is key to informing staffing models and patient assignments. The Inpatient Complexity Assessment and Monitoring to Ensure Optimal Outcomes (CAMEO© ) acuity tool measures patient acuity in terms of nursing cognitive workload complexity. We describe the implementation and evaluation of the Inpatient CAMEO© in a pediatric neuroscience unit in a large free-standing children's hospital in the northeast United States. DESIGN AND METHODS: Using a quality improvement approach, the Inpatient CAMEO© was implemented and evaluated over a 12-month period by a neuroscience clinical lead and unit-based ambassadors. Monthly data reports evaluating unit-level completion and the level of acuity (I-V) were generated for unit leadership. Data were further stratified by type of admission to the neuroscience unit. Five categories of patients included neurology medical, epilepsy, neurosurgical, neurooncology, and other, which is defined as nonneurology patients, admitted to unit. RESULTS: The monthly proportion of Inpatient CAMEO© s Classified as III-V ranged from 62.3% to 83.3% with a median of 78.2%. The type of neuroscience admissions varied in level of acuity. Patients identified as neurology (68.7%) and epilepsy (67.5%) had the lowest acuity, patients identified as neurosurgery (82.8%) and other (80.2%) had moderate acuity, and neurooncology (94.5%) had the highest acuity. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Using the Inpatient CAMEO© , the acuity of neuroscience pediatric care was demonstrated to be increased and variable across disease categories. Neurooncology patients were identified as having the highest acuity as compared to other pediatric neuroscience admissions.

Clinical descriptors of pneumothorax following chest tube removal in paediatric cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: There is limited data describing the characteristics of paediatric post-operative cardiac surgery patients who develop pneumothoraces after chest tube removal. Patient management after chest tube removal is not standardised across paediatric cardiac surgery programmes. The purposes of this study were to describe the frequency of pneumothorax after chest tube removal in paediatric post-operative cardiac surgical patients and to describe the patient and clinical characteristics of those patients who developed a clinically significant pneumothorax requiring intervention. METHODS: A single-institution retrospective descriptive study (1 January, 2010-31 December, 2018) was utilised to review 11,651 paediatric post-operative cardiac surgical patients from newborn to 18 years old. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients were diagnosed with a pneumothorax by chest radiograph following chest tube removal (0.2%). Of these 25 patients, 15 (1.6%) had a clinically significant pneumothorax and 8 (53%) did not demonstrate a change in baseline clinical status or require an increase in supplemental oxygen, 14 (93%) required an intervention, 9 (60%) were <1 year of age, 4 (27%) had single-ventricle physiology, and 5 (33%) had other non-cardiac anomalies/genetic syndromes. CONCLUSIONS: In our cohort of patients, we confirmed the incidence of pneumothorax after chest tube removal is low in paediatric post-operative cardiac surgery patients. This population does not always exhibit changes in clinical status despite having clinically significant pneumothoraces. We suggest the development of criteria, based on clinical characteristics, for patients who are at increased risk of developing a pneumothorax and would require a routine chest radiograph following chest tube removal.

Estimating the impact of self-management education, influenza vaccines, nebulizers, and spacers on health utilization and expenditures for Medicaid-enrolled children with asthma.

INTRODUCTION: We quantify the effect of a set of interventions including asthma self-management education, influenza vaccination, spacers, and nebulizers on healthcare utilization and expenditures for Medicaid-enrolled children with asthma in New York and Michigan. METHODS: We obtained patients' data from Medicaid Analytic eXtract files and evaluated patients with persistent asthma in 2010 and 2011. We used difference-in-difference regression to quantify the effect of the intervention on the probability of asthma-related healthcare utilization, asthma medication, and utilization costs. We estimated the average change in outcome measures from pre-intervention/intervention (2010) to post-intervention (2011) periods for the intervention group by comparing this with the average change in the control group over the same time horizon. RESULTS: All of the interventions reduced both utilization and asthma medication costs. Asthma self-management education, nebulizer, and spacer interventions reduced the probability of emergency department (20.8-1.5%, 95%CI 19.7-21.9% vs. 0.5-2.5%, respectively) and inpatient (3.5-0.8%, 95%CI 2.1-4.9% vs. 0.4-1.2%, respectively) utilizations. Influenza vaccine decreased the probability of primary care physician (6-3.5%, 95%CI 4.4-7.6% vs. 1.5-5.5%, respectively) visit. The reductions varied by state and intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Promoting asthma self-management education, influenza vaccinations, nebulizers, and spacers can decrease the frequency of healthcare utilization and asthma-related expenditures while improving medication adherence.