Optimizing Care for Autistic Patients in Health Care Settings: A Scoping Review and Call to Action.

OBJECTIVE: We conducted a scoping review of interventions designed to improve the health care experiences of autistic individuals and assessed the methodology and outcomes used to evaluate them. METHODS: Literature from January 2005 to October 2020 was searched using PubMed, Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE), Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO as well as hand searching. Studies included described an intervention for autistic individuals in inpatient or outpatient settings and evaluated the intervention using standardized methodology. Results were exported to Covidence software. Ten reviewers completed abstract screening, full text review, and then systematic data extraction of the remaining articles. Two reviewers evaluated each article at each stage, with a third reviewer arbitrating differences. RESULTS: A total of 38 studies, including three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Twenty-six (68%) took place in dental, psychiatric, or procedural settings. Interventions primarily focused on visit preparation and comprehensive care plans or pathways (N = 29, 76%). The most frequent outcome was procedural compliance (N = 15), followed by intervention acceptability (N = 7) and parent satisfaction (N = 6). Two studies involved autistic individuals and caregivers in study design, and no studies assessed racial/ethnic diversity on intervention impact. CONCLUSIONS: Well-designed evaluations of interventions to support autistic individuals in pediatric health care settings are limited. There is a need to conduct large multi-site intervention implementation studies.

Management of Bleeding Pyogenic Granulomas in Acute Care Settings.

BACKGROUND: Pyogenic granulomas are acquired, benign growths of capillary blood vessels that are commonly seen in the pediatric population. Patients with these lesions often present to emergency departments and urgent care centers with persistent bleeding after minor trauma. Much of the published literature describing the management of pyogenic granulomas, however, is focused on outpatient or definitive therapies, and there is limited information on the management of acute bleeding. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a narrative review to present and evaluate strategies and therapies available to emergency physicians for managing actively bleeding pyogenic granulomas in acute care settings. DISCUSSION: Multiple options are available to emergency physicians to achieve hemostasis. Direct pressure with a nonadherent dressing remains first-line treatment. Additional therapeutic options, such as dressings impregnated with topical vasoconstrictors or hemostatic dressings or agents, can be used if bleeding persists. Certain approaches-silver nitrate, suture ligation, or electrocautery-may be available to some emergency physicians. These therapies, however, can compromise future histologic analysis of tissue for definitive diagnosis and have potential risks. CONCLUSION: Although there are multiple options to achieve hemostasis in cases of bleeding, some treatments may lead to suboptimal cosmesis or interfere with future management. Many bleeding pyogenic granulomas will become hemostatic with treatments available to emergency physicians. Surgical consultation may be warranted for pyogenic granulomas that are unresponsive to the therapies described in this review.

Arterial Fat Embolism in a Pediatric Patient with Femur Fracture: A Case Report.

CASE: Here, we present the case of a pediatric polytrauma patient found to have lower extremity intra-arterial fat embolism causing ischemic necrosis and ultimately necessitating below-the-knee amputation. CONCLUSION: Fat embolism, a common complication of long bone fractures in adults, can be associated with significant morbidity. Although rare, it should be considered among the possible etiologies for a pulseless limb after trauma. Early fracture stabilization may prevent fat embolism and fat embolism syndrome; however, there is no known definitive treatment, and management is supportive.

Healthcare utilization among children with early autism diagnoses, children with other developmental delays and a comparison group.

Aim: To describe healthcare utilization patterns among children with autism (n = 1821), and compare these patterns to children with other developmental delays (DD; n = 12,336) and a population comparison (PC; n = 18,210) cohort. Materials & methods: Retrospective study of administrative billing data. Results: Children with autism had roughly six-times more annual outpatient visits as PC children and twice as many as children with DD. Children with autism were more likely than PC children to use nearly all services, but comparisons between the autism and DD cohorts were mixed. Children with autism were more likely to have psychiatry/psychology visits, 'other' specialty care visits and psychotropic prescriptions, but less likely to have pediatric specialty care visits, immunizations and some prescriptions. Conclusion: Findings reveal opportunities to streamline, coordinate or improve care for young children with autism, particularly for outpatient services, and to give caregivers appropriate anticipatory guidance about what to expect after an autism diagnosis.

Lay abstract We compared how young children with autism use healthcare services versus children with other developmental delays (DDs) and a population comparison (PC) group. We examined medical billing records of children with private health insurance from across the USA. Children with autism were more likely than PC children to use nearly all healthcare services. Children with autism had about six-times as many annual outpatient visits as PC children and twice as many as children with DD. Children with autism were more likely to use some services and less likely to use other services compared with children with DD. For example, children with autism were more likely to have mental health visits and medications, but less likely to have pediatric specialty care visits or allergy medications. Outpatient visits and other healthcare services may need to be streamlined, coordinated or improved for young children with autism.

Cervical lung herniation complicating a case of acute asphyxial asthma in a child.

The abrupt onset of respiratory failure secondary to asthma, known as acute asphyxial asthma (AAA) in adults, is uncommonly reported in children. Here, we report a case of a child with the acute onset of respiratory failure consistent with AAA complicated by the finding of a neck mass during resuscitation. This 11-year-old boy with a history of asthma initially presented in respiratory failure with altered mental status after the complaint of difficulty in breathing minutes before collapsing at home. Initially, his respiratory failure was thought to be secondary to status asthmaticus, and treatment was initiated accordingly. However, a neck mass noted during the resuscitation was cause for concern, and other etiologies for his respiratory failure were considered, including an airway obstructing neck mass. After pediatric surgery and anesthesia consultation for intubation and possible tracheostomy placement, general anesthesia was induced in the operating room with an inhaled anesthetic, with prompt resolution of the bronchspasm and decompression of the neck mass. Review of the imaging and clinical course ultimately yielded a diagnosis of cervical lung herniation as the etiology of his neck mass. We report this case of AAA and cervical lung herniation and a review of the literature of these 2 uncommon phenomena in children.

Group B streptococcal cellulitis in infancy.

Cellulitis in an infant younger than 3 months is most commonly caused by group B streptococci (GBS). A baby with cellulitis in this age group should have a full septic workup including blood and cerebrospinal fluid cultures, as GBS cellulitis may be associated with bacteremia. We discuss a 6-week-old baby with cellulitis and meningitis to illustrate the potential complexity of this infectious disease process. We also present a concise review of GBS cellulitis and of meningitis with initially normal cerebrospinal fluid analysis.

Patterns of health care use that may identify young children who are at risk for maltreatment.

OBJECTIVES: Early identification of children who are at risk for maltreatment continues to pose a challenge to the medical community. The objective of this study was to determine whether children who are at risk for maltreatment have characteristic patterns of health care use before their diagnosis of abuse or neglect that distinguish them from other children. METHODS: We performed a case-control study among Medicaid-enrolled children to compare patterns of health service among maltreated children in the year before a first report for abuse or neglect that led to an immediate placement into foster care, with patterns of health service use among matched control subjects. Exposure variables, obtained from Medicaid claims, included the total number of non-emergency department (ED) outpatient visits, the total number of ED visits, the frequency of injury-related diagnoses, the frequency of nonspecific diagnoses that have been previously linked to abuse, and the number of changes in a child's primary care provider. Multivariate models were performed adjusting for cash assistance eligibility, race, and child comorbidities. RESULTS: We characterized the health service use patterns, during the year before their first maltreatment report, of 157 children with serious and substantiated abuse or neglect. Health service use during the same period was also characterized among 628 control subjects who were matched by age, gender, and number of months of Medicaid eligibility. Sixteen percent of cases changed their primary care providers, compared with 10% of the control subjects. Multivariable modeling demonstrated that maltreated children were 2.62 (95% confidence interval: 1.40-4.91) times more likely than control subjects to have had 1 previous change in primary care provider and 6.87 (95% confidence interval: 1.96-24.16) times more likely to have changed providers 2 or more times during the year before their first maltreatment report. There were no differences between case patients and control subjects in the frequency of ED visits and rates of diagnoses of injury or nonspecific somatic complaints. CONCLUSIONS: Victims of serious and substantiated physical abuse and neglect change ambulatory care providers with greater frequency than nonabused children. Recognition of this patient characteristic may allow for earlier identification of children who are at risk for additional or future maltreatment.