Child opportunity index is associated with pediatric firearm injury in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Introduction: Firearm injury is the leading cause of death in children. This study uses geospatial mapping to illustrate the burden of pediatric firearm injury in Philadelphia and assesses the relationship between Child Opportunity Index (COI) and injury, hypothesizing that lower COI zip codes would have higher injury and mortality rates. Methods: Pediatric firearm injury data for children aged 0-19 years in Philadelphia, from 2015 to February 2023, was visualized by race/ethnicity, fatal versus non-fatal status, and COI for zip code. COI was then dichotomized as "High" or "Low" based on nationally normed scores and used to compare incidence and odds of mortality. Injury incidence rates by COI were calculated using weighted Poisson regression, to adjust for the total number of children in each COI category. Odds of mortality by COI, adjusted for age, sex and race/ethnicity, were calculated using multivariable logistic regression. Results: Of 2,339 total pediatric firearm injuries, 366 (16%) were fatal. Males (89%), adolescents (95%) and Black children (88%) were predominately affected. Geospatial mapping showed highest burden in North and West Philadelphia, which corresponded with areas of low COI. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) of injury in low COI zip codes was 2.5 times greater than high COI (IRR 2.5 [1.93-3.22]; p < 0.01). After adjusting for age, sex, and race/ethnicity, odds of mortality in low COI zip codes was nearly twice that of high COI zip codes (aOR 1.95 [0.77-4.92]), though did not demonstrate statistical significance (p = 0.16). Conclusion: Child opportunity index is associated with pediatric firearm injury in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Pediatric Sepsis Requiring Intensive Care Admission: Potential Structured Follow-Up Protocols to Identify and Manage New or Exacerbated Medical Conditions.

Pediatric sepsis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children globally. Children who require the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) are at high risk for new or worsening co-morbidities, as well as readmission. This review describes the current state of protocolized follow-up after pediatric sepsis requiring PICU admission. We searched Medline and EMBASE databases for studies published in English from 2005 to date. Duplicates, review articles, abstracts and poster presentations were excluded; neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients were also excluded since neonatal sepsis is variably defined and differs from the pediatric consensus definition. The search yielded 418 studies of which 55 were duplicates; the subsequent 363 studies were screened for inclusion criteria, yielding 31 studies for which full article screening was completed. Subsequently, 23 studies were excluded due to wrong population (9), wrong publication type (10), duplicate data (3) or wrong outcome (1). In total, nine studies were included for which we described study design, setting, population, sample size, outcomes, PICU core outcome domain, and results. There were 4 retrospective cohort studies, 4 prospective cohort studies, 1 retrospective case series and no prospective trials. These studies show the varying trajectories of recovery after discharge, with the common finding that new or worsening morbidities are worse within months of discharge, but may persist. Sepsis survivors may have distinct needs and a different post-PICU trajectory compared to other critically ill children, particularly in quality of life and neurocognitive outcomes. Future research should focus on developing screening protocols and studying protocolized follow-up trials to reduce morbidity after pediatric sepsis.

Investigating Racial and Socioeconomic Characteristics in Pediatric Sepsis Using Electronic Health Data.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities are reported in sepsis, with increased mortality for minority and low socioeconomic status groups; however, these studies rely on billing codes that are imprecise in identifying sepsis. Using a previously validated algorithm to detect pediatric sepsis using electronic clinical data, we hypothesized that racial/ethnic and socioeconomic status disparities would be evident in this group. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study from a large, quaternary academic center, including sepsis episodes from January 20, 2011, to May 20, 2021, identified by an algorithm indicative of bacterial infection with organ dysfunction (cardiac, respiratory, renal, or hematologic). Multivariable logistic regression was used to measure association of race/ethnicity, insurance status, and social disorganization index, with the primary outcome of mortality, adjusting for age, sex, complex chronic conditions, organ dysfunction on day 1, source of admission, and time to hospital. Secondary outcomes were ICU admission, readmission, organ dysfunction-free days, and sepsis therapies. RESULTS: Among 4532 patient episodes, the mortality rate was 9.7%. There was no difference in adjusted odds of mortality on the basis of race/ethnicity, insurance status, or social disorganization. There was no significant association between our predictors and ICU admission. Hispanic patients and publicly insured patients were more likely to be readmitted within 1 year (Hispanic odds ratio 1.28 [1.06-1.5]; public odds ratio 1.19 [1.05-1.35]). CONCLUSIONS: Previously described disparities were not observed when using electronic clinical data to identify sepsis; however, data were only single center. There were significantly higher readmissions in patients who were publicly insured or identified as Hispanic or Latino, which require further investigation.

Assessing the health literacy of caregivers in the pediatric intensive care unit: a mixed-methods study.

Background: Limited health literacy is associated with increased hospitalizations, emergency visits, health care costs, and mortality. The health literacy levels of caregivers of critically ill children are unknown. This mixed-methods study aims to quantitatively assess the health literacy of caregivers of children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and qualitatively describe facilitators and barriers to implementing health literacy screening from the provider perspective. Methods: Caregivers of patients admitted to our large, academic PICU (between August 12, 2022 and March 31, 2023) were approached to complete a survey with the Newest Vital Sign (NVS), which is a validated health literacy screener offered in English and Spanish. We additionally conducted focus groups of interdisciplinary PICU providers to identify factors which may influence implementation of health literacy screening using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) framework. Results: Among 48 surveyed caregivers, 79% demonstrated adequate health literacy using the Newest Vital Sign screener. The majority of caregivers spoke English (96%), were mothers (85%), and identified as White (75%). 83% of caregivers were able to attend rounds at least once and 98% believed attending rounds was helpful. Within the PICU provider focus groups, there were 11 participants (3 attendings, 3 fellows, 2 nurse practitioners, 1 hospitalist, 2 research assistants). Focus group participants described facilitators and barriers to implementation, which were mapped to CFIR domains. Timing of screening and person administering screening were identified as modifiable factors to improve future implementation. Conclusion: We found the health literacy levels of PICU caregivers in our setting is similar to prior assessments of parental health literacy. Participation in morning rounds was helpful for developing understanding of their child's illness, regardless of health literacy status. Qualitative feedback from providers identified barriers across all CFIR domains, with timing of screening and person administering screening as modifiable factors to improve future implementation.

Disparities Associated with Sepsis Mortality in Critically Ill Children.

Disparities in health care related to socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity are well documented in adult and neonatal sepsis, but they are less characterized in the critically ill pediatric population. This study investigated whether socioeconomic status and/or race/ethnicity is associated with mortality among children treated for sepsis in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). A retrospective cohort study was conducted using information from 48 children's hospitals included in the Pediatric Health Information System database. We included visits by children ≤ 21 years with All Patients Refined Diagnosis-Related Groups (APR-DRG) diagnosis codes of septicemia and disseminated infections that resulted in PICU admission from 2010 to 2016. Multivariable logistic regression was used to measure the effect of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (insurance status and median household income for zip code) on mortality after adjustment for age, gender, illness severity, and presence of complex chronic condition. Among the 14,276 patients with sepsis, the mortality rate was 6.8%. In multivariable analysis, socioeconomic status, but not race/ethnicity, was associated with mortality. In comparison to privately insured children, nonprivately insured children had increased odds of mortality (public: adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.2 [1.0, 1.5]; uninsured: aOR: 2.1 [1.2, 3.7]). Similarly, children living in zip codes with the lowest quartile of annual household income had higher odds of mortality than those in the highest quartile (aOR: 1.5 [1.0, 2.2]). These data suggest the presence of socioeconomic, but not racial/ethnic, disparities in mortality among children treated for sepsis. Further research is warranted to understand why such differences exist and how they may be addressed.