Assessing the Variability of Antibiotic Management in Patients With Open Hand Fractures Presenting to the Pediatric Emergency Department.

OBJECTIVES: Open hand fractures may be difficult to recognize and treat. There is variability in management and administration of antibiotics for these types of injuries. Unlike open long bone fractures, there is no standardized protocol for antibiotic administration for open hand fractures in children. The objective of this study is to assess the variability of antibiotic management of open hand fractures in children. METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review at a tertiary hospital in New York of patients with hand injuries between ages 0 and 18 years presenting to the emergency department during January 2019 and December 2020. Patient encounters were reviewed for open fractures of the hand. Descriptive statistics were included for demographic and physical characteristics. RESULTS: There were 80 encounters with open hand fractures, of which the most common being tuft fractures (77.5%). The mean age was 7.6 years (SD, 4.7 years) with male predominance (58.8%). Crush injuries were the most common mechanism of injury (78.8%). Bedside repair was performed on 62 encounters (77.5%), of which 45 (72.5%) required nail bed repair, 56 (90.3%) required suturing, and 24 (38.7%) required reduction. Antibiotics were given to 62 (77.5%) encounters, most commonly oral cefalexin (45.2%), oral amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (27.4%), and intravenous cefazolin (14.5%). Median time to antibiotics from emergency department registration to administration was 150 minutes (interquartile range, 92-216 minutes). Antibiotic prescriptions were sent for 71 encounters (88.8%). Seventy seven (96.3%) of the encounters were discharged home. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric open hand fractures have a variability of type and timing to antibiotics. Future initiatives should attempt to create standardized guidelines for management of open hand fractures.

Simulation vs RISE UP: A Comparative Study of Approaches for Teaching Emergency Medicine Trainees How to Manage Microaggressions.

PURPOSE: Microaggressions are discriminatory actions or words targeted at people for their perceived or expressed identities. The study aimed to address the critical need for training emergency medicine (EM) resident-physicians to manage microaggressions. The authors compared the effectiveness of the Realizing Inclusion and Systemic Equity in Medicine: Upstanding in the Medical Workplace (RISE UP) curriculum from Inova Children's Hospital and a simulation (SIM) curriculum created by a research team specifically for this study. The new SIM curriculum was guided by the original RISE UP curriculum but incorporates simulation as a learning tool. These 2 educational modalities were selected based upon previous literature showing their efficacy as tools in medical education. METHOD: Through a collaboration with residency leadership, EM residents were recruited to participate in a comparison study in which they received either the RISE UP or newly created SIM curriculum as part of their regular simulation training. Pre- and post-intervention surveys assessed perceived knowledge on handling microaggressions. A follow-up survey was sent one month post-intervention to evaluate retention of self-reported knowledge. RESULTS: Out of 81 eligible residents, 69 residents participated: 37 in the new SIM curriculum group, 32 in the RISE UP curriculum group. Participants in both groups self-reported significant improvements in perceived knowledge immediately post-intervention. At the 1-month follow up, both intervention groups retained higher levels of perceived knowledge. Additionally, while both curricula were effective, the RISE UP group showed slightly higher retention rates of self-reported knowledge compared to the SIM group, although this difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Both the SIM and RISE UP curricula were effective in improving resident knowledge about handling workplace microaggressions, with participants in the RISE UP curriculum showing marginally better retention of skills. Implementing such educational programs may enhance workplace awareness and response to microaggressions among EM residents.

Improving Time to Antibiotics in Patients With Long Bone Open Fractures Presenting to the Pediatric Emergency Department.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate a new triage workflow aimed at improving time to intravenous antibiotics in open fractures to under less than 60 minutes of arrival to the Pediatric Emergency Department. DESIGN: A prospective, multidisciplinary, quality improvement project. SETTING: A tertiary care, Level 1 pediatric trauma hospital in New York. PATIENT SELECTION CRITERIA: Patients ages 17 years and younger with long bone open fractures between June 1, 2020, and May 31, 2021, excluding those transferred from an outside hospital, with nonlong bone fractures and nonfractured, injured extremities. OUTCOME MEASURES AND COMPARISONS: The new workflow involved splint removal and skin assessment during triage to identify open fractures. The aim of serial Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles was to refine this workflow and reduce antibiotic administration time. Primary outcome: percentage of patients with open fracture receiving intravenous antibiotics within 60 minutes. Secondary outcome: assessment of triage documentation regarding splint presence and removal. An exact Wilcoxon two-sample test compared time from patient arrival (quick registration) with antibiotic administration before, during, and after workflow implementation on June 1, 2020. RESULTS: A total of 51 patients (33 male) ages 17 years and younger, with open fractures, were reviewed: 25 during the preintervention phase January 1, 2018 to May 31, 2020; 14 during the intervention phase June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021; and 12 during the postintervention phase June 1, 2021 to November 30, 2021. Continuous improvement efforts through Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles focusing on education, reinforcement, recognition, and barrier identification increased the percentage of patients receiving antibiotics within 60 minutes from 36% to 87.5%. The median time and interquartile range (interquartile range: 25th percentile-75th percentile) from quick registration to administration was 86 minutes (interquartile range: 51-147) before June 1, 2020, and 34 minutes (interquartile range: 16-42) thereafter. CONCLUSION: The implemented triage workflow led to improved time to antibiotics to within 60 minutes for patients with long bone open fractures in the pediatric emergency department. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Recent developments in limited stage small cell lung cancer.

Limited stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) remains a challenging disease, with 5-year overall survival ranging from 30-35% with current standard of care treatment consisting of thoracic radiation to 45 Gy in 30 fractions delivered twice daily, with concurrent platinum/etoposide chemotherapy, followed by prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI). The randomized, phase III CONVERT study confirmed 45 Gy delivered twice daily to be the optimal radiation fractionation regimen, without significantly increased toxicity when compared to daily radiation to 66 Gy. Immunotherapy is now being studied in addition to chemoradiation, in both the concurrent and consolidative setting. These randomized trials are ongoing. Additionally, the role of PCI compared to MRI surveillance is being evaluated in patients with LS-SCLC in both the North America and Europe. Ideally these ongoing studies will continue to improve outcomes for LS-SCLC.