JAMA pediatrics
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Pediatric observation units (OUs) offer the opportunity to safely and efficiently care for common illnesses previously cared for in an inpatient setting. Home oxygen therapy (HOT) has been used to facilitate hospital discharge in patients with hypoxic bronchiolitis. It is unknown how implementation of a hospitalwide bronchiolitis treatment protocol promoting OU-HOT would affect hospital length of stay (LOS). ⋯ Implementation of an OU-HOT protocol for patients with bronchiolitis safely reduces hospital LOS with significant cost savings. Although widespread implementation has the potential for dramatic cost savings nationally, further studies assessing overall health care use and cost, including the impact on families and outpatient practices, are needed.
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IMPORTANCE This is the first study to link reduced lung function in early life, before the development of symptoms, to wheeze in 18-year-olds. Additionally, the study gives insight into factors other than reduced lung function that are also associated with persistent wheeze in young adults. ⋯ Wheeze persisting from ages 6 to 18 years is associated with multiple factors, including reduced infant lung function, infant-onset atopy, maternal asthma, and active smoking. Wheeze at age 18 years (regardless of previous wheeze status) is associated with active smoking, but only among those with reduced lung function in infancy. These findings give unique insight into the cause of obstructive airways disease in 18-year-olds, and follow-up of this cohort might be expected to further extend our understanding.
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To determine the acute predictors associated with the development of postconcussion syndrome (PCS) in children and adolescents after mild traumatic brain injury. ⋯ Adolescents who have headache on ED presentation and require hospital admission at the ED encounter are at elevated risk for PCS after mild traumatic brain injury. Interventions to identify this population and begin early treatment may improve outcomes and reduce the burden of disease.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Inpatient growth and resource use in 28 children's hospitals: a longitudinal, multi-institutional study.
To compare inpatient resource use trends for healthy children and children with chronic health conditions of varying degrees of medical complexity. ⋯ Patients with a chronic condition increasingly used more resources in a group of children's hospitals than patients without a chronic condition. The greatest growth was observed in hospitalized children with chronic conditions affecting 2 or more body systems. Children's hospitals must ensure that their inpatient care systems and payment structures are equipped to meet the protean needs of this important population of children.