Pediatrics
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of drotrecogin alfa (activated) in children with severe sepsis.
In a phase 3 trial, recombinant human activated protein C (drotrecogin alfa [activated]) significantly reduced mortality in adult patients with severe sepsis. We have now performed a preliminary analysis of the safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of drotrecogin alfa (activated) in pediatric patients with severe sepsis. ⋯ Pediatric patients with severe sepsis manifest sepsis-induced coagulopathy including protein C deficiency comparable to that seen in adults with severe sepsis. The pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamic effects, and safety profile of drotrecogin alfa (activated) in pediatric patients are similar to those previously published for adult patients. A large, phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled study is ongoing to confirm these results and formally assess the safety and efficacy of drotrecogin alfa (activated) in children.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
An evaluation of two procedures for training skills to prevent gun play in children.
Unintentional firearm injuries threaten the safety of children in the United States. Despite the occurrence of these injuries, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of child-based programs designed to teach children gun-safety skills. This study compared 2 programs that were designed to reduce gun play in preschool children. ⋯ Existing programs are insufficient for teaching gun-safety skills to children. Programs that use active learning strategies (modeling, rehearsal, and feedback) are more effective for teaching gun-safety skills as assessed by supervised role plays but still failed to teach the children to use the skills outside the context of the training session. More research is needed to determine the most effective way to promote the use of the skills outside the training session.
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The ability to measure and improve the quality of children's health care is of national importance. Despite the existence of numerous health care quality measures, the collective ability of measures to assess children's health care quality is unclear. A review of existing health care quality measures for children is timely for both assessing the current state of quality measures for children and identifying areas requiring additional research and development. ⋯ There are several instruments designed to measure health care quality for children. Despite this, we found relatively few measures for assessing patient safety and living with illness and none for end-of-life care. Few measures are designed for specific age categories among children. Although equity is an overarching concern in health care quality, the application of current measures to assess disparities has been limited. These areas need additional research and development for a more complete assessment of health care quality for children.
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Comparative Study
Computerized physician order entry and medication errors in a pediatric critical care unit.
Medication errors are a major concern of health care professionals and medical institutions, especially errors involving children. Studies in adults have shown that computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems reduce medication errors and adverse drug events (ADEs). The effect of CPOE implementation in a pediatric population has not been reported. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of CPOE on the frequency of errors in the medication ordering process in a pediatric critical care unit (PCCU). ⋯ The implementation of CPOE resulted in almost a complete elimination of MPEs and RVs and a significant but less dramatic effect on potential ADEs.
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Although appendicitis is a common pediatric surgical condition, it is often misdiagnosed. Because higher hospital volume has been associated with improved outcome for many surgical procedures, the current study investigates whether hospital volume of pediatric appendectomies is associated with misdiagnosis of appendicitis in children. ⋯ Almost two thirds of pediatric appendectomies are performed at hospitals performing <1 pediatric appendectomy per week. Lower hospital volume of pediatric appendectomies is associated with a significantly increased likelihood of misdiagnosis of appendicitis in children.