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IMPORTANCE: Pediatric sepsis definitions have evolved, and some have proposed using the measure used in adults to quantify organ dysfunction, a Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score of 2 or more in the setting of suspected infection. A pediatric adaptation of SOFA (pSOFA) showed excellent discrimination for mortality in critically ill children but has not been evaluated in an emergency department (ED) population. OBJECTIVE: To delineate test characteristics of the pSOFA score for predicting in-hospital mortality among (1) all patients and (2) patients with suspected infection treated in pediatric EDs. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective cohort study took place from January 1, 2012, to January 31, 2020 in 9 US children’s hospitals included in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) Registry. The data was analyzed from February 1, 2020, to April 18, 2022. All ED visits for patients younger than 18 years were included. EXPOSURES: ED pSOFA score was assigned by summing maximum pSOFA organ dysfunction components during ED stay (each 0-4 points). In the subset with suspected infection, visit meeting criteria for sepsis (suspected infection with a pSOFA score of 2 or more) and septic shock (suspected infection with vasoactive infusion and serum lactate level >18.0 mg/dL) were identified. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Test characteristics of pSOFA scores of 2 or more during the ED stay for hospital mortality. RESULTS: A total of 3 999 528 (female, 47.3%) ED visits were included. pSOFA scores ranged from 0 to 16, with 126 250 visits (3.2%) having a pSOFA score of 2 or more. pSOFA scores of 2 or more had sensitivity of 0.65 (95% CI, 0.62-0.67) and specificity of 0.97 (95% CI, 0.97-0.97), with negative predictive value of 1.0 (95% CI, 1.00-1.00) in predicting hospital mortality. Of 642 868 patients with suspected infection (16.1%), 42 992 (6.7%) met criteria for sepsis, and 374 (0.1%) met criteria for septic shock. Hospital mortality rates for suspected infection (599 502), sepsis (42 992), and septic shock (374) were 0.0%, 0.9%, and 8.0%, respectively. The pSOFA score had similar discrimination for hospital mortality in all ED visits (area under receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.79-0.82) and the subset with suspected infection (area under receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.80-0.84). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In a large, multicenter study of pediatric ED visits, a pSOFA score of 2 or more was uncommon and associated with increased hospital mortality yet had poor sensitivity as a screening tool for hospital mortality. Conversely, children with a pSOFA score of 2 or less were at very low risk of death, with high specificity and negative predictive value. Among patients with suspected infection, patients with pSOFA-defined septic shock demonstrated the highest mortality.

Objectives Wait time for emergency care is a quality measure that affects clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. It is unknown if there is racial/ethnic variability in this quality measure in pediatric emergency departments (PEDs). We aim to determine whether racial/ethnic differences exist in wait times for children presenting to PEDs and examine between-site and within-site differences. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study for PED encounters in 2016 using the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network Registry, an aggregated deidentified electronic health registry comprising 7 PEDs. Patient encounters were included among all patients 18 years or younger at the time of the ED visit. We evaluated differences in emergency department wait time (time from arrival to first medical evaluation) considering patient race/ethnicity as the exposure. Results Of 448,563 visits, median wait time was 35 minutes (interquartile range, 17-71 minutes). Compared with non-Hispanic White (NHW) children, non-Hispanic Black (NHB), Hispanic, and other race children waited 27%, 33%, and 12% longer, respectively. These differences were attenuated after adjusting for triage acuity level, mode of arrival, sex, age, insurance, time of day, and month [adjusted median wait time ratios (95% confidence intervals): 1.11 (1.10-1.12) for NHB, 1.12 (1.11-1.13) for Hispanic, and 1.05 (1.03-1.06) for other race children compared with NHW children]. Differences in wait time for NHB and other race children were no longer significant after adjusting for clinical site. Fully adjusted median wait times among Hispanic children were longer compared with NHW children [1.04 (1.03-1.05)]. Conclusions In unadjusted analyses, non-White children experienced longer PED wait times than NHW children. After adjusting for illness severity, patient demographics, and overcrowding measures, wait times for NHB and other race children were largely determined by site of care. Hispanic children experienced longer within-site and between-site wait times compared with NHW children. Additional research is needed to understand structures and processes of care contributing to wait time differences between sites that disproportionately impact non-White patients.

Background Obtaining informed consent for clinical research in the pediatric emergency department (ED) is challenging. Our objective was to understand the factors that influence parental consent for ED studies. Methods This was a cross-sectional survey assessing parents' willingness to enroll their children into an ED research study. Parents reporting a willingness to enroll in ED studies were presented with two hypothetical scenarios, a low-risk and a high-risk study, and then asked about decision influencers affecting consent. Parents expressing a lack of willingness to enroll were asked which decision influencers impacted their consent decision. Results Among 118 parents, 90 (76%) stated they would be willing to enroll their child into an ED study; of these, 86 (96%) would consent for a low-risk study and 54 (60%) would consent for a high-risk study. Caucasian parents, and those with previous research exposure, were more likely to report willingness to participate. Those who would consent to the high-risk study cited "benefits that research would provide to future children" most strongly influenced their decision to agree. Conclusions ED investigators should highlight the benefits for future children and inquire about parents' previous exposure to research to enhance ED research enrollment. Barriers to consent in non-Caucasian families should be further investigated. Impact Obtaining consent for pediatric emergency research is challenging and this study identified factors influencing parental consent for research in EDs. Benefits for future children and parents' previous research experience were two of the most influential factors in parents' willingness to consent to ED research studies. These findings will help to improve enrollment in ED research studies and better our understanding of how to promote the health and well-being of pediatric patients.

OBJECTIVE Describe the clinical presentation, prevalence of concurrent serious bacterial infection (SBI), and outcomes among infants with omphalitis. METHODS Within the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Collaborative Research Committee, 28 sites reviewed records of infants ≤90 days of age with omphalitis seen in the emergency department from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2017. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, treatment, and outcome data were summarized. RESULTS Among 566 infants (median age 16 days), 537 (95%) were well-appearing, 64 (11%) had fever at home or in the emergency department, and 143 (25%) had reported fussiness or poor feeding. Blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid cultures were collected in 472 (83%), 326 (58%), and 222 (39%) infants, respectively. Pathogens grew in 1.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.3%–2.5%) of blood, 0.9% (95% CI, 0.2%–2.7%) of urine, and 0.9% (95% CI, 0.1%–3.2%) of cerebrospinal fluid cultures. Cultures from the site of infection were obtained in 320 (57%) infants, with 85% (95% CI, 80%–88%) growing a pathogen, most commonly methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (62%), followed by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (11%) and Escherichia coli (10%). Four hundred ninety-eight (88%) were hospitalized, 81 (16%) to an ICU. Twelve (2.1% [95% CI, 1.1%–3.7%]) had sepsis or shock, and 2 (0.4% [95% CI, 0.0%–1.3%]) had severe cellulitis or necrotizing soft tissue infection. There was 1 death. Serious complications occurred only in infants aged CONCLUSIONS In this multicenter cohort, mild, localized disease was typical of omphalitis. SBI and adverse outcomes were uncommon. Depending on age, routine testing for SBI is likely unnecessary in most afebrile, well-appearing infants with omphalitis.

OBJECTIVE When evaluating suspected appendicitis, limited data support quality benchmarks for negative appendectomy (NA); none exist for delayed diagnosis of appendicitis (DDA). The objectives of this study are the following: (1) to provide preliminary evidence supporting a quality benchmark for DDA and 2) to compare presenting features and diagnostic evaluations of children with NA and DDA with those with pathology-confirmed appendicitis (PCA) diagnosed during initial emergency department (ED) encounter. METHODS Secondary analysis of data from a QI project designed to reduce the use computed tomography when evaluating suspected appendicitis using a case-control design. Patients undergoing appendectomy in an academic tertiary care children's hospital system between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2016 (n = 1,189) were eligible for inclusion in this case-control study. Negative appendectomy was defined as no pathologic change or findings consistent with a different diagnosis. Delayed diagnosis of appendicitis was defined as patients undergoing appendectomy within 7 days of a prior ED visit for a related complaint. Controls of PCA (n = 150) were randomly selected from all cases undergoing appendectomy. RESULTS There were 42 NA (3.5%) and 31 DDA (2.6%). Cases of PCA and NA exhibited similar histories, examination findings, and underwent comparable diagnostic evaluations. Cases of PCA more frequently demonstrated a white blood cell count greater than 10 × 10/μL (85% vs 67%; P = 0.01), a left-shift (77% vs 45%; P < 0.001), and an ultrasound interpretation with high probability for appendicitis (73% vs 54%; P = 0.03). Numerous significant differences in history, examination findings, and diagnostic tests performed existed between cases of PCA and DDA. CONCLUSIONS Children with PCA and NA present similarly and undergo comparable evaluations resulting in appendectomy. A 3% to 4% NA rate may be unavoidable given these similarities. Presenting features in DDA significantly differ from those of PCA. An irreducible proportion of appendicitis diagnoses may be delayed.

Objectives To use electronic health record data from the first 2 hours of care to derive and validate a model to predict hypotensive septic shock in children with infection. Design Derivation-validation study using an existing registry. Setting Six emergency care sites within a regional pediatric healthcare system. Three datasets of unique visits were designated:1)training set (five sites, April 1, 2013, to December 31, 2016),2)temporal test set (five sites, January 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018), and3)geographic test set (sixth site, April 1, 2013, to June 30, 2018). Patients Patients in whom clinicians were concerned about serious infection from 60 days to 18 years were included; those with septic shock in the first 2 hours were excluded. There were 2,318 included visits; 197 developed septic shock (8.5%). Interventions Lasso with 10-fold cross-validation was used for variable selection; logistic regression was then used to construct a model from those variables in the training set. Variables were derived from electronic health record data known in the first 2 hours, including vital signs, medical history, demographics, and laboratory information. Test characteristics at two thresholds were evaluated: 1) optimizing sensitivity and specificity and 2) set to 90% sensitivity. Measurements and main results Septic shock was defined as systolic hypotension and vasoactive use or greater than or equal to 30 mL/kg isotonic crystalloid administration in the first 24 hours. A model was created using 20 predictors, with an area under the receiver operating curve in the training set of 0.85 (0.82-0.88); 0.83 (0.78-0.89) in the temporal test set and 0.83 (0.60-1.00) in the geographic test set. Sensitivity and specificity varied based on cutpoint; when sensitivity in the training set was set to 90% (83-94%), specificity was 62% (60-65%). Conclusions This model predicted risk of septic shock in children with suspected infection 2 hours after arrival, a critical timepoint for emergent treatment and transfer decisions. Varied cutpoints could be used to customize sensitivity to clinical context.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute evidence-based guidelines for timeliness of opioid administration for sickle cell disease (SCD) pain crises recommend an initial opioid within 1 hour of arrival, with subsequent dosing every 30 minutes until pain is controlled. No multisite studies have evaluated guideline adherence, to our knowledge. Our objective was to determine guideline adherence across a multicenter network. METHODS: We conducted a multiyear cross-sectional analysis of children with SCD who presented between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018, to 7 emergency departments (EDs) within the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network. Visits for uncomplicated pain crisis were included, defined with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) and ICD-10 code for SCD crisis and receipt of an opioid, excluding visits with other SCD complications or temperature exceeding 38.5°C (101.3°F). Times were extracted from the electronic record. Guideline adherence was assessed across sites and calendar years. RESULTS: A total of 4,578 visits were included. The median time to first opioid receipt was 62 minutes (interquartile range 42 to 93 minutes); between the first and second opioid receipt, 60 minutes (interquartile range 39 to 93 minutes). Overall, 48% of visits (95% confidence interval 47% to 50%) were guideline adherent for first opioid. Of 3,538 visits with a second opioid, 15% (95% confidence interval 14% to 16%) were guideline adherent. Site variation in adherence existed for time to first opioid (range 22% to 70%) and time between first and second opioid (range 2% to 36%; both P.05 for both). CONCLUSION: Guideline adherence for timeliness of SCD treatment is poor, with half of visits adherent for time to first opioid and one seventh adherent for second dose. Dissemination and implementation research/quality improvement efforts are critical to improve care across EDs.

Objective To measure the variability in discharge opioid prescription practices for children discharged from the emergency department (ED) with a long-bone fracture. Design A retrospective cohort study of pediatric ED visits in 2015. Setting Four pediatric EDs. Subjects Children aged four to 18 years with a long-bone fracture discharged from the ED. Methods A multisite registry of electronic health record data (PECARN Registry) was analyzed to determine the proportion of children receiving an opioid prescription on ED discharge. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to determine characteristics associated with receipt of an opioid prescription. Results There were 5,916 visits with long-bone fractures; 79% involved the upper extremity, and 27% required reduction. Overall, 15% of children were prescribed an opioid at discharge, with variation between the four EDs: A = 8.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 6.9–9.7%), B = 12.1% (95% CI = 10.5–14.0%), C = 16.9% (95% CI = 15.2–18.8%), D = 23.8% (95% CI = 21.7–26.1%). Oxycodone was the most frequently prescribed opioid. In the regression analysis, in addition to variation by ED site of care, age 12–18 years, white non-Hispanic, private insurance status, reduced fracture, and severe pain documented during the ED visit were associated with increased opioid prescribing. Conclusions For children with a long-bone fracture, discharge opioid prescription varied widely by ED site of care. In addition, black patients, Hispanic patients, and patients with government insurance were less likely to be prescribed opioids. This variability in opioid prescribing was not accounted for by patient- or injury-related factors that are associated with increased pain. Therefore, opioid prescribing may be modifiable, but evidence to support improved outcomes with specific treatment regimens is lacking.

Sepsis is a leading cause of pediatric death requiring emergency resuscitation. Most children with sepsis are treated in general emergency departments (EDs); however, research has focused on pediatric EDs. We sought to identify barriers and facilitators to pediatric sepsis care in general EDs, including care processes, the role of guidelines, and incentivized metrics.In this qualitative study, we conducted semistructured interviews with key informant physician and nurse leaders overseeing pediatric sepsis in general EDs in 2021, including medical directors, nurse managers, and quality coordinators. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded using deductive domains based on steps of sepsis care, pediatric readiness, and structural dynamics. Domains were analyzed across interviews in matrices, using thematic analysis within domains.Twenty-one clinical leaders representing 26 hospitals, including trauma levels I to IV, were interviewed. The themes included the following: (1) motivation to improve pediatric sepsis care based on moral imperative and location; (2) need for actionable pediatric sepsis guidelines; (3) children's hospitals' role in education, protocols, transfer, and consultation; and (4) mixed feelings about reportable metrics, particularly in EDs with low pediatric volume. Sepsis care process challenges included diagnosis, intravenous access, and antibiotic delivery but varied among hospitals.Leaders in general EDs were motivated to provide high-quality pediatric sepsis care but disagreed on whether reportable metrics would drive improvements. They universally sought direct support from their nearest children's hospitals and actionable guidelines. Efforts to address pediatric sepsis quality in general EDs should prioritize guideline design, responsive pediatric transfer and consultation systems, and locally specific process improvement.

* Abbreviations: aOR — : adjusted odds ratio CI — : confidence interval ED — : emergency department RR — : relative reduction Pain caused by long bone fractures is a common reason for opioid prescribing in the emergency department (ED) setting.1 Approximately 40% of opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription,2 and in response, opioid prescribing has declined in the last decade.3 We previously demonstrated racial and/or ethnic disparities in the ED management of pain among children with long bone fractures.4 We now perform this study to investigate whether racial and/or ethnic differences in provision of outpatient opioid prescriptions for children discharged from the ED with long bone fractures have attenuated over time. We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study of children aged 4 to

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Pediatric sepsis quality improvement in emergency departments has been well described and associated with improved survival. Acute care (non-ICU inpatient) units differ in important ways, and optimal approaches to improving sepsis processes and outcomes in this setting are not yet known. Our objective was to increase the proportion of acute care sepsis cases in our health system with initial antibiotic order-to-administration time ≤60 minutes by 20% from a baseline of 43% to 52% by December 2020. METHODS Employing the Model for Improvement with broad stakeholder engagement, we developed and implemented interventions aimed at effective intervention for sepsis cases on acute care units. We analyzed process and outcome metrics over time using statistical process control charts. We used descriptive statistics to explore differences in antibiotic order-to-administration time and inform ongoing improvement. RESULTS We cared for 187 patients with sepsis over the course of our initiative. The proportion within our goal antibiotic order-to-administration time rose from 43% to 64% with evidence of special cause variation after our interventions. Of all patients, 66% experienced ICU transfer and 4% died. CONCLUSIONS We successfully decreased antibiotic order-to-administration time. We also introduced a novel model for sepsis response systems that integrates interventions designed for the complexities of acute care settings. We demonstrated impactful local improvements in the acute care setting where quality improvement reports and success have previously been limited.

BACKGROUND Alcohol and cannabis use frequently co-occur, which can result in problems from social and academic impairment to dependence (i.e., alcohol use disorder [AUD] and/or cannabis use disorder [CUD]). The Emergency Department (ED) is an excellent site to identify adolescents with alcohol misuse, conduct a brief intervention, and refer to treatment; however, given time constraints, alcohol use may be the only substance assessed due to its common role in unintentional injury. The current study, a secondary data analysis, assessed the relationship between adolescent alcohol and cannabis use by examining the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) two question screen's (2QS) ability to predict future CUD at one, two, and three years post-ED visit. Methods: At baseline, data was collected via tablet self-report surveys from medically and behaviorally stable adolescents 12-17 years old (n = 1,689) treated in 16 pediatric EDs for non-life-threatening injury, illness, or mental health condition. Follow-up surveys were completed via telephone or web-based survey. Logistic regression compared CUD diagnosis odds at one, two, or three-year follow-up between levels constituting a single-level change in baseline risk categorization on the NIAAA 2QS (nondrinker versus low-risk, low- versus moderate-risk, moderate- versus high-risk). Receiver operating characteristic curve methods examined the predictive ability of the baseline NIAAA 2QS cut points for CUD at one, two, or three-year follow-up. Results: Adolescents with low alcohol risk had significantly higher rates of CUD versus nondrinkers (OR range: 1.94-2.76, p < .0001). For low and moderate alcohol risk, there was no difference in CUD rates (OR range: 1.00-1.08). CUD rates were higher in adolescents with high alcohol risk versus moderate risk (OR range: 2.39-4.81, p < .05). Conclusions: Even low levels of baseline alcohol use are associated with risk for a later CUD. The NIAAA 2QS is an appropriate assessment measure to gauge risk for future cannabis use.

OBJECTIVES Describe the clinical presentation, prevalence, and outcomes of concurrent serious bacterial infection (SBI) among infants with mastitis. METHODS Within the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Collaborative Research Committee, 28 sites reviewed records of infants aged ≤90 days with mastitis who were seen in the emergency department between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2017. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, treatment, and outcome data were summarized. RESULTS Among 657 infants (median age 21 days), 641 (98%) were well appearing, 138 (21%) had history of fever at home or in the emergency department, and 63 (10%) had reported fussiness or poor feeding. Blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid cultures were collected in 581 (88%), 274 (42%), and 216 (33%) infants, respectively. Pathogens grew in 0.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04–1.2) of blood, 1.1% (95% CI 0.2–3.2) of urine, and 0.4% (95% CI 0.01–2.5) of cerebrospinal fluid cultures. Cultures from the site of infection were obtained in 335 (51%) infants, with 77% (95% CI 72–81) growing a pathogen, most commonly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (54%), followed by methicillin-susceptible S aureus (29%), and unspecified S aureus (8%). A total of 591 (90%) infants were admitted to the hospital, with 22 (3.7%) admitted to an ICU. Overall, 10 (1.5% [95% CI 0.7–2.8]) had sepsis or shock, and 2 (0.3% [95% CI 0.04–1.1]) had severe cellulitis or necrotizing soft tissue infection. None received vasopressors or endotracheal intubation. There were no deaths. CONCLUSIONS In this multicenter cohort, mild localized disease was typical of neonatal mastitis. SBI and adverse outcomes were rare. Evaluation for SBI is likely unnecessary in most afebrile, well-appearing infants with mastitis.

Study objective To determine the effect of providing risk estimates of clinically important traumatic brain injuries and management recommendations on emergency department (ED) outcomes for children with isolated intermediate Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network clinically important traumatic brain injury risk factors. Methods This was a secondary analysis of a nonrandomized clinical trial with concurrent controls, conducted at 5 pediatric and 8 general EDs between November 2011 and June 2014, enrolling patients younger than 18 years who had minor blunt head trauma. After a baseline period, intervention sites received electronic clinical decision support providing patient-level clinically important traumatic brain injury risk estimates and management recommendations. The following primary outcomes in patients with one intermediate Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network risk factor were compared before and after clinical decision support: proportion of ED computed tomography (CT) scans, adjusted for age, time trend, and site; and prevalence of clinically important traumatic brain injuries. Results The risk of clinically important traumatic brain injuries was known for 3,859 children with isolated findings (1,711 at intervention sites before clinical decision support, 1,702 at intervention sites after clinical decision support, and 446 at control sites). In this group, pooled CT proportion decreased from 24.2% to 21.6% after clinical decision support (odds ratio 0.86; 95% confidence interval 0.73 to 1.01). Decreases in CT use were noted across intervention EDs, but not in controls. The pooled adjusted odds ratio for CT use after clinical decision support was 0.73 (95% confidence interval 0.60 to 0.88). Among the entire cohort, clinically important traumatic brain injury was diagnosed at the index ED visit for 37 of 37 (100%) patients before clinical decision support and 32 of 33 patients (97.0%) after clinical decision support. Conclusion Providing specific risks of clinically important traumatic brain injury through electronic clinical decision support was associated with a modest and safe decrease in ED CT use for children at nonnegligible risk of clinically important traumatic brain injuries.

The pediatric emergency department (PED) represents an opportune time for alcohol and drug screening. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) recommends a two-question alcohol screen for adolescents as a predictor of alcohol and drug misuse.A multi-site PED study was conducted to determine the association between the NIAAA two-question alcohol screen and adolescent cannabis use disorders (CUD), cigarette smoking, and lifetime use of other drugs.Participants included 12-17-year olds (n = 4834) treated in one of 16 participating PEDs. An assessment battery, including the NIAAA two-question screen and other measures of alcohol, tobacco and drug use, was self-administered on a tablet computer.A diagnosis of CUD, lifetime tobacco use or lifetime drug use was predicted by any self-reported alcohol use in the past year, which indicates a classification of moderate risk for middle school ages and low risk for high school ages on the NIAAA two-question screen. Drinking was most strongly predictive of a CUD, somewhat weaker for lifetime tobacco use, and weakest for lifetime drug use. This same pattern held for high school and middle school students and was stronger for high school students over middle school students for all three categories. This association was also found across gender, ethnicity and race. The association was strongest for CUD for high school students, sensitivity 81.7% (95% CI, 77.0, 86.5) and specificity 70.4% (95% CI, 68.6, 72.1). Conclusions/Importance: A single question about past year alcohol use can provide valuable information about other substance use, particularly marijuana.

BACKGROUND: Penicillin allergy is reported in up to 10% of the general population; however, >90% of patients reporting an allergy are tolerant. Patients labeled as penicillin allergic have longer hospital stays, increased exposure to suboptimal antibiotics, and an increased risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridioides difficile. The primary aim with our quality improvement initiative was to increase penicillin allergy delabeling to at least 10% among all hospitalized pediatric patients reporting a penicillin allergy with efforts directed toward patients determined to be low risk for true allergic reaction. METHODS: Our quality improvement project included several interventions: the development of a multidisciplinary clinical care pathway to identify eligible patients, workflow optimization to support delabeling, an educational intervention, and participation in our institution’s quality improvement incentive program. Our interventions were targeted to facilitate appropriate delabeling by the primary hospital medicine team. Statistical process control charts were used to assess the impact of this intervention pre- and postpathway implementation. RESULTS: After implementation of the clinical pathway, the percentage of patients admitted to hospital medicine delabeled of their penicillin allergy by discharge increased to 11.7%. More than one-half of those delabeled (51.2%) received a penicillin-based antimicrobial at time of discharge. There have been no adverse events or allergic reactions requiring emergency medication administration since pathway implementation. CONCLUSIONS: Our quality improvement initiative successfully increased the rate of penicillin allergy delabeling among low-risk hospitalized pediatric patients, allowing for increased use of optimal antibiotics.

Background: Neonatal mastitis and omphalitis are uncommon but potentially serious infections in neonates. Clinical findings may range from localized soft tissue infection to more invasive necrotizing local infection or systemic illness with other concurrent serious bacterial infections. Modern literature on these diseases is scant, and there is very little evidence available to guide evaluation and treatment decisions. Objective: Describe the clinical presentation, prevalence of concurrent serious bacterial infection (SBI), and outcomes among infants with neonatal mastitis and omphalitis. Design/Methods: Utilizing the framework of the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Collaborative …

Obtaining informed consent for clinical research in the pediatric emergency department (ED) is challenging. Our objective was to understand the factors that influence parental consent for ED studies.This was a cross-sectional survey assessing parents' willingness to enroll their children into an ED research study. Parents reporting a willingness to enroll in ED studies were presented with two hypothetical scenarios, a low-risk and a high-risk study, and then asked about decision influencers affecting consent. Parents expressing a lack of willingness to enroll were asked which decision influencers impacted their consent decision.Among 118 parents, 90 (76%) stated they would be willing to enroll their child into an ED study; of these, 86 (96%) would consent for a low-risk study and 54 (60%) would consent for a high-risk study. Caucasian parents, and those with previous research exposure, were more likely to report willingness to participate. Those who would consent to the high-risk study cited "benefits that research would provide to future children" most strongly influenced their decision to agree.ED investigators should highlight the benefits for future children and inquire about parents' previous exposure to research to enhance ED research enrollment. Barriers to consent in non-Caucasian families should be further investigated.Obtaining consent for pediatric emergency research is challenging and this study identified factors influencing parental consent for research in EDs. Benefits for future children and parents' previous research experience were two of the most influential factors in parents' willingness to consent to ED research studies. These findings will help to improve enrollment in ED research studies and better our understanding of how to promote the health and well-being of pediatric patients.

OBJECTIVES Disparities in opioid prescribing in children can lead to underprescribing and poorly controlled pain. On the contrary, unnecessary overprescribing can increase the risk for misuse, abuse, and diversion. The primary objective of this study was to compare the demographics and clinical characteristics of children with an extremity fracture who did and did not receive an opioid prescription from a tertiary care children's hospital. METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study of children younger than 22 years with extremity fracture evaluated at a tertiary care children's hospital emergency department (ED) and surrounding satellite locations (3 EDs and 4 urgent cares), from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017. RESULTS There were 3325 patients younger than 22 years who were seen for evaluation of an extremity fracture. The overall median age of patients was 8 years (interquartile range [IQR], 4-11), and 1976 (59.4%) were male. Patients with extremity fractures who received opioid analgesics were older than those who did not receive opioids (median age of 10 years [IQR, 6-13 years] vs 7 years [IQR, 4-11 years], P < 0.001). There was a significant difference found between insurance types, specifically those patients receiving Medicaid and private insurance. Patients who received opioid analgesics had a higher initial pain score (7 [IQR, 4-9] vs 5 [IQR, 2-7], P < 0.001), were more likely to have an physician (MD/DO) provider (P < 0.001), and were more likely to present to the ED (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Younger patients, patients with Medicaid insurance, patients treated by an advanced care provider, and patients who presented to an urgent care were less likely to receive opioid analgesics upon discharge. These findings demonstrate that more standardization and guidance on opioid prescribing are needed in pediatrics, to both adequately treat pain and reduce harms from overprescribing of opioid analgesics.

OBJECTIVES: To test the hypotheses that minority children with long-bone fractures are less likely to (1) receive analgesics, (2) receive opioid analgesics, and (3) achieve pain reduction. METHODS: We performed a 3-year retrospective cross-sectional study of children RESULTS: In 21 069 visits with moderate-to-severe pain, 86.1% received an analgesic and 45.4% received opioids. Of 8533 patients with reassessment of pain, 89.2% experienced ≥2-point reduction in pain score and 62.2% experienced optimal pain reduction. In multivariable analyses, minority children, compared with non-Hispanic (NH) white children, were more likely to receive any analgesics (NH African American: adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.72 [95% confidence interval 1.51–1.95]; Hispanic: 1.32 [1.16–1.51]) and achieve ≥2-point reduction in pain (NH African American: 1.42 [1.14–1.76]; Hispanic: 1.38 [1.04–1.83]) but were less likely to receive opioids (NH African American: aOR 0.86 [0.77–0.95]; Hispanic: aOR 0.86 [0.76–0.96]) or achieve optimal pain reduction (NH African American: aOR 0.78 [0.67–0.90]; Hispanic: aOR 0.80 [0.67–0.95]). CONCLUSIONS: There are differences in process and outcome measures by race and ethnicity in the emergency department management of pain among children with long-bone fractures. Although minority children are more likely to receive analgesics and achieve ≥2-point reduction in pain, they are less likely to receive opioids and achieve optimal pain reduction.

Despite limited evidence, cannabidiol-rich cannabis extracts have been popularly used in pediatrics. With increased use, it is critical to determine basic pharmacokinetic parameters of cannabidiol in these extracts in the pediatric population. The objective of this study was to determine the disposition of oral cannabidiol cannabis extracts and drug interactions in children with pediatric epilepsy. We conducted a prospective observational study evaluating the disposition of oral cannabidiol in children (

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text., Introduction: Specific criteria for de-escalation from the PICU are often not included in viral bronchiolitis institutional pathways. Variability of transfer preferences can prolong PICU length of stay. We aimed to decrease the time from reaching floor-appropriate heated high flow nasal cannula (HHF) settings to the transfer decision by 20% through standardizing PICU-to-floor transfer assessment in a PICU bronchiolitis cohort. Methods: We included PICU bronchiolitis admissions from October 2019 to April 2020, who were 6-months to 2-years-old with no comorbidities nor intubation during their encounter. Our intervention bundle included introduction of transfer criteria and standardization of transfer-readiness assessment. The primary outcome was time from reaching floor-appropriate HHF settings [8 L per minutes (Lpm)] to placement of the transfer order (“time-to-transfer decision”). The secondary outcome was PICU length of stay. The main process measure was the proportion of patients transferred on ≥6 Lpm HHF. Balancing measures included Rapid Response Team activation and unplanned PICU readmission. We assessed admissions meeting inclusion criteria from December, 2018-March, 2019 for the preintervention baseline. Results: Special cause variation indicated improvement in our primary outcome and process measures. Comparison of baseline to postintervention revealed a reduction in median time-to-transfer decision (14.4–7.8 hours; P < 0.001) and increase in children transferred on ≥6 Lpm (51%–72%; P < 0.001). We observed no change in PICU length of stay or balancing measures. Conclusion: Standardizing de-escalation criteria and transfer-readiness assessment reduced the time-to-transfer decision out of the PICU and increased the proportion transferred on ≥6 Lpm HHF for children with viral bronchiolitis without increasing PICU readmissions.

This article discusses the implications of health care reform on the pediatric emergency department (ED). The author briefly discusses the health care costs and outcomes in the United States in comparison to other developed nations. The article discusses the impact of the Affordable Care Act and insurance expansion on the pediatric ED. Then the article addresses the impacts of the growing patient financial responsibility on ED use. There will be a discussion of the development of pediatric accountable care organizations and how payment mechanisms are evolving, and the challenges the pediatric ED may face in these new payment strategies.

Background Electronic health record (EHR)-based registries allow for robust data to be derived directly from the patient clinical record and can provide important information about processes of care delivery and patient health outcomes. Methods A data dictionary, and subsequent data model, were developed describing EHR data sources to include all processes of care within the emergency department (ED). ED visit data were deidentified and XML files were created and submitted to a central data coordinating center for inclusion in the registry. Automated data quality control occurred prior to submission through an application created for this project. Data quality reports were created for manual data quality review. Results The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) Registry, representing four hospital systems and seven EDs, demonstrates that ED data from disparate health systems and EHR vendors can be harmonized for use in a single registry with a common data model. The current PECARN Registry represents data from 2,019,461 pediatric ED visits, 894,503 distinct patients, more than 12.5 million narrative reports, and 12,469,754 laboratory tests and continues to accrue data monthly. Conclusion The Registry is a robust harmonized clinical registry that includes data from diverse patients, sites, and EHR vendors derived via data extraction, deidentification, and secure submission to a central data coordinating center. The data provided may be used for benchmarking, clinical quality improvement, and comparative effectiveness research.

OBJECTIVES: In preparation for a clinical trial of therapeutic agents for children with moderate-to-severe blunt traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in emergency departments (EDs), we conducted this feasibility study to 1) determine the number and clinical characteristics of eligible children, 2) determine the timing of patient and guardian arrival to the ED, and 3) describe the heterogeneity of TBIs on computed tomography (CT) scans. METHODS: We conducted a prospective observational study at 16 EDs of children ≤ 18 years of age presenting with blunt head trauma and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores of 3-12. We documented the number of potentially eligible patients, timing of patient and guardian arrival, patient demographics and clinical characteristics, severity of injuries, and cranial CT findings. RESULTS: We enrolled 295 eligible children at the 16 sites over 6 consecutive months. Cardiac arrest and non-survivable injuries were the most common characteristics that would exclude patients from a future trial. Most children arrived within 2 hours of injury, but most guardians did not arrive until 2-3 hours after the injury. There was a substantial range in types of TBIs, with subdural hemorrhages being the most common. CONCLUSION: Enrolling children with moderate-to-severe TBI into time sensitive clinical trials will require large numbers of sites, meticulous preparation and coordination, and will prove challenging to obtain informed consent given the timing of patient and guardian arrival. The Federal Exception from Informed Consent for Emergency Research will be an important consideration for enrolling these children. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Language: en

Background Over 90% of children with reported penicillin allergy can tolerate penicillin without incident. Developing effective and safe strategies to remove inappropriate penicillin allergies has the potential to improve care; however, guidance on how to identify, test, and delabel patients is limited. Methods In April 2019, Children’s Hospital Colorado (CHCO) implemented a penicillin allergy clinical pathway (CP) alongside a risk assessment tool to stratify patients based on allergic history (Figure 1). Patients at “no increased risk” were educated and delabeled without testing. Low risk patients were offered an oral amoxicillin drug challenge with close observation. A single, non-graded, treatment dose of amoxicillin (45 mg/kg, max dose 1000mg) was used for low risk patients, and no preceding allergic skin testing was performed. Patients with no signs or symptoms of allergic response 60 minutes after amoxicillin administration were delabeled. Children delabeled of penicillin allergies on the CHCO hospital medicine service were compared between the pre-CP (1/1/17-3/31/19) and post-CP (4/1/19-3/31/20) cohorts. Figure 1. Penicillin Allergy Risk Assessment Results Pre-CP, 683/10624 (6.4%) patients reported a penicillin allergy and 18/683 (2.6%) were delabeled by discharge. Post-CP, 345/6559 (5.3%) patients reported a penicillin allergy and 47/345 (13.6%) were delabeled by discharge (P-value < 0.0001, Figure 2). Among the 47 post-CP patients, 11 were delabeled by history alone, 19 underwent oral amoxicillin drug challenge per CP, and 17 received a different treatment dose penicillin per treatment team. Only one penicillin-exposed patients had a reaction. This patient developed a delayed, non-progressive rash and had penicillin allergy restored to their chart. No patient required emergency medical intervention, and none were “relabeled” penicillin allergic in the 6 months following discharge. Figure 2. Monthly Rate of Penicillin Allergic Patients Delabeled by Discharge Conclusion A drug challenge using a single non-graded dose of oral amoxicillin is a safe and effective strategy to delabel low risk children of inappropriate penicillin allergies when implemented alongside a risk assessment tool. Further studies are needed to evaluate the long-term benefits of delabeling inappropriate penicillin allergies and to continue monitoring for adverse events. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Despite Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on adult opioid prescribing, there is a paucity of evidence and no guidelines to inform opioid prescribing in pediatrics. To develop guidelines on pediatric prescribing, it is imperative to evaluate current practice on opioid use. The objectives were to describe prescribing patterns of opioids for acute pain at a children's hospital and to compare clinical characteristics of patients who received less or greater than 3 days.A retrospective review of oral opioid analgesics prescribed for acute pain at a tertiary care children's hospital emergency department and urgent care from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017. Patients younger than 22 years who received an opioid prescription upon discharge were included. Patients with hematology/oncology or chronic pain diagnosis were excluded.Opioids were prescribed for a median of 2.2 days (interquartile range, 1.4-3.0 days). Most opioids were prescribed for ≤3 days (1326; 79.3%), and there were 44 (2.6%) prescriptions for7 days. Twenty-two opioid formulations were prescribed. Single-ingredient oxycodone was the most commonly prescribed (877; 52.5%); there were 724 (43.3%) acetaminophen combination products. Common diagnoses were orthopedic (973; 58.2%), surgery/burn/trauma (195; 11.7%), and ear/nose/throat (143; 8.6%). Patients who received3 days of opioids were younger (P0.001), and there was no differences in sex, ethnicity, insurance, or provider qualifications.Overall, prescribing patterns for the duration of opioid analgesics were ≤3 days, with a median of 2 days. There was a large range of days prescribed, with variations in prescribing characteristics among patients and providers.

Objective To examine the use, efficacy, and safety of intravenous magnesium sulfate (IVMg) in children with asthma whose emergency department (ED) management is recorded in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) Registry. Study design This multicenter retrospective cohort study analyzed clinical data from 7 EDs from 2012 to 2017. We described use of IVMg in children aged 2-17 years treated for acute asthma and its effect on blood pressure. We also used multivariable analysis to examine factors associated with use of IVMg and its association with return visits within 72 hours. Results Across 61 854 asthma visits for children, clinicians administered IVMg in 6497 (10.5%). Median time from triage to IVMg administration was 154 minutes (IQR 84, 244). During 22 495 ED visits resulting in hospitalization after ED treatment, IVMg was administered in 5774 (25.7%) (range by site 15.9%, 50.6%). Patients were discharged home from the ED after 11.1% of IVMg administrations, and hypotension occurred after 6.8%. Variation in IVMg use was not explained by patient characteristics. Revisits did not differ between patients discharged after IVMg and those not receiving IVMg. Conclusions In PECARN Registry EDs, administration of IVMg occurs late in ED treatment, for a minority of the children likely to benefit, with variation between sites, which suggests the current clinical role for IVMg in preventing hospitalization is limited. Discharge after IVMg administration is likely safe. Further research should prospectively assess the efficacy and safety of early IVMg administration.

With the growing deployments of Internet of Things (IoT) systems, the importance of the concept of a digital avatar of a physical thing has gathered significant interest in the recent years. Digital twin means a virtual copy of a system in operation to measure, monitor, and analyze the operational performance through continuous collection of real-time data. Evolution of sensor technology, investment in infrastructure to capture digital data of physical product, and innovation in analytical software platforms over the years is helping adoption of digital twin technology in the industry. Here we are using the open modelica software for simulation of the model. In this paper, a nonlinear model-based approach is developed for controlling pressure of an actuator chamber. Through sliding mode control approach, the controller utilizes a on/off solenoid valve to implement pressure control task.

Objective To derive and validate a model of risk of septic shock among children with suspected sepsis, using data known in the electronic health record at hospital arrival. Study design This observational cohort study at 6 pediatric emergency department and urgent care sites used a training dataset (5 sites, April 1, 2013, to December 31, 2016), a temporal test set (5 sites, January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018), and a geographic test set (a sixth site, April 1, 2013, to December 31, 2018). Patients 60 days to 18 years of age in whom clinicians suspected sepsis were included; patients with septic shock on arrival were excluded. The outcome, septic shock, was systolic hypotension with vasoactive medication or ≥30 mL/kg of isotonic crystalloid within 24 hours of arrival. Elastic net regularization, a penalized regression technique, was used to develop a model in the training set. Results Of 2464 included visits, septic shock occurred in 282 (11.4%). The model had an area under the curve of 0.79 (0.76-0.83) in the training set, 0.75 (0.69-0.81) in the temporal test set, and 0.87 (0.73-1.00) in the geographic test set. With a threshold set to 90% sensitivity in the training set, the model yielded 82% (72%-90%) sensitivity and 48% (44%-52%) specificity in the temporal test set, and 90% (55%-100%) sensitivity and 32% (21%-46%) specificity in the geographic test set. Conclusions This model estimated the risk of septic shock in children at hospital arrival earlier than existing models. It leveraged the predictive value of routine electronic health record data through a modern predictive algorithm and has the potential to enhance clinical risk stratification in the critical moments before deterioration.

Introduction: Although over half of US states have legalized marijuana for medical indications, there is limited research in use in the pediatric population. The objective was to evaluate t...

IMPORTANCE: Computed tomographic (CT) scanning is the standard for the rapid diagnosis of intracranial injury, but it is costly and exposes patients to ionizing radiation. The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) rules for identifying children with minor head trauma who are at very low risk of clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI) are widely used to triage CT imaging. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether optimal classification trees (OCTs), which are novel machine-learning classifiers, improve on PECARN rules’ predictive accuracy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A secondary analysis of prospective, publicly available data on emergency department visits for head trauma used by the PECARN group to develop their tool was conducted to derive OCT-based prediction rules for ciTBI in a development cohort and compare their predictive performance vs the PECARN rules in a validation cohort among children who were younger than 2 years and 2 years or older. Data on 42 412 children with head trauma and without severely altered mental status who were examined between June 1, 2004, and September 30, 2006, were gathered from 25 emergency departments in North America participating in PECARN. Data analysis was conducted from September 15, 2016, to December 18, 2018. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The outcome was ciTBI, with predictive performance measured by estimating the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio for the OCT and the PECARN rules. The OCT and PECARN rules’ performance was compared by estimating ratios for each measure. RESULTS: Of the 42 412 children (15 996 [37.7%] girls) included in the analysis, 10 718 were younger than 2 years (25.3%; mean [SD] age, 11.6 [0.6] months) and 31 694 were 2 years or older (74.7%; age, 9.1 [4.9] years). Compared with PECARN rules, OCTs misclassified 0 vs 1 child with ciTBI in the younger and 10 vs 9 children with ciTBI in the older cohort, and correctly identified more children with very low risk of ciTBI in the younger (7605 vs 5701) and older (20 594 vs 18 134) cohorts. In the validation cohorts, compared with the PECARN rules, the OCTs had statistically significantly better specificity (in the younger cohort: 69.3%; 95% CI, 67.4%-71.2% vs 52.8%; 95% CI, 50.8%-54.9%; in the older cohort: 65.6%; 95% CI, 64.5%-66.8% vs 57.6%; 95% CI, 56.4%-58.8%), positive predictive value (odds ratios, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.36-1.74 and 1.23; 95% CI, 1.17-1.30, in younger and older children, respectively), and positive likelihood ratio (risk ratios, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.36-1.74 and 1.23; 95% CI, 1.17-1.30, in younger and older children, respectively). There were no statistically significant differences in the sensitivity, negative predictive value, and negative likelihood ratio between the 2 sets of rules. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: If implemented, OCTs may help reduce the number of unnecessary CT scans, without missing more patients with ciTBI than the PECARN rules.

Introduction Appropriate first aid can reduce morbidity in burn. However, there is considerable variation between the international first aid recommendations. We aim to identify, and compare, first aid practices in children who present to Emergency Departments (ED) with a burn. Methods A prospective cross-sectional study in two paediatric EDs; one in the UK (Cardiff) and one in the USA (Denver, Colorado), (2015–17). Data regarding first aid practices were collected from 500 children and young people (0–16 completed years) who attended with a burn in each centre. Results Children attending hospital with a burn in Cardiff were 1.47 times more likely (RR 1.47; CI 1.36, 1.58), to have had some form of first aid than those in Denver. Denver patients were 4.7 time more likely to use a dressing and twice as likely to apply ointment/gel/aloe vera than the Cardiff cohort. 14% (72/500) of children in Cardiff and 6% (31/500) of children in Denver, received first aid consistent with their local recommendations. 27% of patients in Cardiff and 20% in Denver received potentially harmful first aid e.g. application of food, oil, toothpaste, shampoo or ice. Conclusion A very low number of children had received optimal burns first aid with potentially harmful methods applied in a considerable proportion of cases. There is an urgent need for internationally agreed, evidence-based burns first aid recommendations.

Prehospital pediatric airway management is difficult and controversial. Options include bag-mask ventilation (BMV), endotracheal tube (ETT), and laryngeal mask airway (LMA). Emergency Medical Services personnel report difficulty assessing adequacy of BMV during transport. Capnography, and capnograph tracings in particular, provide a measure of real-time ventilation currently used in prehospital medicine but have not been well studied in pediatric patients or with BMV. Our objective was to compare pediatric capnographs created with 3 airway modalities.This was a prospective study of pediatric patients requiring ETT or LMA ventilation during elective surgical procedures. Data were collected during BMV using 2 bag types (flow-inflating and self-inflating). The ETT or LMA was placed and ventilation with each bag type repeated. Ten- to 14-second capnographs were reviewed by 2 blinded anesthesiologists who were asked to assess ventilation and identify the airway and bag type used. Descriptive statistics, κ, and risk ratios were calculated.Twenty-nine patients were enrolled. Median age was 4.4 years (2 months to 16.8 years). One hundred sixteen capnographs were reviewed. Reviewers were unable to differentiate between airway modalities and agreed on adequacy of ventilation 77% of the time (κ = 0.6, P.001). Bag-mask ventilation was rated inadequate more frequently than ETT or LMA ventilation. There were no difference between ETT and LMA ventilation and no difference between the 2 bag types.Capnographs are generated during BMV and are virtually identical to those produced with ETT or LMA ventilation. Attention to capnographs could improve outcomes during emergency treatment and transport of critically ill pediatric patients requiring ventilation with any of these airway modalities.

Background Universal pre-operative screening with SARS-CoV-2 PCR has been adopted by institutions to mitigate risk to healthcare workers (HCW) during aerosol-generating procedures such as intubation. However, there remains uncertainty regarding rates of false negative results and optimal sampling type. The objective was to determine the reliability of single, pre-operative SARS-CoV-2 testing from the nasopharynx in children undergoing general anesthesia. Methods Children < 18 years of age who underwent intubation for a procedure received pre-operative testing 24–48 hours prior with a nasopharyngeal (NP) swab or wash, in conjunction with intra-operative nasal wash (NW) and tracheal aspirate (TA) sampling. All paired samples underwent testing using the Simplexa DiaSorin platform or a modified Centers for Disease Control assay. Cohen’s Kappa was used for interrater reliability of each sample result. McNemar’s Test was used to compare result proportions by sample type. Positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV) were calculated based on the intraoperative NW as the reference standard. Analyses were conducted using SAS (v 9.4). Results We collected full sample sets from 364 children from April 14 to May 15; 66% of pre-operative samples were NP swabs. The median age was 6 years (IQR 2,13), 55% were male, 68% were white and 41% of children had a high-risk comorbidity. Most surgeries were conducted by general surgery (23%), followed by orthopedics (19%). Only 2.5% of children had respiratory symptoms, and 4.8% had a documented fever within a week of the procedure. SARS-CoV-2 positive samples occurred in 4/364 (1%) of pre-operative samples, 8/363 (2.2%) of intra-operative samples, and 8/348 (2.3%) of TA samples. The pre-operative test had 100% PPV and 99% NPV, and the TA had 100% PPV and 98.6% NPV (Table 1). There was very good agreement (Figure) between pre- and intraoperative upper respiratory sampling, with a Kappa of 0.66, (95% CI 0.35–0.97). There was no statistical difference in results by sample type. Table 1. Comparison of intra-operative and pre-operative nasopharyngeal sample results, test characteristics and test concordance Table 2. Comparison of intra-operative nasopharyngeal and tracheal aspirate sample results, test characteristics and test concordance Figure 1 Percent agreement between pre-operative and intra-operative samples Conclusion There is a high PPV and NPV of pre-operative SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing among children undergoing anesthesia. These data can help inform guidelines regarding appropriate precautions for HCW performing high risk procedures in asymptomatic pediatric patients. Disclosures Suchitra Rao, MD, BioFire (Grant/Research Support) Samuel Dominguez, MD, PhD, BioFire (Consultant, Research Grant or Support)

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text., Introduction: Severe sepsis requires timely, resource-intensive resuscitation, a challenge when a sepsis diagnosis is not confirmed. The overall goals were to create a pediatric sepsis program that provided high-quality critical care in severe sepsis (Sepsis Stat), and, in possible sepsis, flexible evaluation and treatment that promoted stewardship (Sepsis Yellow). The primary aims were to decrease time to antibiotics and the intensive care unit requirement. Methods: A 2-tiered clinical pathway was implemented at 6 pediatric emergency departments and urgent care centers, incorporating order sets, education, paging. The Sepsis Stat pathway included 2 nurses, hand delivery of antibiotics, resuscitation room use. The Sepsis Yellow pathway included prioritized orders, standardized procedures, close monitoring, and evaluation of whether antibiotics were warranted. Results: From April 2012 to December 2017, we treated 3,640 patients with suspected and confirmed sepsis. Among the 932 severe sepsis patients, the 30-day, in-hospital mortality was 0.9%. Arrival to recognition time improved from 50 to 4 minutes. Recognition to antibiotic time demonstrated an in-control process in our goal range with a median of 43 minutes for Sepsis Stat patients, 59 minutes for Sepsis Yellow patients. The proportion of severe sepsis patients requiring intensive care unit care declined from 45% to 34%. On the Sepsis Yellow pathway, 23% were de-escalated with discharge to home without antibiotics. Conclusions: This novel 2-tiered approach to pediatric sepsis quality improvement in varied emergency care settings improved process and outcome measures in severe sepsis while promoting stewardship and de-escalation where appropriate. Matching resources to the degree of illness was important in supporting quality care in potentially septic children.

BACKGROUND: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) 2-question screen is a valid adolescent alcohol screening tool. No studies have examined if this tool predicts future alcohol problems. We conducted a study at 16 pediatric emergency departments to determine the tool’s predictive validity for alcohol misuse and alcohol use disorders (AUDs). METHODS: Participants (N = 4834) completed a baseline assessment battery. A subsample of participants completed the battery at 1, 2, and 3 years follow up. RESULTS: Of the 2209 participants assigned to follow-up, 1611 (73%) completed a 1-year follow-up, 1591 (72%) completed a 2-year follow-up, and 1377 (62%) completed a 3-year follow-up. The differences in AUDs between baseline NIAAA screen nondrinkers and lower-risk drinkers were statistically significant at 1 year (P = .0002), 2 years (P CONCLUSIONS: The NIAAA 2-question screen can accurately characterize adolescent risk for future AUDs. Future studies are needed to determine optimaluse of the screen.

Background Improving Diagnosis in Healthcare calls for improved training in diagnostic reasoning and establishing non-judgmental forums to learn from diagnostic errors arising from heuristic-driven reasoning. Little is known about pediatric providers’ familiarity with heuristics or the culture surrounding forums where diagnostic errors are discussed. This study aimed to describe pediatric providers’ familiarity with common heuristics and perceptions surrounding public discussions of diagnostic errors. Methods We surveyed pediatric providers at a university-affiliated children’s hospital. The survey asked participants to identify common heuristics used during clinical reasoning (five definitions; four exemplar clinical vignettes). Participants answered questions regarding comfort publicly discussing their own diagnostic errors and barriers to sharing them. Results Seventy (30.6% response rate) faculty completed the survey. The mean number of correctly selected heuristics was 1.60/5 [standard deviation (SD)=1.13] and 1.01/4 (SD=1.06) for the definitions and vignettes, respectively. A low but significant correlation existed between correctly identifying a definition and selecting the correct heuristic in vignettes (Spearman’s ρ=0.27, p=0.02). Clinicians were significantly less likely to be “pretty” or “very” comfortable discussing diagnostic errors in public vs. private conversations (28.3% vs. 74.3%, p Conclusions Pediatric providers demonstrated limited familiarity with common heuristics leading to diagnostic error. Greater years in practice is associated with more comfort discussing diagnostic errors, but negative peer and personal perceptions of diagnostic performance are common barriers to discussing errors publicly.

Introduction\ud Appropriate first aid can reduce the morbidity of burns, however, there are considerable variations between international first aid recommendations. We aim to identify, and compare first aid practices in children who present to Emergency Departments (ED) with a burn.\ud \ud Methods\ud A prospective cross-sectional study of 500 children (0–16 completed years) presenting with a burn to a paediatric ED in the UK (Cardiff) and the USA (Denver, Colorado), during 2015–2017. The proportion of children who had received some form of first aid and the quality of first aid were compared between cities.\ud \ud Results\ud Children attending hospital with a burn in Cardiff were 1.47 times more likely (RR 1.47; CI 1.36, 1.58), to have had some form of first aid than those in Denver. Denver patients were 4.7 time more likely to use a dressing and twice as likely to apply ointment/gel/aloe vera than the Cardiff cohort. First aid consistent with local recommendations was only administered to 26% (128/500) of children in Cardiff and 6% (31/500) in Denver. Potentially harmful first aid e.g. application of food, oil, toothpaste, shampoo or ice was applied to 5% of children in Cardiff and 10% in Denver.\ud \ud Conclusion\ud A low number of children received optimal burns first aid, with potentially harmful methods applied in a considerable proportion of cases. There is an urgent need for internationally agreed, evidence-based burn first aid recommendations.