Pediatrics
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Comparative Study
Screening for environmental tobacco smoke exposure among inner-city children with asthma.
The goals were (1) to develop an index measure of environmental tobacco smoke based on parent self-report of smoking behaviors and (2) to determine whether the index score was associated with children's present and future cotinine levels. ⋯ An index measure with combined information regarding primary caregiver smoking and household smoking restrictions helped to identify children with asthma with the greatest exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and could predict which children would have elevated cotinine levels 7 to 9 months later.
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Comparative Study
A novel method of distal end-tidal CO2 capnography in intubated infants: comparison with arterial CO2 and with proximal mainstream end-tidal CO2.
The objective of this study was to evaluate a novel method of distal end-tidal CO2 capnography by comparison with PaCO2 and with the more standard method that measures mainstream proximal end-tidal CO2 in intubated infants. ⋯ Distal end-tidal CO2 measured via a double-lumen endotracheal tube was found to have good correlation and agreement with PaCO2, remained reliable in conditions of severe lung disease, and was more accurate than the standard mainstream proximal end-tidal CO2.
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Multicenter Study
Estimated savings from paid telephone consultations between subspecialists and primary care physicians.
Pediatric subspecialists are not routinely reimbursed by Medicaid or insurance payers for telephone consultations. Generally, access to pediatric subspecialists is limited because of the small number of providers, their concentration in academic medical centers, and increasing demand for their services. Little is known about the nature of such consults, the time required to provide them, or whether there is a positive economic impact for payers. ⋯ Telephone consultations with pediatric subspecialists provide a valuable service to primary care physicians providing medical homes to Medicaid patients. Rewarding physicians for telephone consults seems to be cost-effective because of reduced use of costly services and reported improvements in quality of care.
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Multicenter Study
Epidemiological features of Clostridium difficile-associated disease among inpatients at children's hospitals in the United States, 2001-2006.
Clostridium difficile is the main cause of nosocomial and antibiotic-associated diarrhea in adults. Recently, the incidence and severity of C difficile-associated disease in adults have been increasing. Whether similar phenomena are occurring among children remains unknown. Our study describes the epidemiological features of C difficile-associated disease in hospitalized children. ⋯ The annual incidence of C difficile-associated disease in hospitalized children increased significantly from 2001 to 2006. However, the rates of colectomy and in-hospital death have not increased in children with C difficile-associated disease as they have among adults. The risk factors and outcomes for children with C difficile-associated disease remain to be defined in future studies.
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Comparative Study
Visual function at 35 and 40 weeks' postmenstrual age in low-risk preterm infants.
The objectives of this study were to (1) assess visual function in low-risk preterm infants at 35 and 40 weeks' postmenstrual age, (2) compare preterm visual abilities at term-equivalent age with term-born infants, and (3) evaluate effects of preterm extrauterine life on early visual function. ⋯ Our findings provide data for visual function at 35 and 40 weeks' postmenstrual age in low-risk preterm infants. The results suggest that early extrauterine experience may accelerate the maturation of aspects of visual function related to ocular stability and tracking but does not seem to affect other aspects that may be more cortically mediated.