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Assessment of Acute Hospital Use and Transfers for Management of Pediatric Seizures.

ABSTRACT: Importance:The availability of pediatric hospital care for common conditions is decreasing across the US. The consequences of this decrease on access to care for specific conditions need to be evaluated. Objective:To evaluate the degree of regionalization of pediatric seizure care in the US by characterizing the activity of hospital systems in 6 diverse states. Design, Setting, and Participants:This retrospective cross-sectional study used inpatient and emergency department administrative data sets from all acute care hospitals in Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York from 2014. All patients younger than 18 years who visited a hospital and had a primary diagnosis of seizures were included. Data were analyzed between January and June 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures:Characteristics of hospital encounters and pediatric Hospital Capability Index scores of transferring and admitting hospitals. Results:Among 57?930 encounters with pediatric patients with seizures (median [range] age, 4 [1-11] years; 31?968 [55.2%] boys) identified in 621 acute care hospitals, 15?467 patients (26.7%) were admitted as inpatients and 3748 patients (6.5%) were transferred between acute care hospitals. Among encounters that resulted in transfers between hospitals, seizure was the only diagnosis in 1554 patients (41.5%). A total of 42?463 encounters began as emergency department visits, of which 38?173 encounters (90.0%) resulted in routine discharge. While 536 hospitals (86.3%) transferred children with seizures, only 232 hospitals (37.4%) ever admitted them and only 63 hospitals (10.1%) ever received a pediatric seizure transfer. The median (interquartile range) pediatric Hospital Capability Index score of all hospitals was 0.10 (0.02-0.28), while that of hospitals occasionally admitting pediatric seizure patients was 0.34 (0.22-0.55). However, although most patients who were admitted had brief stays (ie, ?2 days) and no comorbidities, three-quarters of all admissions (12?002 admissions [77.6%]) were to very highly capable centers (ie, hospitals with pediatric Hospital Capability Index scores >0.75). Across all states, the number of referral hospitals for pediatric seizures was less than the number of Dartmouth Atlas Hospital Referral Regions (47 referral hospitals vs 63 hospital referral regions). Conclusions and Relevance:These findings suggest that although children with seizures are seen in almost all acute care hospital emergency departments, most hospitals transfer children who require admission. Condition-specific interhospital dependency challenges standard definitions of network adequacy and should be accounted for in emergency medical service planning, access to care policies, and health services research.

SUBMITTER: Franca UL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7175083 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Assessment of Acute Hospital Use and Transfers for Management of Pediatric Seizures.

França Urbano L UL McManus Michael L ML

JAMA network open 20200401 4

<h4>Importance</h4>The availability of pediatric hospital care for common conditions is decreasing across the US. The consequences of this decrease on access to care for specific conditions need to be evaluated.<h4>Objective</h4>To evaluate the degree of regionalization of pediatric seizure care in the US by characterizing the activity of hospital systems in 6 diverse states.<h4>Design, setting, and participants</h4>This retrospective cross-sectional study used inpatient and emergency department ...[more]

PMID: 32315068

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Project description:ImportanceHospital care for children is becoming more concentrated, with interhospital transfer occurring more frequently even for common conditions. Condition-specific analysis is required to determine the value, costs, and consequences of this trend.ObjectivesTo describe the capabilities of transferring and receiving hospitals and to determine how often children transferred after an initial diagnosis of abdominal pain or appendicitis require higher levels of care.Design, setting, and participantsRetrospective cohort analysis using the 2 most recent available inpatient and emergency department administrative data sets from all acute care hospitals in California from 2010 to 2011 and Florida, Massachusetts, and New York from 2013 to 2014. Data were analyzed between February and June 2018. All patients younger than 18 years with a primary diagnosis of abdominal pain or appendicitis who underwent an interhospital transfer and whose care could be matched through unique identifiers were included.Main outcomes and measuresOutcomes after hospital transfers, classified into encounters with major surgical procedures, imaging diagnostics, and no major procedures. Pediatric Hospital Capability Index of transferring and receiving hospitals.ResultsThere were 465?143 pediatric hospital encounters for abdominal pain and appendicitis, including 53?517 inpatient admissions and 15?275 transfers. Among them, 4469 could be matched to encounters in receiving hospitals. The median (interquartile range) age of this cohort was 10 (7-14) years, with 54.8% female (2449 patients), 40.9% male (1830 patients), and 4.3% unreported sex (190 patients). The increase in capability at the receiving hospital compared with the transferring hospital was large (median [interquartile range] change in Pediatric Hospital Capability Index score, 0.70 [0.54-0.82]), with 9.2% of hospitals (57) with very high capability (Pediatric Hospital Capability Index score >0.77) receiving 80.8% of the total transfers (3610). Diagnostic imaging was undertaken in the care of 710 transferred patients (15.9%) and invasive procedures were performed in 2421 patients (54.2%), including 2153 appendectomies. No imaging or surgery was required in the care of 1338 transfers (29.9%).Conclusions and relevanceIn this study, interfacility transfers of patients with appendicitis and abdominal pain were concentrated toward high-capability hospitals, and about 30% of patients were released without apparent intervention. These findings suggest an opportunity for improving care and decreasing cost through better interfacility coordination, such as standardized management protocols and telemedicine with high-capability hospitals. Further research is needed to identify similar opportunities among other common conditions.

Project description:ImportanceSeizures are believed to be common presenting symptoms in neonates and children with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). However, few data are available on the epidemiology of acute symptomatic seizures or the risk for later epilepsy.ObjectiveTo define the incidence of and explore risk factors for seizures and epilepsy in children with spontaneous ICH. Our a priori hypotheses were that younger age at presentation, cortical involvement of ICH, acute symptomatic seizures after presentation, ICH due to vascular malformation, and elevated intracranial pressure requiring urgent intervention would predict remote symptomatic seizures and epilepsy.DesignProspective cohort study conducted between March 1, 2007, and January 1, 2012.SettingThree tertiary care pediatric hospitals.ParticipantsSeventy-three pediatric subjects with spontaneous ICH including 20 perinatal (≥37 weeks' gestation to 28 days) and 53 childhood subjects (>28 days to <18 years at presentation).Main outcome measuresAcute symptomatic seizures (clinically evident and electrographic-only seizures within 7 days), remote symptomatic seizures, and epilepsy.ResultsAcute symptomatic seizures occurred in 35 subjects (48%). Acute symptomatic seizures as a presenting symptom of ICH occurred in 12 perinatal (60%) and 19 childhood (36%) subjects (P = .07). Acute symptomatic seizures after presentation occurred in 7 children. Electrographic-only seizures were present in 9 of 32 subjects (28%) with continuous electroencephalogram monitoring. One-year and 2-year remote symptomatic seizure-free survival rates were 82% (95% CI, 68-90) and 67% (95% CI, 46-82), respectively. One-year and 2-year epilepsy-free survival rates were 96% (95% CI, 83-99) and 87% (95% CI, 65-95), respectively. Elevated intracranial pressure requiring acute intervention was a risk factor for seizures after presentation (P = .01; Fisher exact test), remote symptomatic seizures, and epilepsy (P = .03, and P = .04, respectively; log-rank test).Conclusions and relevancePresenting seizures are common in perinatal and childhood ICH. Continuous electroencephalography may detect electrographic seizures in some subjects. Single remote symptomatic seizures occur in many, and development of epilepsy is estimated to occur in 13% of patients at 2 years. Elevated intracranial pressure requiring acute intervention is a risk factor for acute seizures after presentation, remote symptomatic seizures, and epilepsy.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Acute seizures are common in pediatric cerebral malaria (CM), but usual care with phenobarbital risks respiratory suppression. We undertook studies of enteral levetiracetam (eLVT) to evaluate pharmacokinetics (PK), safety and efficacy including an open-label, randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing eLVT to phenobarbital. METHODS:Children 24-83 months old with CM were enrolled in an eLVT dose-finding study starting with standard dose (40 mg/kg load, then 30 mg/kg Q12 hours) titrated upward until seizure freedom was attained in 75% of subjects. The RCT that followed randomized children to eLVT vs. phenobarbital for acute seizures and compared the groups on minutes with seizures based upon continuous electroencephalogram. Due to safety concerns, midway through the study children allocated to phenobarbital received the drug only if they continued to have seizures (either clinically or electrographically) after benzodiazepine treatment. Secondary outcomes were treatment failure requiring cross over, coma duration and neurologic sequelae at discharge. PK and safety assessments were also undertaken. RESULTS:Among 30 comatose CM children, eLVT was rapidly absorbed and well-tolerated. eLVT clearance was lower in patients with higher admission serum creatinine (SCr), but overall PK parameters were similar to prior pediatric PK studies. Within 4 h of the first dose, 90% reached therapeutic levels (> 20 μg/mL) and all were above 6 μg/mL. 7/7 children achieved seizure freedom on the initial eLVT dose. Comparing 23 eLVT to 21 phenobarbital patients among whom 15/21 received phenobarbital, no differences were seen for minutes with seizure, seizure freedom, coma duration, neurologic sequelae or death, but eLVT was safer (p = 0.019). Phenobarbital was discontinued in 3/15 due to respiratory side effects. CONCLUSION:Enteral LVT offers an affordable option for seizure control in pediatric CM and is safer than phenobarbital. TRIAL REGISTRATION:NCT01660672 . NCT01982812 .

Dataset Information

Assessment of Acute Hospital Use and Transfers for Management of Pediatric Seizures.

Publications

Assessment of Acute Hospital Use and Transfers for Management of Pediatric Seizures.

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