scholarly journals Overestimation of the prevalence of eosinophilic colitis with reliance on a single billing code

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
AB Muir ◽  
ET Jensen ◽  
JB Wechsler ◽  
P Menard-Katcher ◽  
GW Falk ◽  
...  

AbstractEosinophilic colitis (EC) is a rare disorder characterized by eosinophilic inflammation of the colon causing diarrhea, bloody stool, nausea, constipation and abdominal pain. The Consortium for Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Research sought to undertake the first multi-center study of the EC population, but faced challenges with meeting enrollment goals that were based on initial estimates. To understand the reason for this, we performed chart review of patients with ICD codes for EC at 8 tertiary care centers. Chart review revealed that the isolated use of ICD codes overestimated EC rates in the pediatric population.

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (7) ◽  
pp. 627-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather VanderMeulen ◽  
Jeffrey M. Pernica ◽  
Madan Roy ◽  
April J. Kam

Objective. To assess the promptness and appropriateness of management in pediatric cases of necrotizing fasciitis (NF). Methods. A retrospective chart review examined cases of pediatric NF treated at a pediatric tertiary care center over a 10-year period. Results. Twelve patients were identified over the 10-year period. The median (25th to 75th centile) times to appropriate antibiotic administration, infectious disease consults, surgical consults and debridement surgeries were 2.6 (2.1-3.2), 7.7 (3.4-24.4), 4.6 (1.7-21.0), and 22.1 (10.3-28.4) hours following assessment at triage. The initial antibiotic(s) administered covered the causative organism in 9 of 12 cases. The median (25th to 75th centile) length of hospital stay was 21 (14.0-35.5) days. Conclusions. The large variability in the care of these patients speaks to the range of their presenting symptomatology. The lack of a standardized approach to the pediatric patient with suspected NF results in delays in management and suboptimal antibiotic choice.


Trauma ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-307
Author(s):  
Tene A Cage ◽  
Nader Sanai ◽  
Michael T Lawton ◽  
Kurtis I Auguste

Isolated penetrating head injury in children is rare and is usually accidental. Each case is unique since the penetrating object and the trajectory through the brain parenchyma vary greatly among patients. We present a three-year-old girl who presented with a kitchen utility knife penetrating her left midface, skull, and brain abutting the anterior cerebral vasculature. Though the patient initially presented to a local trauma center, there were no pediatric nor vascular neurosurgeons on staff. Thus, she was transferred to our tertiary facility for definitive surgical management. A pediatric and vascular neurosurgeon worked together to remove the knife safely and the underlying vasculature remained intact. Postoperatively, the patient did well and was neurologically intact. Though penetrating cranial injury is rare in the pediatric population, such complex cases of brain injury can be properly managed with good outcome by an interdisciplinary team of specialists in tertiary care centers and can result in an excellent surgical and functional outcome for the patient.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis L. Piester ◽  
Quin Y. Liu

Background/Aim: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is a well-established tool used in the evaluation and treatment of a wide range of pathologies in adult medicine. EUS in pediatrics has been shown to be safe and technically effective, and its use continues to evolve. This article aims to describe the EUS experience at our tertiary-care centers with regard to safety, technical success, and its impact in clinical management. We also discuss the current and developing diagnostic and therapeutic uses for EUS in pediatrics such as in pancreaticobiliary disease, congenital anomalies, eosinophilic esophagitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and liver disease.Methods: This is a retrospective review of EUS performed by two pediatric gastroenterologists trained as endosonographers between April 2017 and November 2020. Patient demographics, procedure indication, procedure characteristics, technical success, and complications were collected. Literature review was performed to describe current and future uses of EUS in pediatrics.Results: Ninety-eight EUS were performed with 15 (15.3%) including fine needle aspiration/biopsy and 9 (9.2%) cases being therapeutic. Most common indications include choledocholithiasis (n = 31, 31.6%), pancreatic fluid collections (n = 18, 18.4%), chronic and acute recurrent pancreatitis (n = 14, 14.3%), and acute pancreatitis characterization (n = 13, 13.3%). Notable indications of pancreatic mass (n = 6, 6.1%) and luminal lesions/strictures (n = 6, 6.1%) were less common. Complications were limited with one instance of questionable GI bleeding after cystgastrostomy creation. Ninety-eight of 98 (100%) cases were technically successful.Conclusion/Discussion: EUS has been shown to be performed safely and successfully in the pediatric population by pediatric endosonographers. This study and review support its use in pediatric practice and demonstrate the wide variety of indications for EUS such as pancreatic cystgastrostomy, celiac plexus neurolysis, and evaluation of chronic pancreatitis. This literature review also demonstrates areas of potential development for EUS within the practice of pediatric gastroenterology.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 567-571
Author(s):  
Dr. Akhil Shah ◽  
◽  
Dr. Parikshit Sharma ◽  
Dr. Surendra Singh Bhati ◽  
Dr. Anushtha Tomar ◽  
...  

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-320
Author(s):  
Lisa M. Dunkle ◽  
Thomas J. Brotherton ◽  
Ralph D. Feigin

The prevalence and significance of anaerobic infections in patients at St. Louis Children's Hospital were studied prospectively for a one-year period. Blood, selected body fluids, and aspirates obtained from abscesses or areas of cellulitis were cultured using special anaerobic collection and processing techniques. Infected peritoneal fluid from patients with gastrointestinal disease yielded a large proportion of all anaerobic isolates. The types of organisms isolated were common inhabitants of the intestinal tract. Anaerobic organisms were recovered from only 0.75% of all blood cultures; anaerobic bacteremia accounted for 5.8% of all clinically significant bacteremic episodes (8.7% in the neonatal period and 4.8% in children over 1 month of age). Serious anaerobic infections occurred more frequently in the compromised host or in newborn infants than in otherwise healthy children. Since anaerobic organisms cause a small proportion of infectious diseases in a general pediatric population, the cost of refined bacteriologic techniques for the isolation and identification of these organisms is not warranted in most community hospitals. However, such a program should be available in selected tertiary care centers to aid in the management of certain high-risk patients.


2021 ◽  
pp. 019459982110089
Author(s):  
Quinn Dunlap ◽  
James Reed Gardner ◽  
Amanda Ederle ◽  
Deanne King ◽  
Maya Merriweather ◽  
...  

Objective Neck dissection (ND) is one of the most commonly performed procedures in head and neck surgery. We sought to compare the morbidity of elective ND (END) versus therapeutic ND (TND). Study Design Retrospective chart review. Setting Academic tertiary care center. Methods Retrospective chart review of 373 NDs performed from January 2015 to December 2018. Patients with radical ND or inadequate chart documentation were excluded. Demographics, clinicopathologic data, complications, and sacrificed structures during ND were retrieved. Statistical analysis was performed with χ2 and analysis of variance for comparison of categorical and continuous variables, respectively, with statistical alpha set a 0.05. Results Patients examined consisted of 224 males (60%) with a mean age of 60 years. TND accounted for 79% (n = 296) as compared with 21% (n = 77) for END. Other than a significantly higher history of radiation (37% vs 7%, P < .001) and endocrine pathology (34% vs 2.6%, P < .001) in the TND group, no significant differences in demographics were found between the therapeutic and elective groups. A significantly higher rate of structure sacrifice and extranodal extension within the TND group was noted to hold in overall and subgroup comparisons. No significant difference in rate of surgical complications was appreciated between groups in overall or subgroup analysis. Conclusion While the significantly higher rate of structure sacrifice among the TND population represents an increased morbidity profile in these patients, no significant difference was found in the rate of surgical complications between groups. The significant difference seen between groups regarding history of radiation and endocrine pathology likely represents selection bias.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aqeela J. Madan ◽  
Fayza Haider ◽  
Saeed Alhindi

Abstract Background Intussusception is the most frequent cause of bowel obstruction in infants and toddlers; idiopathic intussusception occurs predominantly under the age of 3 and is rare after the age of 6 years; the highest incidence occurs in infants between 4 and 9 months; the gold standard for treatment of intussusception is non-operative reduction. This research will tackle the problem of pediatric intussusception in our center which is the largest tertiary center in our region. The primary outcome is to study the profile of intussusception; the secondary outcome is to assess the success rate of pneumatic reduction in the center’s pediatric population as well as to study the seasonal variation if present. Results During the study period, eighty-six (N=86) cases were identified, from which 10 cases were recurrent intussusception. Seventy-six (N=76) cases were included from the study period. N=68 (89%) were less than 3 years of age, and only N=2 (3%) were above 6 years. Seasonal variation was not significant; N=69 (91%) patients had successful pneumatic reduction under fluoroscopy while thirteen patients N=13 (17%) needed operative intervention. Conclusion Ileocolic intussusception is one of the most common pediatric surgical emergencies that can be successfully managed non-operatively in our institute; 89% of the cases were below 3 years of age, and no seasonal variation was demonstrated. Operative intervention was required in 13 cases with the main reason being lead point. The fact that the pediatric surgeon performs the reduction might have contributed to a high success rate reaching 91% in our center. This study provides a valuable opportunity for future regional data comparisons and pooled data analyses.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S191-S192
Author(s):  
Nupur Gupta ◽  
Adit B Sanghvi ◽  
John Mellors ◽  
Rima Abdel-Massih

Abstract Background Telemedicine (TM) has emerged as a viable solution to extend infectious disease (ID) expertise to communities without access to this specialty.1 TM allows clinicians in rural settings to connect with specialists at distant sites and provide the best care for their patients, often eliminating the need for hospital transfers. Here, we describe the experience from one of the longest standing inpatient Tele-ID consult services using live audio-video (AV) visits with the assistance of a telepresenter. Methods Longitudinal data were collected from a 126-bed rural hospital in Pennsylvania that had no access to ID consultation before 2014. Live AV consults during business hours began in 2014 and telephonic physician to physician consults were made available 24/7. All ID consult data were extracted from the hospital electronic health record between 2014 to 2019. Key outcomes assessed included the number of consult encounters, total hospital length of stay (LOS), discharges to home, transfer to tertiary care centers, and readmission rates at 30 days. Results Most consulted patients were Caucasians, and females with an average age of 64.7 years (Table 1). The number of unique consult encounters increased annually from 111 in 2014 to 469 in 2019 (Table 1). The Charlson Comorbidity Score and Elixhauser Comorbidity Index also increased each year beginning in 2016 (Table 1). By contrast, LOS decreased each year as did the 30-day readmission rate (Table 2). Most patients were not transferred (average 89.4% over 6 years) to tertiary care centers and more than half were discharged to home each year (Table 2). Conclusion This longitudinal 6-year observation study of an inpatient TM ID service at a rural hospital showed remarkable annual growth in consult encounters (total growth &gt;400%). Despite increasing patient acuity, overall hospital LOS decreased over time (10.2 to 8.2 days). Patient transfers to tertiary care centers remained low (average 10.5% over 6 years) as did 30-day readmissions (average 16.3% over 6 years). The majority of patients were discharged to home (average 61.3% over 6 years). These findings show that a rural inpatient TM ID consult service can expand over time and is an effective alternative for hospitals without access to ID expertise. Disclosures John Mellors, MD, Abound Bio (Shareholder)Accelevir Diagnostics (Consultant)Co-Crystal Pharmaceuticals (Shareholder)Gilead (Consultant, Grant/Research Support)Merck (Consultant) Rima Abdel-Massih, MD, Infectious Disease Connect (Shareholder, Other Financial or Material Support, Chief Medical Officer)


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