Background: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening complication of diabetes mellitus that is increasing in frequency, and yet is preventable with adequate outpatient management. Studies have shown that children with diabetes in minority populations experience more frequent DKA admissions, possibly due to inequities in healthcare access. We examined whether disparities by race/ethnicity exist in DKA [...]

Background: Croup is a common cause of respiratory distress in young children secondary to viral infection. Oral dexamethasone has been shown to improve the symptoms of respiratory distress caused by croup. The frequency of repeat dexamethasone dosing during admission or on discharge is not well understood, and the effect of re-dosing on re-admission or recurrence [...]

Background: Social needs are associated with poor medical outcomes, including increased readmissions. Several studies compare demographic or ICD-10 code indices of social risk and readmissions, or social needs in disease-specific readmissions. Others found that addressing needs is associated with decreased readmissions. However, little is known about how needs differ between patients who are readmitted to [...]

Background: Patient portals are a digital health technology that help caregivers engage with their child’s healthcare. Unfortunately, significant disparities in portal use exist, with caregivers who speak languages other than English (LOE) having lower usage rates compared with their English-speaking counterparts. No pediatric study has sought to understand why and how LOE caregivers use patient [...]

Background: Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) is a rare condition first reported in adolescent patients in 2010. It is associated with episodic abdominal pain, emesis, and intractable nausea which resemble cyclical vomiting syndrome (CVS) in the setting of chronic use of cannabis. (5,12). Evidence of CHS treatment effectiveness in children is limited to case studies and [...]

Background: Surgical co-management is a care model in which Hospitalists assist in the management of patients who are admitted for surgical indications. The surgical co-management model has been shown in some previous studies to improve patient care and outcomes. At our institution, formal co-management agreements have been devised to set clear teamwork expectations and focus [...]

Background: Patients with End-stage renal disease (ESRD) who are dialysis-dependent have an elevated risk of peri-operative morbidity and mortality. There are many scoring tools that can help predict perioperative risk. Unfortunately, none were validated specifically for patients with ESRD. We aimed to compare the performance of the Revised cardiac risk (RCRI) and the AUB-HAS2 scores [...]

Background: Hip fracture (HP) involves bleeding that often requires blood transfusion and it can be life-threatening. Jehovah’s witnesses (JW) refuse blood products (BP) administration because of religious beliefs. Recombinant Human Erythropoietin (rHuEPO) has become an alternative but there are still no guidelines on its use in these situations. Methods: JW patients with HP admitted to [...]

Background: Patients undergoing cardiac surgery are at risk of anemia from blood loss, inflammation, and red blood cell lysis, necessitating blood product utilization and increasing the risk of post-operative complications. RBT-1 (a combination of stannic protoporfin and iron sucrose) is a novel preconditioning drug administered prior to surgery that upregulates anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and iron scavenging [...]

Background: Emergency department (ED) overcrowding is associated with a range of negative outcomes, including increased patient morbidity, decreased patient satisfaction, provider burnout, and violence against providers. ED boarding of admitted patients coupled with increasing ED patient volumes contributes to overcrowding. Geographic localization, where hospitalist provider teams are assigned patients on the same inpatient unit, has [...]