Background: The low published survival rate of pediatric in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (25-38%) 1 has led to the development of early warning systems (EWS) to identify patients at risk for deterioration. On our general pediatric unit, we implemented the published validated Children’s Hospital Early Warning System (CHEWS)2 in 04/2021. This composite scoring tool includes caregiver assessment [...]

Background: The low published survival rate of pediatric in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (25-38%) 1 has led to the development of early warning systems (EWS) to identify patients at risk for deterioration. On our general pediatric unit, we implemented the published validated Children’s Hospital Early Warning System (CHEWS)2 in 04/2021. This composite scoring tool includes caregiver assessment [...]

Background: There has been conflicting data regarding the effect of comorbid asthma on severity of illness with COVID-19 disease. The prevalence of asthma reported in hospitalized patients as compared to the local population has varied widely across studies and areas of the world. Furthermore, the risk for testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 as well as the [...]

Background: Asthma is one of the most common chronic medical conditions affecting around 300 million people worldwide. It is a disorder of the airways characterized by recurrent symptoms of airway obstruction and inflammation. Invasive mechanical ventilation for patients admitted to the hospital with asthma is challenging with higher complications and higher rates of patient-ventilator asynchrony, [...]

Background: Increased asthma and obesity prevalence are independently associated with health disparities.  This study sought to examine the relationship between these two conditions, particularly within the pediatric population at a major inner city teaching hospital. Methods: Patients aged 3 to 18 with a diagnosis of bronchial asthma and at least one hospital encounter for an [...]

Background: Asthma and bronchiolitis are the most common respiratory ailments affecting pediatric patients worldwide. Management guidelines have been developed in an effort to standardize the treatment of these patients. Nowhere in these guidelines (both the 2007 Expert Panel Report 3 Guidelines for the Management of Asthma and the 2014 American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines for [...]

Background: Bronchiolitis is one of the leading causes of hospitalization in patients less than 2 years old. It can be a source of frustration for providers as numerous interventions that have been trialed throughout the years have not been shown to be effective. Albuterol is one such intervention as wheezing is a common clinical finding [...]

Background: At the onset of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, asthma exacerbations reportedly decreased overall, raising the question if in contrast to other viruses, SARS-CoV-2 infection does not induce asthma exacerbations1,2. Like other viruses including endemic coronaviruses, there is theoretical risk of developing bronchospasm in response to viral infection with SARS-CoV-2 for patients with a [...]

Background: Minority and low-income populations are more likely to be hospitalized and/or re-hospitalized for acute asthma, a key indicator of poorly controlled disease. While hospitals have attempted to improve asthma care by implementing individual-level care interventions, inequities persist during inpatient stays and in intervention delivery. Little is known about the impact of “bundled” systems-level interventions [...]

Background: Asthma is the leading chronic disease in children with prevalence approaching 10%. Barriers to follow up care, poor access to medication and lack of disease education pose a threat to patient safety and increase the risk for hospital re-utilization. The Improving Pediatric Patient Centered Care Transitions (IMPACT) collaborative designed and implemented a 4- element [...]