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Biomedical subjects

Chris Feudtner

Publications and source records attributed to Chris Feudtner.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Hopeful thinking and level of comfort regarding providing pediatric palliative care: a survey of hospital nurses.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this work was to test the hypothesis that individual nurses' level of hope is associated with greater self-reported comfort and competence in providing palliative care. METHODS: We conducted a Web-based cross-sectional survey at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, a large referral hospital, during the spring of 2005 with all of the employed nurses. The response rate was 44% (410 of 932 eligible nurses). The questions were adapted from published studies or written for this study regarding nurses' knowledge, attitudes, practices, and experiences regarding various aspects of palliative care. We used the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale. RESULTS: Respondents, asked to rate their degree of agreement (+2, strongly agree to -2, strongly disagree) with the statement that they were "comfortable working with dying children and their families," reported a mean score of 0.5. Regarding whether they "find it very difficult to talk about death and dying with children and families," the mean score was -0.1. Nurses specifically reported feeling most competent regarding pain management and least competent regarding talking with children and families about dying. After multivariable adjustment, greater number of years in nursing practice, more hours of palliative care education, and higher scores on the Hope Scale, each were significantly associated with higher levels of comfort working with dying children and the families, lower levels of difficulty talking about death and dying, and higher levels of palliative care competency. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses' level of hope is associated with their self-reported comfort and competence regarding palliative care.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Likelihood of home death associated with local rates of home birth: influence of local area healthcare preferences on site of death.

OBJECTIVES: We tested whether local cultural and social values regarding the use of health care are associated with the likelihood of home death, using variation in local rates of home births as a proxy for geographic variation in these values. METHODS: For each of 351110 adult decedents in Washington state who died from 1989 through 1998, we calculated the home birth rate in each zip code during the year of death and then used multivariate regression modeling to estimate the relation between the likelihood of home death and the local rate of home births. RESULTS: Individuals residing in local areas with higher home birth rates had greater adjusted likelihood of dying at home (odds ratio [OR]=1.04 for each percentage point increase in home birth rate; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03, 1.05). Moreover, the likelihood of dying at home increased with local wealth (OR=1.04 per $10000; 95% CI=1.02, 1.06) but decreased with local hospital bed availability (OR=0.96 per 1000 beds; 95% CI=0.95, 0.97). CONCLUSIONS: The likelihood of home death is associated with local rates of home births, suggesting the influence of health care use preferences.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Hospitalizations for endemic mycoses: a population-based national study.

We performed a retrospective cohort study, using the 2002 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a national database of hospital inpatient stays, to describe the incidence and epidemiology of endemic mycoses requiring hospitalization. An estimated 332 pediatric and 6003 adult patients with endemic mycoses required hospitalization (4.6 and 28.7 cases per 1 million children and adults, respectively). Crude mortality rates were 5% and 7% among children and adults, respectively.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Screening for intimate partner violence using an audiotape questionnaire: a randomized clinical trial in a pediatric emergency department.

OBJECTIVE: To compare women's acceptability ratings of 2 different intimate partner violence screening methods, an audiotape questionnaire and a written questionnaire, in a pediatric emergency department. DESIGN: Randomized clinical trial. SETTING: An urban, pediatric, tertiary care center emergency department. PARTICIPANTS: Female caregivers of children. MAIN EXPOSURE: Intimate partner violence screening by either an audiotape or written questionnaire method. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Perceptions of each screening method's safety, acceptability, and ease of use. RESULTS: Fifty (10%) of 497 participants reported intimate partner violence, 30 (11%) of 266 in the audiotape group and 20 (9%) of 231 in the written questionnaire group (P = .30). Women in the audiotape group were significantly more likely to report that the audiotape method did not put them at risk and was private. Women in both groups were satisfied with their screening method and were willing to use it again. Women in both groups preferred their given method over the idea of direct emergency department provider screening. CONCLUSIONS: Screening for intimate partner violence with an audiotape method appears to have several advantages compared with screening by a written questionnaire, and the audiotape method may be associated with slightly higher rates of disclosing intimate partner violence. TRIAL REGISTRATION: http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00122395.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Variation in standards of research compensation and child assent practices: a comparison of 69 institutional review board-approved informed permission and assent forms for 3 multicenter pediatric clinical trials.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically compare standards for compensation and child participant assent in informed permission, assent, and consent forms (IP-A-CFs) approved by 55 local institutional review boards (IRBs) reviewing 3 standardized multicenter research protocols. METHOD: Sixty-nine principal investigators participating in any of 3 national, multicenter clinical trials submitted standardized research protocols for their trials to their local IRBs for approval. Copies of the subsequently IRB-approved IP-A-CFs were then forwarded to an academic clinical research organization. This collection of IRB-approved forms allowed for a quasiexperimental retrospective evaluation of the variation in informed permission, assent, and consent standards operationalized by the local IRBs. RESULTS: Standards for compensation and child participant assent varied substantially across 69 IRB-approved IP-A-CFs. Among the 48 IP-A-CFs offering compensation, monetary compensation was offered by 33 as reimbursement for travel, parking, or food expenses, whereas monetary or material compensation was offered by 22 for subject inconvenience and by 13 for subject time. Compensation ranged widely within and across studies (study 1, $180-1425; study 2, $0-500; and study 3, $0-100). Regarding child participant assent, among the 57 IP-A-CFs that included a form of assent documentation, 33 included a line for assent on the informed permission or consent form, whereas 35 included a separate form written in simplified language. Of the IP-A-CFs that stipulated the documentation of assent, 31 specified > or =1 age ranges for obtaining assent. Informed permission or consent forms were addressed either to parents or child participants. CONCLUSION: In response to identical clinical trial protocols, local IRBs generate IP-A-CFs that vary considerably regarding compensation and child participant assent.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Physical health outcomes of childhood exposure to intimate partner violence: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) are at increased risk for adverse mental and behavioral health sequelae, as has been documented by both systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Studies addressing the physical health impact of childhood IPV exposure, however, have not been summarized in a manner that might facilitate additional hypothesis-driven research and accelerate the development of targeted interventions. METHODS: To identify a comprehensive set of articles examining the association between childhood IPV exposure and physical health, we searched online bibliographic databases including Medline, CINAHL, PsychInfo, and Sociological Abstracts using the keywords "domestic" or "intimate partner violence" and "infant," "child," or "pediatric." From >2000 articles retrieved in the initial search, we used online abstract and bibliographic information to identify 94 articles potentially meeting the inclusion criteria of studies that (1) examined a postnatal physical health outcome related to IPV exposure and (2) had a contemporaneous control group. Thorough review of these 94 published studies yielded 22 that met these inclusion criteria. The data then were abstracted independently by 2 of the authors, and differences were settled with the assistance of a third author. RESULTS: Childhood exposure to IPV increases the likelihood of risk-taking behaviors during adolescence and adulthood and is likely associated with underimmunization. Minimal data and study limitations preclude establishing a clear connection between IPV exposure and general health and use of health services, breastfeeding, or weight gain. CONCLUSIONS: The impact on physical health from exposure to IPV during childhood is still uncertain. Future studies should be grounded in a theoretical model that specifies how IPV exposure can affect child health, should adjust for confounders adequately, should include a community-based sample, and should be of larger scale.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Distance from home when death occurs: a population-based study of Washington State, 1989-2002.

OBJECTIVE: For patients who die in hospitals, the regionalization of tertiary health care services may be increasing the home-to-hospital distance, particularly for younger patients whose care is especially regionalized and for whom access to and use of home hospice services remains limited. The objective of this study was to test the hypotheses that the distance from home at the time of death in a hospital has increased over time and is inversely related to the age of the dying patient. METHODS: A population-based case series was conducted in Washington State of all deaths of state residents from 1989 to 2002. The main outcome measure was driving distance between home residence and location at the time of death. RESULTS: The overall mean distance from home to the hospital where death occurred has increased by 1% annually. Children who died in hospitals were much farther from home than their adult counterparts: the mean distance was 37.4 km for neonates and 50.9 km for children who were aged 1 to 9 years, compared with 19.9 km for adults who were aged 60 to 79 years and 14.0 km for patients who were older than 79 years. Disparities of distance were even greater among patients who were at the 90th percentile for distance (85.6 km for neonates compared with 30.8 for patient who were older than 79 years). CONCLUSIONS: The distance between home residence and the hospital where death occurs is greatest for children and has increased over time. Both of these findings have implications for the design of local and regional pediatric end-of-life supportive care services.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

The epidemiology and attributable outcomes of candidemia in adults and children hospitalized in the United States: a propensity analysis.

BACKGROUND: Candida species are the fourth most common cause of bloodstream infection and are the leading cause of invasive fungal infection among hospitalized patients in the United States. However, the frequency and outcomes attributable to the infection are uncertain. This retrospective study set out to estimate the incidence of candidemia in hospitalized adults and children in the United States and to determine attributable mortality, length of hospital stay, and hospital charges related to candidemia. METHODS: We used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample 2000 for adult patients and the Kids' Inpatient Database 2000 for pediatric patients. We matched candidemia-exposed and candidemia-unexposed patients by the propensity scores for the probability of candidemia exposure, which were derived from patient characteristics. Attributable outcomes were calculated as the differences in estimates of outcomes between propensity score-matched patients with and without candidemia. RESULTS: In the United States in 2000, candidemia was diagnosed in an estimated 1118 hospital admissions of pediatric patients and 8949 hospital admissions of adult patients, yielding a frequency of 43 cases per 100,000 pediatric admissions (95% confidence interval [CI], 35-52 cases per 100,000 pediatric admissions) and 30 cases per 100,000 adult admissions (95% CI, 26-34 cases per 100,000 adult admissions). In pediatric patients, candidemia was associated with a 10.0% increase in mortality (95% CI, 6.2%-13.8%), a mean 21.1-day increase in length of stay (95% CI, 14.4-27.8 days), and a mean increase in total per-patient hospital charges of 92,266 dollars (95% CI, 65,058 dollars-119,474 dollars). In adult patients, candidemia was associated with a 14.5% increase in mortality (95% CI, 12.1%-16.9%), a mean 10.1-day increase in length of stay (95% CI, 8.9-11.3 days), and a mean increase in hospital charges of 39,331 dollars (95% CI, 33,604 dollars-45,602 dollars). CONCLUSION: The impact of candidemia on excess mortality, increased length of stay, and the burden of cost of hospitalization underscores the need for improved means of prevention and treatment of candidemia in adults and children.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Technology-dependency among patients discharged from a children's hospital: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Advances in medical technology may be increasing the population of children who are technology-dependent (TD). We assessed the proportion of children discharged from a children's hospital who are judged to be TD, and determined the most common devices and number of prescription medications at the time of discharge. METHODS: Chart review of 100 randomly selected patients from all services discharged from a children's hospital during the year 2000. Data were reviewed independently by 4 investigators who classified the cases as TD if the failure or withdrawal of the technology would likely have adverse health consequences sufficient to require hospitalization. Only those cases where 3 or 4 raters agreed were classified as TD. RESULTS: Among the 100 randomly sampled patients, the median age was 7 years (range: 1 day to 24 years old), 52% were male, 86% primarily spoke English, and 54% were privately insured. The median length of stay was 3 days (range: 1 to 103 days). No diagnosis accounted for more than 5% of cases. 41% were deemed to be technology dependent, with 20% dependent upon devices, 32% dependent upon medications, and 11% dependent upon both devices and medications. Devices at the time of discharge included gastrostomy and jejeunostomy tubes (10%), central venous catheters (7%), and tracheotomies (1%). The median number of prescription medications was 2 (range: 0-13), with 12% of cases having 5 or more medications. Home care services were planned for 7% of cases. CONCLUSION: Technology-dependency is common among children discharged from a children's hospital.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Discharge disposition of adolescents admitted to medical hospitals after attempting suicide.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that discharge disposition for adolescents admitted to medical hospitals after attempting suicide varies as a function of hospital type and geographic region. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort analysis. SETTING: The nationally representative Kids' Inpatient Database for 2000. PARTICIPANTS: Patients aged 10 to 19 years with a diagnosis of suicide attempt or self-inflicted injury.Main Outcome Measure Likelihood of transfer to another facility vs discharge to home. RESULTS: Care for 32 655 adolescents who attempted suicide was provided in adult hospitals (83% of hospitalizations), children's units in general hospitals (10%), and children's hospitals (4%). More than half (66%) of medical hospitalizations ended with discharge to home, 21% with transfer to a psychiatric, rehabilitation, or chronic care (P/R/C) facility, 10% with transfer to a skilled nursing facility, intermediate care facility, or short-term acute care hospital facility, and 2% with death or departure against medical advice. After adjustment for individual patient characteristics, children's units were 44% more likely than adult hospitals to transfer adolescent patients to a P/R/C facility (odds ratio [OR], 1.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-1.94). Patients cared for outside the Northeast were significantly less likely to be transferred to a P/R/C facility (South: OR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.65-0.97; Midwest: OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.49-0.80; West: OR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.22-0.38). CONCLUSIONS: Most adolescents admitted to a medical hospital after a suicide attempt are discharged to home, and the likelihood of transfer to another facility appears to be influenced by the geographic location of the admitting hospital and whether it caters to children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Pediatric palliative, end-of-life, and bereavement care.

The pediatric hospitalist plays an integral role in providing palliative, end-of-life, and bereavement care for children and families. This article focuses on a multifaceted approach to this domain of care in which the physician is a key member of an interdisciplinary team. We believe that we can improve quality of life and relieve suffering only by paying attention to the medical, emotional, spiritual, and practical needs and goals of dying children and their loved ones.

Attitude to Death↗
PubMed2005

Pediatric do-not-attempt-resuscitation orders and public schools: a national assessment of policies and laws.

Some children living with life-shortening medical conditions may wish to attend school without the threat of having resuscitation attempted in the event of cardiopulmonary arrest on the school premises. Despite recent attention to in-school do-not-attempt-resuscitation (DNAR) orders, no assessment of state laws or school policies has yet been made. We therefore sought to survey a national sample of prominent school districts and situate their policies in the context of relevant state laws. Most (80%) school districts sampled did not have policies, regulations, or protocols for dealing with student DNARs. A similar majority (76%) either would not honor student DNARs or were uncertain about whether they could. Frequent contradictions between school policies and state laws also exist. Consequently, children living with life-shortening conditions who have DNARs may not have these orders honored if cardiopulmonary arrest were to occur on school premises. Coordinated efforts are needed to harmonize school district, state, and federal approaches in order to support children and families' right to have important medical decisions honored.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Hope and the prospects of healing at the end of life.

Is healing possible at the end of life? Answering "yes," this paper argues that the achievement of holistically conceived health-related goals that patients value is an important dimension of the phenomena of healing and that such achievements are possible at the end of life, especially if hope is adroitly managed. Conceiving of hope: (1) as a set of goal-directed cognitive processes that influence and are influenced by emotion, (2) as a potent cognitive/affective heuristic that influences how individuals consider and select goals, and (3) as an individual experience that occurs in a hierarchical social and cultural ecology of hope, this paper considers possible interventions and how they might be evaluated, seeking to improve the prospects of healing at the end of life.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Suppurative intracranial complications of sinusitis in previously healthy children.

In this retrospective case series, we describe the clinical features and microbiology of 16 previously healthy children with suppurative intracranial complications of sinusitis. Most cases were male adolescents who presented with vomiting in addition to typical sinusitis symptoms. Neurologic signs were often absent. Streptococcus milleri group organisms, along with anaerobes, were common pathogens.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Fragmented care for inner-city minority children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVES: To identify systematic problems in coordinating care for inner-city minority youths with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. METHODS: We recruited participants from inner-city minority communities in a single metropolitan area for a focus group study. We held separate meetings for pediatricians, mental health therapists, school staff, and parents (both black and Latino). We audiotaped and transcribed the meetings. We identified themes by consensus and used root cause analysis as a conceptual framework to guide our analysis. RESULTS: We held 13 focus group meetings. Participants uniformly perceived insufficient communication and coordination of care. Five themes representing system and human factors that contributed to this fragmentation in care emerged: (1) a lack of consensus about who should oversee care; (2) changes in health care providers or teachers; (3) uncertainty in the diagnosis, insufficient training, and few resources; (4) distrust and blame that emerged when relationships among people who care for the child were absent or otherwise inadequate; and (5) lack of support from employers, friends, and family to engage in collaborative care. CONCLUSIONS: Using a root cause analysis framework, we identified system- and human-level factors that were perceived to impede communication and coordination of care for this population of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. These results suggest that better organizational policies that define provider responsibilities and accountability, support the coordination of care, bridge relationships between agencies, and provide additional education and resources may improve collaboration. Additional study is needed to assess the generalizability of these finding to other settings.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗