Purpose:American Indian (AI) children experience significant disparities in health-care access. As a result, they are more likely to use the emergency department (ED) for nonemergent visits than white children. In a recent study, pediatric ED providers have shown an implicit bias for white children over AI children. To combat implicit bias in an ED setting, we created a protocol for training ED providers as health equity coaches.Methods:The intervention took place during the fall of 2016 and was composed of 4 educational lectures, 6 to 8 hours of service learning in AI communities, and the participant’s dissemination of what was learned through formal presentations and informal conversations with other ED staff. We measured the impact of this intervention on the intervention participants with a group interview at the completion of the intervention.Results:The findings from the group interview provide feedback on what was learned during the intervention, how it impacted providers, and feedback on the structure of the intervention. Overall ED providers reported the intervention improved awareness of their implicit bias and ways to improve communication and care for AI patients. Additional institutional policy and procedural changes are necessary to effectively and sustainably address health disparities affecting AI populations.Conclusions:The participating providers identified their lack of knowledge regarding AI cultures at the start of the intervention and it became clear that their knowledge, comfort, and relationships with AI communities increased as a result of this intervention.

Objectives: Septic arthritis (SA) is responsible for 20% of pediatric musculoskeletal infections (MSKI) and can have significant consequences. Early detection of SA is critical, and procalcitonin (PCT) has emerged as a promising biomarker. This study assessed the test performance of PCT and traditional biomarkers for suspected SA. Methods:We conducted a prospective study at two pediatric emergency departments (ED). Data collected measured serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), white blood cell (WBC) count, and PCT. Box and whisker plots were generated to compare the of the biomarkers by positive MSKI or a non-MSKI diagnosis. The diagnostic performance of biomarkers was examined using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), and optimal cut -points were identified using the Liu method.Results: Procalcitonin performed reasonably well for detection of MSKI (AUC, 0.72; confidence interval [95% CI], 0.59-0.84). However, CRP and ESR performed better (AUC, 0.88 and 0.78, respectively). White blood cell count was not predictive of MSKI. Patients with a PCT value >0.1 ng/mL, ESR values >19.5 mm/h, and a temperature higher than 99.0°F were more than twice as likely to have acute MSKI. A high CRP level was most predictive of acute MSKI, and patients with levels >2.38 mg/dL were 3.5 times more likely to have acute MSKI.Conclusions: Procalcitonin is a potential biomarker for the clinical differential of MSKI in the pediatric ED. Additional research is warranted to establish the optimal diagnostic level for PCT, to increase sample size, and to examine any impact on cost.

Key Points Question Can an electronic health record–linked clinical decision support tool reduce the use of diagnostic imaging in children and adolescents with emergency department visits for acute abdominal pain? Findings In this cluster randomized trial of 17 emergency departments caring for 5940 patients, the clinical decision support tool did not lead to an overall reduction in the use of computed tomography or ultrasonography. In 1 health care system, the clinical support tool was associated with a significant reduction in diagnostic imaging among patients at low or moderate risk of appendicitis. Meaning These findings suggest that more research is needed to determine whether clinical decision support tools promote more appropriate imaging in patients with acute abdominal pain.

Our results provide support for US as the primary imaging modality for appendicitis. Sites that preferentially utilized US had lower costs per case than sites that primarily used CT. Imaging rates across sites varied due to practice patterns and resulted in a significant cost consequence without higher rates for negative appendectomies or missed appendicitis cases.