Objective: Limited English proficiency (LEP) is a risk factor for health care inequity and an important focus for improving communication and care quality. This study examines the association between LEP and pediatric emergency department (ED) revisits.Methods: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study of patients 0 to 21 years old discharged home after an initial visit from an academic, tertiary care pediatric ED from January 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018. We calculated rates of ED revisits within 72 h resulting in discharge or hospitalization and assessed rate differences between LEP and English-proficient (EP) patients. Multivariable logistic regression models examined the association between revisits and LEP status controlling for age, race, ethnicity, triage acuity, clinical complexity, and ED arrival time. Sensitivity models including insurance were also conducted.Results: There were 63,601 index visits in the study period; 12,986 (20%) were by patients with LEP. There were 2,387 (3.8%) revisits within 72 h of initial ED visit. Among LEP and EP patient visits, there were 4.53 and 3.55 revisits/100 initial ED visits, respectively (rate difference = 0.97, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.58 to 1.37). In the multivariable analyses, LEP was associated with increased odds of revisits resulting in discharge (odds ratio [OR] = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.01 to 1.30) and in hospitalization (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.03 to 1.58). Sensitivity analyses additionally adjusting for insurance status attenuated these results.Conclusions: These results suggest that LEP was associated with increased pediatric ED revisits. Improved understanding of language barrier effects on clinical care is important for decreasing health care disparities in the ED.

Implementation of I-PASS has been associated with substantial improvements in patient safety and can be applied to a variety of disciplines and types of patient handoffs. Widespread implementation of I-PASS has the potential to substantially improve patient safety in the United States and beyond.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of data describing pediatric patients transferred to an ICU within 24 hours of hospital admission from the emergency department (ED). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients ≤21 years old transferred from an inpatient floor to an ICU within 24 hours of ED disposition from 2007 to 2016 in a tertiary children’s hospital. Patients transferred to an ICU after planned operative procedures were excluded. Rate of transfer, clinical course, and baseline demographic and/or clinical characteristics of these patients are described. RESULTS: The study cohort consisted of 841 children, representing 1% of 82 397 non-ICU ED admissions over the 10-year period. Median age was 5.1 years, 43% had ≥1 complex chronic condition, and 47% were hospitalized within the previous year (27% in the ICU). The majority of transfers were for respiratory conditions (65%) and cardiovascular compromise (18%). Median time from hospitalization to ICU transfer was 9.1 hours (interquartile range 5.1–14.9 hours). Thirty-eight percent of transfers received 1 or more critical interventions within 72 hours of hospitalization, most commonly positive pressure ventilation (29%) and vasoactive infusion (9%). Median time to intervention from hospitalization was 13.6 hours (interquartile range 7.5–21.6 hours), 0.8% of children died within 72 hours of hospitalization, and 2.4% died overall. CONCLUSIONS: In this single pediatric academic center, 1% of hospitalized children were transferred to an ICU within 24 hours of ED disposition. One-third of patients received a critical intervention, and 2.4% died. Although most ED dispositions are appropriate, future efforts to identify patients at the highest risk of deterioration are warranted.

Objective-A hospital based intentional injury surveillance system for youth (aged 3-18) was compared with other publicly available sources of information on youth violence. The comparison addressed whether locally conducted surveillance provides data that are suYciently more complete, detailed, and timely that clinicians and public health practitioners interested in youth violence prevention would find surveillance worth conducting. Setting-The Boston Emergency Department Surveillance (BEDS) project was conducted at Boston Medical Center and the Children's Hospital, Boston. Method-MEDLINE and other databases were searched for data sources that report separate data for youth and data on intentional injury. Sources that met these criteria (one national and three local) were then compared with BEDS data. Comparisons were made in the following categories: age, gender, victim-oVender relationship, injury circumstance, geographic location, weapon rates, and violent injury rates. Results-Of 14 sources dealing with violence, only four met inclusion criteria. Each source provided useful breakdowns for age and gender; however, only the BEDS data were able to demonstrate that 32.6% of intentional injuries occurred among youth aged 12 and under. Comparison data sources provided less detail regarding the victim-oVender relationship, injury circumstance, and weapon use. Comparison of violent injury rates showed the diYculties for practitioners estimating intentional injury from sources based on arrest data, crime victim data, or weapon related injury. Conclusions-Comparison suggests that surveillance is more complete, detailed, and timely than publicly available sources of data. Clinicians and public health practitioners should consider developing similar systems. (Injury Prevention 1999;5:136-141)