Commentary on: King C, Dudley J, Mee A, Tomlin S, Tse Y, Trivedi A, Hawcutt DB; Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health/Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacist Group Joint Standing Committee on Medicines. For children admitted to hospital, what interventions improve medication safety on ward rounds? A systematic review. Arch Dis Child. 2023 Jul;108(7):583–588. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2022-324772. Epub 2023 Feb 15. PMID: 36792347.
Medication errors can occur throughout many complex steps. Children are exposed to a higher risk of harm than adults when it comes to medication errors. High-quality evidence for interventions that reduce medication errors in children on rounds is lacking.
King et al conducted a systematic review of interventions aimed at reducing medication errors during inpatient rounds in children’s hospitals.
Commentary on: Kelleher ST, Barrett MJ, Durnin S, Fitzpatrick P, Higgins A, Hall D. Staff competence in caring for LGBTQ+ patients in the paediatric emergency department. Arch Dis Child. 2023 Jul;108(7):525–529. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2022-325151. Epub 2023 Apr 24.
Emergency department staff self-identified the need for training in the care of youth who identify as LGBTQ+ to close a gap in knowledge and clinical preparedness. Intervention studies, using evidence-based science, are needed to improve competency and advance health equity for LGBTQ+ youth.
Individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ report discrimination in healthcare settings.
Commentary on: Chen A, Demaestri S, Schweiberger K, Sidani J, et al. Inclusion of non-English-speaking participants in pediatric health research: a review. JAMA Pediatr. 2023;177(1):81–88. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.3828.
In a review of inclusion of non-English speaking (NES) participants, 9% of research articles included NES participants, which may impact study generalisability. Research teams, research networks/databases, regulatory authorities and journals that disseminate study findings share responsibility for adequate inclusion of NES participants in research.
Non-English speakers (NES) and limited English proficiency (LEP) populations are growing.
Commentary on: Stewart E, Pearce A, Given J, Gilbert R, Brophy S, Cookson R, Hardelid P, Harron KL, Leyland A, Wood R, Dundas R. Identifying opportunities for upstream evaluations relevant to child and maternal health: a UK policy-mapping review. Arch Dis Child. 2023 Jul;108(7):556-562. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2022-325219. Epub 2023 Mar 31.
Prioritising policies targeting social determinants of health is crucial for improving early-life health outcomes. Public involvement in policy prioritisation is vital for equitable and effective policies. Investing in comprehensive evaluations using harmonised and accessible administrative data is necessary to understand long-term effects of policy effectiveness.
Reducing early-life health inequalities is a critical challenge amid the COVID-19 socioeconomic impact.
Commentary on: Hartman-Munick SM, Lin JA, Milliren CE, et al. Association of the COVID-19 pandemic with adolescent and young adult eating disorder care volume. JAMA Pediatr. 2022 Dec 1;176(12):1225-1232. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.4346.
The current research demonstrates the need to increase staffing and programme capacity for those working with patients with eating disorders (EDs) to ensure adequate care. Future research into how the relationship between ED-related hospitalisations and individual external factors, such as social isolation are needed.
Research has shown that the pandemic greatly impacted worldwide mental health
Commentary on: Barker N, Sinha A, Jesson C, Doctor T, Narayan O, Elphick HE. Changes in UK paediatric long-term ventilation practice over 10 years. Arch Dis Child. 2023 Mar;108(3):218-224. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2021-323562. Epub 2022 Nov 29.
Up-to-date information on the use of long-term ventilation (LTV) in the UK paediatric population helps LTV centres to plan services and support healthcare needs. The future development of a national LTV children database could advise clinical guidelines and assist resource allocation planning.
LTV consists in the delivery of respiratory support provided on a daily basis for a minimum period of 3 months through various mechanical interventions.
Commentary on: Byrne S, Sledge H, Franklin R, Boland F, Murray DM, Hourihane J; CORAL Study group. Social communication skill attainment in babies born during the COVID-19 pandemic: a birth cohort study. Arch Dis Child. 2023 Jan;108(1):20-24. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2021-323441. Epub 2022 Oct 11.
Future research must explore contexts of crisis and disaster to investigate whether delays in acquiring the pointing gesture and the first meaningful words would result in cascading impairments in language development in early childhood. During crises and disasters, caregivers must be encouraged to enhance verbal responsiveness following infants’ communicative and exploratory behaviours.
Several studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic have indicated deficits in different domains of infant development. This study by Byrne and colleagues compared early developmental milestones in two infant cohorts: babies born at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and babies born between...
Commentary on: Collaco N, Gamble A, Morgan JE, Phillips B, Culliford D, Darlington AS. Experiences and support needs of parents/caregivers of children with cancer through the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK: a longitudinal study. Arch Dis Child. 2023 Mar;108(3):198–203. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2022-324905. Epub 2022 Nov 30.
To teach paediatric oncology nurses how to provide child-family-centred care based on specific needs. To spark research ideas on nursing interventions for anxiety in children with cancer and their families.
The study based on literature mentions that parents/caregivers of children with cancer have additional worries about the potential impact of COVID-19 on their children’s health. It was conducted to identify the experiences, information and support needs of parents/caregivers of children with cancer throughout the different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.
The study used an online survey including...
Commentary on: Roland D, Gardiner A, Razzaq D, Rose K, Bressan S, Honeyford K, Buonsenso D, Da Dalt L, De T, Farrugia R, Parri N, Oostenbrink R, Maconochie IK, Bognar Z, Moll HA, Titomanlio L, Nijman RGG; in association with the REPEM network (Research in European Paediatric Emergency Medicine) as part of the EPISODES Study. Influence of epidemics and pandemics on paediatric ED use: a systematic review. Arch Dis Child. 2023 Feb;108(2):115–122. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2022-324108. Epub 2022 Sep 26.
Healthsystems must be prepared for paediatric emergency department (ED) volume shifts during epidemics and pandemics. Two interventions to increase efficient paediatric ED use include: (1) parental education about home care and (2) real-time remote advice.
Epidemics and pandemics have major impacts on ED care. Studies examining the COVID-19 pandemic noted large early US ED visit declines.