Publications by authors named "Jessica Snowden"

Background: Medical record abstraction (MRA) is a commonly used method for data collection in clinical research, but is prone to error, and the influence of quality control (QC) measures is seldom and inconsistently assessed during the course of a study. We employed a novel, standardized MRA-QC framework as part of an ongoing observational study in an effort to control MRA error rates. In order to assess the effectiveness of our framework, we compared our error rates against traditional MRA studies that had not reported using formalized MRA-QC methods.

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Background: In clinical research, prevention of data errors is paramount to ensuring reproducibility of trial results and the safety and efficacy of the resulting interventions. Over the last 40 years, empirical assessments of data accuracy in clinical research have been reported, however, there has been little systematic synthesis of these results. Although notable exceptions exist, little evidence exists regarding the relative accuracy of different data processing methods.

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Purpose: To identify characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infection that are associated with hospitalization in children initially evaluated in a Pediatric Emergency Department (ED).

Methods: We identified cases of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients seen in the Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) ED or hospitalized between May 27, 2020, and April 28, 2022, using ICD-10 codes within the Pediatric Hospital Information System (PHIS) Database. We compared infection waves for differences in patient characteristics and used logistic regressions to examine which features led to a higher chance of hospitalization.

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Article Synopsis
  • Research highlights a critical gap in understanding long COVID (PASC) in children and emphasizes the need for studies that define its characteristics in this age group.
  • The objective is to identify common prolonged symptoms in children aged 6 to 17 post-SARS-CoV-2 infection, examining differences between school-age kids and adolescents, as well as potential symptom clusters for future research.
  • A multicenter study involved nearly 5,000 participants, revealing that certain symptoms were significantly more prevalent in those with a history of COVID-19 compared to those without.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has arguably had its greatest impact in rural and other historically hard-to-reach populations. Families in rural and underserved communities experienced COVID-19 infections at a higher rate than did their peers in other groups and experienced disproportionate morbidity and mortality. Without careful design and implementation of resources, children in these areas are also at risk of being disproportionately affected by long-term sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infections, such as "long COVID" syndromes.

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Article Synopsis
  • Infants with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) cared for using the Eat, Sleep, Console (ESC) approach experienced less medication treatment and shorter hospital stays compared to those receiving usual care.
  • The study aimed to compare feeding practices and weight change in infants treated with ESC versus usual care across 26 hospitals in the US.
  • Results showed that a higher percentage of infants in the ESC group were breastfed and received exclusive breast milk, indicating a more favorable feeding outcome compared to the usual care group.
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Although vaccination and antimicrobial treatment have significantly impacted the frequency and outcomes of meningitis in children, meningitis remains a critical can't-miss diagnosis for children, where early recognition and appropriate treatment can improve survival and neurologic outcomes. Signs and symptoms may be nonspecific, particularly in infants, and require a high index of suspicion to recognize potential meningitis and obtain the cerebrospinal fluid studies necessary for diagnosis. Understanding the pathogens associated with each age group and specific risk factors informs optimal empirical antimicrobial therapy.

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Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) hepatic phlegmon is a rare cause of fever of unknown origin (FUO) in an immunocompetent patient from a high-income country (HIC). MRSA hepatic phlegmon is typically linked to protein malnutrition and chronic gastrointestinal infections in low- to middle-income countries while immunodeficiencies such as chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) are a more common cause in a HIC. Clinical manifestations of hepatic phlegmon can be vague and nonspecific making a complete FUO workup critical during evaluation.

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Importance: The prevalence, pathophysiology, and long-term outcomes of COVID-19 (post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 [PASC] or "Long COVID") in children and young adults remain unknown. Studies must address the urgent need to define PASC, its mechanisms, and potential treatment targets in children and young adults.

Observations: We describe the protocol for the Pediatric Observational Cohort Study of the NIH's REsearching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative.

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Importance: The function-based eat, sleep, console (ESC) care approach substantially reduces the proportion of infants who receive pharmacologic treatment for neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). This reduction has led to concerns for increased postnatal opioid exposure in infants who receive pharmacologic treatment. However, the effect of the ESC care approach on hospital outcomes for infants pharmacologically treated for NOWS is currently unknown.

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Background: Acute viral bronchiolitis is the most common reason for hospitalization of infants in the USA. Infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis are at high risk for recurrent respiratory symptoms and wheeze in the subsequent year, and longer-term adverse respiratory outcomes such as persistent childhood asthma. There are no effective secondary prevention strategies.

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Background: In clinical research, prevention of systematic and random errors of data collected is paramount to ensuring reproducibility of trial results and the safety and efficacy of the resulting interventions. Over the last 40 years, empirical assessments of data accuracy in clinical research have been reported in the literature. Although there have been reports of data error and discrepancy rates in clinical studies, there has been little systematic synthesis of these results.

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Background: In the United States, disparities in gestational age at birth by maternal race, ethnicity, and geography are theorized to be related, in part, to differences in individual- and neighborhood-level socioeconomic status (SES). Yet, few studies have examined their combined effects or whether associations vary by maternal race and ethnicity and United States Census region.

Methods: We assembled data from 34 cohorts in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program representing 10,304 participants who delivered a liveborn, singleton infant from 2000 through 2019.

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Children with asthma and obesity are more likely to have lower vitamin D levels, but the optimal replacement dose is unknown in this population. The objective of this study is identifying a vitamin D dose in children with obesity-related asthma that safely achieves serum vitamin D levels of ≥ 40 ng/mL. This prospective multisite randomized controlled trial recruited children/adolescents with asthma and body mass index ≥ 85% for age/sex.

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Objectives: Addressing parental/caregivers' coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy is critical to improving vaccine uptake in children. Common concerns have been previously reported through online surveys, but qualitative data from KII and focus groups may add much-needed context. Our objective was to examine factors impacting pediatric COVID-19 vaccine decision-making in Black, Spanish-speaking, and rural white parents/caregivers to inform the content design of a mobile application to improve pediatric COVID-19 vaccine uptake.

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Background And Objective: Vitamin D insufficiency is common in several pediatric diseases including obesity and asthma. Little data exist describing the pharmacokinetics of oral vitamin D in children or the optimal dosing to achieve therapeutic 25(OH)D targets. Describe the pharmacokinetics of oral Vitamin D in children with asthma.

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Background: The incidence of maternal opioid use in the USA has increased substantially since 2000. As a consequence of opioid use during pregnancy, the incidence of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) has increased fivefold between 2002 and 2012. Pharmacological therapy is indicated when signs of NOWS cannot be controlled, and the objective of pharmacological therapy is to control NOWS signs.

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