Feline caudal vena cava to aorta ratio reference interval.

Objectives: The primary objective of this investigation was to ultrasonographically evaluate the caudal vena cava to aorta (CVC:Ao) ratio in healthy, conscious cats and to generate reference intervals. A secondary objective was to identify the site of examination with the least intra- and inter-observer variability. This investigation was undertaken to assess whether the CVC:Ao ratio holds promise as a technique to assess intravascular volume responsiveness in cats.

The establishment of reference intervals for the ClotPro thromboelastometry device in healthy dogs.

Objective: To establish reference intervals using a new point-of-care thromboelastometry device in dogs for the extrinsically activated test (EX-test), intrinsically activated test (IN-test), fibrin polymerization test (FIB-test), ecarin test (ECA-test), and tissue plasminogen activator test (TPA-test) and to investigate the effects of storage time on the results.

Design: Prospective clinical study in 2022.

Setting: University teaching hospital.

Impact of Social Determinants of Health on Predictive Models for Outcomes After Congenital Heart Surgery.

Background: Despite documented associations between social determinants of health and outcomes post-congenital heart surgery, clinical risk models typically exclude these factors.

Objectives: The study sought to characterize associations between social determinants and operative and longitudinal mortality as well as assess impacts on risk model performance.

Methods: Demographic and clinical data were obtained for all congenital heart surgeries (2006-2021) from locally held Congenital Heart Surgery Collaborative for Longitudinal Outcomes and Utilization of Resources Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database data.

Measuring Equity in Readmission as a Distinct Assessment of Hospital Performance.

Importance: Equity is an essential domain of health care quality. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) developed 2 Disparity Methods that together assess equity in clinical outcomes.

Objectives: To define a measure of equitable readmissions; identify hospitals with equitable readmissions by insurance (dual eligible vs non-dual eligible) or patient race (Black vs White); and compare hospitals with and without equitable readmissions by hospital characteristics and performance on accountability measures (quality, cost, and value).

Pediatric Mental Health Emergencies During 5 COVID-19 Waves in New York City.

Objectives: To describe the proportion of pediatric mental health emergency department (MH-ED) visits across 5 COVID-19 waves in New York City (NYC) and to examine the relationship between MH-ED visits, COVID-19 prevalence, and societal restrictions.

Methods: We conducted a time-series analysis of MH-ED visits among patients ages 5 to 17 years using the INSIGHT Clinical Research Network, a database from 5 medical centers in NYC from January 1, 2016, to June 12, 2022. We estimated seasonally adjusted changes in MH-ED visit rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with predicted prepandemic levels, specific to each COVID-19 wave and stratified by mental health diagnoses and sociodemographic characteristics.

Successful autologous transfusion from the subcutaneous space in a domestic shorthair cat with suspected anticoagulant rodenticide toxicity.

Case Summary: A 6-month-old female entire domestic shorthair cat was presented with a 4-day history of progressive swelling over the dorsal cranium. Subsequent diagnostics revealed a large haematoma, a secondary haemostatic defect and a moderate anaemia. The owner disclosed access to multiple brodifacoum bait stations.

Follow-up After Pediatric Mental Health Emergency Visits.

Objectives: To examine how outpatient mental health (MH) follow-up after a pediatric MH emergency department (ED) discharge varies by patient characteristics and to evaluate the association between timely follow-up and return encounters.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 28 551 children aged 6 to 17 years with MH ED discharges from January 2018 to June 2019, using the IBM Watson MarketScan Medicaid database. Odds of nonemergent outpatient follow-up, adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, were estimated using logistic regression.

Pediatric mental health visits with prolonged length of stay in community emergency departments during COVID-19.

Objectives: To characterize trends in pediatric mental health visit counts, including visits for prolonged length of stay (LOS), in a sample of emergency departments (EDs) from 29 states during COVID-19.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of the Clinical Emergency Data Registry from January 2020 through December 2021. We reported trends in pediatric mental health visit counts overall and for those with prolonged ED LOS.

Psychotropic Medication Use in United States Pediatric Emergency Department Visits.

Objective And Background: Little is known about pediatric psychotropic medication use in the emergency department (ED), despite a rise in mental and behavioral health visits. This study describes psychotropic medication use in a nationally representative sample of pediatric mental and behavioral health ED visits over a 14-year period.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of pediatric (6-17 years) mental and behavioral health ED visits using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2006-2019.

Indications for Hospitalization in Children with SARS-CoV-2 Infection during the Omicron Wave in New York City.

The emergence of the Omicron variant was accompanied by an acute increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in New York City. An increased incidence of COVID-19-associated croup in children during the Omicron wave has been recognized, suggesting that there may be other changes in clinical symptoms and severity. To better understand clinical outcomes and health care utilization in children infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the Omicron wave, we performed a cross-sectional study in pediatric patients aged ≤18 years who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 in pediatric emergency departments within a large medical system in New York City from 2 December 2021 to 23 January 2022.

Lack of association between feline AB blood groups and retroviral status: a multicenter, multicountry study.

Objectives: The relationship between blood group antigens and disease has been studied in humans. Blood types have been associated with both decreased and increased rates of various infections. In addition, blood group expression has been shown to vary with some cancers and gastrointestinal diseases.

Racial disparities in the SOFA score among patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Background: Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score predicts probability of in-hospital mortality. Many crisis standards of care suggest the use of SOFA scores to allocate medical resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research Question: Are SOFA scores elevated among Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients hospitalized with COVID-19, compared to Non-Hispanic White patients?

Study Design And Methods: Retrospective cohort study conducted in Yale New Haven Health System, including 5 hospitals with total of 2681 beds.

The potential impact of triage protocols on racial disparities in clinical outcomes among COVID-positive patients in a large academic healthcare system.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact in the United States, particularly for Black populations, and has heavily burdened the healthcare system. Hospitals have created protocols to allocate limited resources, but there is concern that these protocols will exacerbate disparities. The sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score is a tool often used in triage protocols.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Physical Restraint Use for Pediatric Patients in the Emergency Department.

This cross-sectional study explores the use of physical restraint on youth at risk of harming themselves or others in the emergency department, stratified by race and ethnicity.

Prolonged Emergency Department Length of Stay for US Pediatric Mental Health Visits (2005-2015).

Background And Objectives: Children seeking care in the emergency department (ED) for mental health conditions are at risk for prolonged length of stay (LOS). A more contemporary description of trends and visit characteristics associated with prolonged ED LOS at the national level is lacking in the literature. Our objectives were to (1) compare LOS trends for pediatric mental health versus non-mental health ED visits and (2) explore patient-level characteristics associated with prolonged LOS for mental health ED visits.