Mepolizumab for treatment of adolescents and adults with eosinophilic oesophagitis: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Objective: We aimed to determine whether mepolizumab, an anti-IL-5 antibody, was more effective than placebo for improving dysphagia symptoms and decreasing oesophageal eosinophil counts in eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE).

Methods: We conducted a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, trial. In the first part, patients aged 16-75 with EoE and dysphagia symptoms (per EoE Symptom Activity Index (EEsAI)) were randomised 1:1 to 3 months of mepolizumab 300 mg monthly or placebo.

Provider Communication and Fever Protocol for Children With Sickle Cell Disease in the Emergency Department.

Objective: We assessed whether prior communication between pediatric hematologists and emergency department (ED) providers reduced time to administration of parenteral antibiotics for children with sickle cell disease presenting with fever.

Methods: Patients 2 months to 21 years of age were retrospectively identified if they were followed up at our center's pediatric hematology clinic and presented to the pediatric ED with fever. Emergency department-hematology communication before patient arrival was ascertained by chart review.

Influence of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine series initiation and completion on influenza vaccination among adolescents.

Background: Influenza vaccine participation in adolescents is low. Barriers to the influenza vaccine may be shared with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Methods: We studied adolescents aged 13-17 years who participated in the National Immunization Survey-Teen between 2011 and 2017 (N = 129,200).

Association between asthma and influenza vaccine uptake among US adolescents: a retrospective survey study.

Objective: Despite longstanding recommendations for children with asthma to receive the influenza vaccine, vaccine uptake in this population remains low. We used the nationally representative National Immunization Survey-Teen to analyze the impact of asthma on adolescent influenza vaccination rates.

Methods: Adolescents ages 13-17 years with provider-reported data on vaccine coverage were included in the analysis.

Communication Between Primary Care Pediatricians and the Pediatric Emergency Department.

Objectives: This study aimed to measure the quality of communication from primary care pediatricians (PCPs) to the pediatric emergency department (ED). We also sought to determine whether the quality of this communication affected patient outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients sent from their pediatrician to the pediatric ED during a 4-year period.

Primary Care Use and Assessment of Adolescents' Sexual Health During Hospitalization.

Objectives: Hospitalization provides an opportunity to address sexual health needs of adolescents who may not otherwise receive regular medical care. We investigated documentation of a sexual health discussion with adolescents hospitalized at our medical center to determine if previous primary care physician (PCP) visits in the same health system were associated with sexual health documentation during the hospital admission.

Methods: We retrospectively identified adolescents aged 13 to 17 years discharged from the pediatric general ward.

Change of address as a measure of housing insecurity predicting rural emergency department revisits after asthma exacerbation.

Objective: Housing insecurity is an important socioeconomic factor that may impact emergency department (ED) use for children with asthma, but housing insecurity screening has primarily relied on patient surveys or linkage to external data sources. Using patient addresses recorded in the electronic medical record (EMR), we sought to correlate recent changes in address (as a proxy for housing insecurity) with ED revisit risk.

Methods: We retrospectively identified patients age 2-17 years seen in our rural ED for asthma exacerbation during 2016-2018.

Human papillomavirus vaccine series follow-through: comparison of four clinics in an academic medical center.

Objective: The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recommends that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series be initiated at ages 11-12 years, but many children never follow-through with the series. By examining differences in clinic-specific vaccine series follow-through rates across four clinics, we aimed to identify best practices related to communication around the vaccine and pathways to follow-through.

Methods: We used the electronic medical record (EMR) to retrospectively analyze HPV vaccine follow-through at four clinic settings.

Concordance of Data on Children's Unmet Health Care Needs Between 2 National Surveys.

Objective: We used public data from 2 national surveys to determine how survey mode and questionnaire wording potentially impact estimated prevalence and predictors of children's unmet health care needs.

Methods: Data from 2016-2017 were obtained for the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), where interviewers ask caregivers about each type of unmet health care need in person, and the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), a self-administered questionnaire asking a general question about any unmet health care needs, with subparts about specific types of unmet needs. Weighted proportions and multivariable logistic regression were used to analyze each data set.

The influence of local political trends on childhood vaccine completion in North Carolina.

Background: In North Carolina (NC), a political swing state that permits both medical and religious exemptions to school vaccination, rapid changes in the electorate have coincided with a vigorous political debate over vaccine laws and an increase in the number of exemptions claimed from vaccine requirements.

Objective: We aimed to determine whether county-level changes in political affiliation, determined from publicly available voting records, were associated with changes in the rate of vaccine exemptions reported at kindergarten entry in NC.

Methods: We analyzed data from the 2009-2010 to the 2016-2017 school years for each of 100 NC counties.

Clinical and socio-economic predictors of work participation in adult CHD patients.

Background: Adults with CHD have reduced work participation rates compared to adults without CHD. We aimed to quantify employment rate among adult CHD patients in a population-based registry and to describe factors and barriers associated with work participation.

Methods: We retrospectively identified adults with employment information in the North Carolina Congenital Heart Defects Surveillance Network.

Fathers' Visitation of Very Low Birth Weight Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit during the First Week of Life.

Objective: The perceived fragility of extremely preterm neonates may deter paternal visitation early during the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stay. We retrospectively analyzed the correlation between paternal visitation of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants in our NICU and sociodemographic characteristics.

Study Design: We identified inborn VLBW infants admitted to our NICU from 2017 to 2018.

Social Determinants of Health and Emergency Department Use Among Children With Sickle Cell Disease.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is associated with disproportionate emergency department (ED) use. This study described the social determinants of health associated with ED visits and hospital admission from the ED among children with SCD using a nationally representative dataset. We analyzed data from 126 children 0 to 17 years of age with SCD included in the 2011 to 2017 rounds of the National Health Interview Survey (mean age, 8 y; 50% female individuals; 74% African American).

Factors Affecting Patient Portal Use Among Low-Income Pregnant Women: Mixed-Methods Pilot Study.

Background: Patient portals offer patients personalized and secure Web access to their medical information and enable patients to manage their health care online. However, there is a lack of information about patient acceptance and use of patient portals among low-income pregnant women.

Objective: This formative research aims to assess the potential of a patient portal, MyChart, for improving prenatal health care and pregnancy outcomes, and identify the barriers and facilitators of MyChart use among low-income pregnant women.