A Child's Health Is the Public's Health: Progress and Gaps in Addressing Pediatric Needs in Public Health Emergencies.

Children are the most prevalent vulnerable population in US society and have unique needs during the response to and recovery from public health emergencies. The physiological, behavioral, developmental, social, and mental health differences of children require specific attention in preparedness efforts. Despite often being more severely affected in disasters, children's needs are historically underrepresented in preparedness.

Utilizing a Pediatric Disaster Coalition Model to Increase Pediatric Critical Care Surge Capacity in New York City.

A mass casualty event can result in an overwhelming number of critically injured pediatric victims that exceeds the available capacity of pediatric critical care (PCC) units, both locally and regionally. To address these gaps, the New York City (NYC) Pediatric Disaster Coalition (PDC) was established. The PDC includes experts in emergency preparedness, critical care, surgery, and emergency medicine from 18 of 25 major NYC PCC-capable hospitals.

Association of RSV-related hospitalization and non-compliance with palivizumab among commercially insured infants: a retrospective claims analysis.

Background: Palivizumab has been shown to decrease the incidence of hospitalization due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants at risk of severe RSV disease. We examined the association between compliance with palivizumab dosing throughout the RSV season and risk of RSV-related hospitalization in clinical practice.

Methods: Subjects who were born and discharged from the hospital before the RSV season and received ≥1 palivizumab dose during their first RSV season were identified from a large US commercial health insurance database between 01/01/03 and 12/31/09.

A systematic review of compliance with palivizumab administration for RSV immunoprophylaxis.

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in infants and young children, accounting for approximately 75,000-125,000 hospitalizations per year. It is estimated that in 2000, RSV infection accounted for 1.7 million office visits, 402,000 emergency room visits, and 236,000 hospital outpatient visits per year for children younger than 5 years of age.

In the trenches: a pediatrician's perspective on prevention and treatment strategies for RSV disease.

Pharmacologic options in the treatment of RSV infection have no or minimal effectiveness. Therefore, for infants at high risk of RSV infection, proper hand hygiene, limiting exposure to infection, and immunoprophylaxis with palivizumab is paramount. The first injection of palivizumab must be given prior to the start of the local RSV season and subsequent injections should be administered every 30 days to provide protective levels until the end of the RSV season.