Exploring the Association Between Antibiotic Prescribing Patterns and Clinical Variations in a Network of Pediatricians.

Introduction: Variation in practice patterns among physicians is well-documented despite professional guidelines and increasingly uniform medical training. Variations may lead to improper utilization of healthcare resources, misdiagnosis, overdiagnosis, unnecessary treatments, and forgoing of needed interventions. One area of clinical variation and overuse of particular interest is the prescribing of antibiotics, which can lead to eventual antibiotic resistance and other negative consequences.

The use of newborn screening pulse oximetry to detect cyanotic congenital heart disease: a survey of current practice at Army, Navy, and Air Force hospitals.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of newborn screening pulse oximetry (+POx) among military hospitals, including barriers to instituting protocols.

Methods: An internet-based questionnaire was forwarded to the senior pediatricians at military hospitals worldwide supporting newborn deliveries.

Results: Forty seven of 53 hospitals (88%) supporting deliveries responded to the survey.