Increased length of stay and costs associated with weekend admissions for failure to thrive.

Objective: To evaluate whether admission day of the week affects the length of stay (LOS) and health care costs for failure to thrive (FTT) admissions.

Methods: Administrative data were obtained for all children aged <2 years (N = 23 332) with a primary admission diagnosis of FTT from 2003-2011 from 42 freestanding US hospitals. Demographic characteristics, day of admission, LOS, costs per stay, number of discharge diagnoses, primary discharge diagnoses, primary procedure code, number of radiologic and laboratory units billed during admission were obtained for each admission.

The vulnerabilities of orphaned children participating in research: a critical review and factors for consideration for participation in biomedical and behavioral research.

Orphans are a subpopulation with a unique set of additional vulnerabilities. Increasing focus on children's rights, pediatric global health, and pediatric research makes it imperative to recognize and address unique vulnerabilities of orphaned children. This paper describes the unique vulnerabilities of the orphaned pediatric population and offers a structured set of factors that require consideration when including orphans in biomedical research.