Publications by authors named "Susan Walley"

Purpose Of Review: New nicotine and tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and oral nicotine products have increased in use and threaten to addict a new generation of youth. This review summarizes current literature on nicotine and tobacco products used by youth, epidemiology, health effects, prevention and treatment of nicotine dependence, and current policies and regulations.

Recent Findings: Electronic cigarettes and oral nicotine products are popular among youth, attracting adolescents through exposure to deceptive marketing and fruit, candy and dessert flavors.

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Article Synopsis
  • Significant progress has been made in lowering adolescent cigarette smoking rates in the U.S., but e-cigarette use among youth remains high, and other tobacco products like cigars and hookahs are still being used.
  • Nearly 40% of children aged 3 to 11 are regularly exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke, with increasing rates of exposure to e-cigarette aerosol over the past decade.
  • Pediatricians play a crucial role in promoting tobacco-free living and can help lower the risk of tobacco and nicotine disorders in children while reducing their exposure to harmful smoke and aerosol.
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  • Tobacco use is the top preventable cause of disease and death among U.S. adults, despite progress in reducing adolescent cigarette smoking.
  • Youth usage of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products like cigars and hookahs remains high.
  • Implementing effective public policies can protect young people from tobacco-related harm, and these strategies must adapt to include new products like e-cigarettes for better public health.
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This technical report provides the evidence base for the accompanying tobacco clinical report and policy statement. It builds on, strengthens, and expands AAP recommendations from the previous version in 2015. Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of disease and death for adults in the United States.

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Adolescent e-cigarette use constitutes a major public health challenge that has reversed the steady progress made in the past three decades to reduce youth tobacco use in the United States (U.S.).

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Objectives: With this study, we aim to evaluate inpatient adolescent screening for tobacco, as well as the relationship between tobacco and other substance use, tobacco types used, and cessation interventions.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of inpatient hospital admissions of adolescents aged ≥13 years to a tertiary care, freestanding, urban children's hospital in 2018 was performed. Tobacco use-related variables were entered into a multiple logistic regression model in which the adjusted odds ratios were determined.

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Oil spill accidents are a major concern for aquatic organisms. In recent history, the Deepwater Horizon blowout spilled 500 million liters of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Corexit 9500A was used to disperse the oil since it was the method approved at that time, despite safety concerns about its use.

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Background And Objectives: Educational programs are needed to combat the sharp rise in adolescent e-cigarette use. We assessed adolescent knowledge about e-cigarettes, perceptions of harmfulness and addictiveness and intent to try e-cigarettes before and after an e-cigarette educational session.

Methods: We conducted a one-group pre- and post-test study among middle and high school students in Alabama in 2019.

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  • Tobacco smoke exposure significantly harms lung health in children with cystic fibrosis (CF), yet there are no tailored smoking cessation programs for their caregivers.
  • The study conducted interviews with both CF caregivers and the care team to identify challenges and potential solutions for quitting smoking.
  • Key recommendations for an effective cessation program include family education on smoke risks, regular screening for exposure, access to counseling and affordable treatment options, and ongoing outpatient support.
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Introduction: Limited work has directly compared the role of different neighborhood factors or examined their interactive effects on pediatric asthma outcomes. Our objective was to quantify the main and interactive effects of neighborhood deprivation and residential instability (RI) on pediatric asthma outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of patients with a primary diagnosis of asthma hospitalized at a tertiary care pediatric hospital.

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Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and vape devices have rapidly become the most common tobacco products used by youth, driven in large part by marketing and advertising by e-cigarette companies. There is substantial evidence that adolescent e-cigarette use leads to use of combustible tobacco products. E-cigarette companies commonly advertise that e-cigarettes contain nicotine, flavoring chemicals, and humectants (propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerin), but toxicants, ultrafine particles, and carcinogens have also been found in e-cigarette solutions and emissions, many of which are known to cause adverse health effects.

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Article Synopsis
  • E-cigarettes are the most popular tobacco product among young people and are deemed unsafe for children and adolescents according to a 2016 US Surgeon General's Report.
  • Young e-cigarette users are more likely to start smoking traditional cigarettes, which can be deadly.
  • E-cigarette companies target youth with appealing flavors and marketing techniques, highlighting the urgent need for regulations to protect young people from transitioning to more harmful tobacco products.
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Tobacco use begins in adolescence for the majority of smokers. The purpose of this study was to increase screening and reporting of tobacco use in hospitalized adolescents at a tertiary care children's hospital. We completed a nursing focus group to understand challenges and completed four iterative Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, which included: (1) in-person nursing education regarding tobacco use screening, (2) addition of an e-cigarette-specific screening question, (3) the creation and dissemination of an educational video for nursing, and (4) adding the video as a mandatory component of nursing orientation.

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Background: Asthma is a common cause of pediatric hospitalization. Nonadherence to asthma medications is associated with worse outcomes; however, there is a paucity of data regarding posthospitalization prescription filling and hospital reuse. Our objective was to identify patients at risk for hospital reuse after being hospitalized for asthma.

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Introduction: Asthma exacerbations are a leading cause of pediatric hospitalizations. Despite national guidelines, variability exists in the use and dosing of bronchodilators, oxygen management, and respiratory assessments of patients. We aimed to implement an inpatient Asthma Clinical Pathway (Pathway) to standardize care and reduce length of stay (LOS).

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Background And Objectives: We sought to implement systematic tobacco dependence interventions for parents and/or caregivers as secondary aims within 2 multisite quality improvement (QI) collaboratives for bronchiolitis. We hypothesized that iterative improvements in tobacco dependence intervention strategies would result in improvement in outcomes between collaboratives.

Methods: This study involved 2 separate yearlong, multisite QI collaboratives that were focused on care provided to inpatients with a primary diagnosis of bronchiolitis.

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Background And Objectives: There is high variation in the care of acute viral bronchiolitis. We sought to promote collaboration between emergency department (ED) and inpatient (IP) units with the goal of reducing unnecessary testing and treatment.

Methods: Multisite collaborative with improvement teams co-led by ED and IP physicians and a 1-year period of active participation.

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Background And Objectives: Adherence to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) bronchiolitis clinical practice guideline recommendations improved significantly through the AAP's multiinstitutional collaborative, the Bronchiolitis Quality Improvement Project (BQIP). We assessed sustainability of improvements at participating institutions for 1 year following completion of the collaborative.

Methods: Twenty-one multidisciplinary hospital-based teams provided monthly data for key inpatient bronchiolitis measures during baseline and intervention bronchiolitis seasons.

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Background And Objectives: Adoption of clinical respiratory scoring as a quality improvement (QI) tool in bronchiolitis has been temporally associated with decreased bronchodilator usage. We sought to determine whether documented use of a clinical respiratory score at the patient level was associated with a decrease in either the physician prescription of any dose of bronchodilator or the number of doses, if prescribed, in a multisite QI collaborative.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of data from a QI collaborative involving 22 hospitals.

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  • A series of novel organogels were created using poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) that was modified with urea groups for quick gel formation and strong structural properties in various solvents.
  • Three types of PPO with different molecular weights (430, 2000, and 4000 g mol(-1)) were utilized, each having amino end groups, and were gelled successfully in solvents like carbon tetrachloride and toluene.
  • The quality of these gels was assessed using the Flory-Huggins parameter, revealing that lower χ values indicated stronger and clearer gels, therefore suggesting that polymer-solvent interactions can effectively predict gel performance.
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