Increased early enteral zinc intake improves weight gain in hospitalised preterm infants.

Aim: To test the hypothesis that enteral zinc intake is associated with improved preterm infant growth during neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalisation.

Methods: This prospective cohort study enrolled 105 preterm infants at a tertiary referral centre. Enteral zinc intake was calculated at day of life 14, and growth was measured as change in weight, length and head circumference from birth to discharge.

Variation in Risk of Hospital-Onset Clostridium difficile Infection Across β-Lactam Antibiotics in Children With New-Onset Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Background: Antibiotic exposure is common among children with leukemia. However, limited data exist regarding the risk of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) across anti-pseudomonal β-lactam antibiotics commonly used for fever and neutropenia.

Methods: A multicenter cohort of children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was established from 43 freestanding children's hospitals from 1999 to 2009.

Patient and hospital factors associated with induction mortality in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Background: Deaths during induction chemotherapy for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) account for one-tenth of ALL-associated mortality and half of ALL treatment-related mortality. We sought to ascertain patient- and hospital-level factors associated with induction mortality.

Procedure: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of 8,516 children ages 0 to <19 years with newly diagnosed ALL admitted to freestanding US children's hospitals from 1999 to 2009 using the Pediatric Health Information System database.

Zoonotic infections in pediatric patients with acute leukemia.

Few studies have described the impact of zoonotic diseases in children with leukemia. This study aimed to describe the frequency of and associated demographic factors for zoonotic diseases in pediatric acute leukemia patients. Descriptive and comparative statistics relative to age, sex, and patient region were performed on an assembled 11-year retrospective cohort of acute leukemia patients.

Variation in hospital antibiotic prescribing practices for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Antibiotic variation among pediatric oncology patients has not been well-described. Identification of significant variability in antibiotic use within this population would warrant evaluation of its clinical impact. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of newly diagnosed patients with pediatric acute lymophoblastic leukemia (ALL) hospitalized from 1999 to 2009 in 39 freestanding US children's hospitals within the Pediatric Health Information System.

Establishment of an 11-year cohort of 8733 pediatric patients hospitalized at United States free-standing children's hospitals with de novo acute lymphoblastic leukemia from health care administrative data.

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) accounts for almost one quarter of pediatric cancer in the United States. Despite cooperative group therapeutic trials, there remains a paucity of large cohort data on which to conduct epidemiology and comparative effectiveness research studies.

Research Design: We designed a 3-step process utilizing International Classification of Diseases-9 Clinical Modification (ICD-9) discharge diagnoses codes and chemotherapy exposure data contained in the Pediatric Health Information System administrative database to establish a cohort of children with de novo ALL.