Mark F. Guagliardo

Increased Drug Use among Old-for-Grade and Dropout Urban Adolescents

INTRODUCTION In tracking the epidemic of drug use in our communities, much emphasis has been placed on identifying predictive variables. In this study, we examine the relationship between drug use and school progress among a sample of inner-city adolescents. METHODS A blinded, anonymous questionnaire covering a variety of health risk behaviors was administered to 1,720 adolescent patients who visited our outpatient clinic. Participants were classified as age-appropriate for last school grade completed, older than normal for grade, or as a dropout. A urine specimen was also collected in a blinded, anonymous fashion from each participant, and tested for five common substances of abuse. RESULTS Nearly 12% of participants tested positive for drugs. Participants who were old for grade were over 40% more likely to be positive for drugs than grade-appropriate respondents, while school dropouts were more than twice as likely to test positive. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that being old-for-grade (OFG) and being a dropout in our population are markers for being at higher risk of substance abuse.

Pediatric milliman and Robertson length-of-stay criteria : Are they realistic?

Objective. Guidelines for inpatient length of stay (LOS) have been developed by several groups; among the most widely applied are those published by Milliman and Robertson (M&R). Few published reports have examined the relationship of actual practice to such guidelines, none in pediatric populations. This study was designed to compare pediatric practice in a large and defined population to M&R LOS criteria. Methods. Administrative data from New York State in 1995 were used to examine LOS for discharges corresponding to 16 selected pediatric diagnoses for which M&R publishes guidelines. Outliers, defined as the 2% of discharges with the longest LOS, were eliminated. The distribution of LOS for each diagnosis was compared with M&R LOS guidelines. Results. In New York State during 1995, pediatric LOS was markedly divergent from M&R guidelines. In general, the percentage of discharges in excess of the criterion LOS was less for nonmandatory admissions (croup: 23%, gastroenteritis: 44%, and pneumonia: 48%) than for those requiring surgery (uncomplicated appendectomy: 67%, pyloromyotomy: 62%, and major but noncritical burns: 64%) or prolonged treatment with antibiotics (bacterial meningitis: 91% and osteomyelitis: 86%). Conclusions. In New York State during 1995, LOS for selected pediatric conditions was generally in excess of published M&R guidelines. This raises concern about the potential effects of such guidelines on both patients and the hospitals caring for them. While endorsing the need for cost-effective practice, we call attention to the methods used to develop and validate guidelines. length of stay, pediatrics, managed health care, administrative data, practice guidelines.

Disparity in location of urban mental service providers

This article investigates geographic disparities in the location of mental health providers in relation to population demographics. Associations between provider-to-population ratios and demographics were examined with density calculations and map algebra. This disparity in geospatial availability of specialists may constitute an important barrier for persons seeking mental health care.

Admissions Across State Lines: Harnessing the Insight of the National Burn Repository for the Healthcare Accessibility, Fiscal, and Legislative Concerns Facing the American Burn Association

One of the most significant data collection efforts undertaken by the American Burn Association, the National Burn Repository (NBR) now encompasses more than 180,000 admissions. The Government Affairs Committee designated the prevalence of across-state-line burn admissions as one of its initial major inquiries to be made of the NBR. This line of inquiry could have bearings on healthcare access, legislative advocacy, and burn center solvency. The NBR Advisory Committee provided a specifically abstracted report after the 2005 call for data. Because of patient confidentiality concerns the file only contained admission frequencies by state-of-injury:state-of-care pairs. Nevertheless we were able to produce suggestive summary statistics and national maps for interpretations. This abstracted data encompasses records between 1995 and 2005, during which 8157 cross-state border admissions occurred, 6714 of which were to non-Shriner’s hospitals. The rate of border crossing ranged from 0 to 202 patients annually. The highest rates were from the northernmost western states, northernmost New England states, and several southern states. Utah, West coast, and Great Lakes states sent relatively few admissions to other states. Twenty-seven states received no out-of-state admissions whereas several states had very high hosting rates. Although mapping cross-state burn admissions is an elementary exercise it demonstrated the value of the NBR for the Committees on Organization and Delivery, Government Affairs, and other facets of the American Burn Association. Anticipated access to ZIP Code data will permit: 1) granular identification of underserved areas, 2) documentation and prediction of reimbursement challenges, 3) mapping of de facto burn center referral markets, 4) mass disaster capacity planning, and 5) community-level burn risk factor analyses.

Does spatial accessibility of pharmacy services predict compliance with long-term control medications?

Background: Disadvantaged urban children with asthma are at high risk for undermanagement of their disease and poor compliance with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). Objective: To determine whether spatial accessibility (SA) of retail pharmacy services is associated with ICS compliance. Methods: Caregivers of 137 urban high-morbidity asthmatic children attended a comprehensive intervention to improve asthma care and outcomes. Subsequent ICS compliance was determined at 1, 3, and 6 months. We modeled 18 measures of SA to 339 pharmacies using logistic regression and adjusting for numerous covariates. Results: No relationships between SA and compliance were found. Conclusions: In this group of disadvantaged urban children with severe asthma, compliance with ICS was not significantly associated with SA of retail pharmacy services.

The Association Between Fracture Rates and Neighborhood Characteristics in Washington, DC, Children

Background Effects of neighborhood contextual features have been found for many diseases, including bone fractures in adults. Our study objective was to evaluate the association between neighborhood characteristics and pediatric bone fracture rates. We hypothesized that neighborhood indices of deprivation would be associated with higher fracture rates. Materials and Methods Pediatric bone fracture cases treated at a tertiary, academic, urban pediatric emergency department between 2003 and 2006 were mapped to census block groups using geographical information systems software. Fracture rates were calculated as fractures per 1000 children in each census block. Exploratory factor analysis of socioeconomic indicators was performed using 2000 census block data. Factor scores were used to predict odds of bone fracture at the individual level while adjusting for mean age, sex composition, and race/ethnicity composition at census block level using our sample data. Results We analyzed 3764 fracture visits in 3557 patients representing 349 distinct census blocks groups. Fracture rates among census blocks ranged from 0 to 207 per 1000 children/study period. Logistic regression modeling identified 2 factors (race/education and large families) associated with increased fracture risk. Census variables reflecting African American race, laborer/service industry employment, long-term block group residence, and lower education levels strongly loaded on the race/education factor. The large families factor indicated the children-to-families ratio within the block group. The poverty factor was not independently associated with fracture risk. Conclusions Thus, neighborhood characteristics are associated with risk for fractures in children. These results can help inform translational efforts to develop targeted strategies for bone fracture prevention in children.