ArticlePediatrics2021
Availability of Pediatric Inpatient Services in the United States.
Article in Pediatrics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Intravenous Bronchodilators in Pediatric Critical Asthma: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Pediatric pulmonology · 2025Pooled it
- Barriers, Facilitators, and Time Costs of Implementing a Pediatric Clinical Pathway Intervention.Hospital pediatrics · 2025Trial
- A Qualitative Needs Assessment for Pediatric Care Partnerships in Community Emergency Departments.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2026Article
- Trends in Regionalization of Pediatric Inpatient and Critical Care by Medical Complexity.Hospital pediatrics · 2026Article
- Change in Travel Distance for Pediatric Mental Health Admissions in Illinois, 2016 to 2024.Academic pediatrics · 2026Article
- Toward resilient and efficient pediatric critical care provision amid falling birth rates.World journal of pediatrics : WJP · 2026Article
- Prevalence and costs of US pediatric hospitalizations, 2022.Journal of hospital medicine · 2026Article
- Variation in Emergency Department Experience With Pediatric Critical Illness.Annals of emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome in U.S. Children: A 20-Year Look at Lives Lost and Gaps That Remain.Pediatric cardiology · 2026Article
- Capacity Planning for Small Hospitals and Departments Illustrated Using Maternity and Paediatrics Departments: Roles for Weighted Population Density, Seasonality and Size, Myths Around Length of Stay and Factors Influencing Costs and Funding.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Geographic access to pediatric ECMO and ECPR: a geospatial study of transport networks and disparities.Resuscitation plus · 2026Article
- Unplanned Regionalization and Interstate Dependence in Pediatric Hospital Care.JAMA health forum · 2026Article
- Step-down management of fever and neutropenia in low-risk pediatric and adolescent-young adult oncology patients is safe and effective: a single center experience.Pediatric hematology and oncology · 2026Article
- A Machine Learning Strategy to Predict the Number of High-Acuity Children Who Leave Without Being Seen From the Emergency Department.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2026Article
- Assessing Clinical Improvement of Infants Hospitalized for Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Related Critical Illness.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2025Article
- A systems approach for anticipating post-pandemic forecast challenges for pediatric influenza and hospital burden.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Trends in Hospital Resource Use for Children With Complex Chronic Conditions.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- State-Level Prevalence of Maternity Care Deserts: Association With Healthcare Access, Utilization, and Outcomes Among Medicaid Recipients.AJPM focus · 2025Article
- Point-counterpoint: Adult patients in children's hospitals.Journal of hospital medicine · 2025Review
- Pediatric Bed Capacity, Bed Strain, and Load Imbalance During the 2022 Respiratory Viral Season.JAMA network open · 2025Article
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesWe sought to evaluate trends in pediatric inpatient unit capacity and access and to measure pediatric inpatient unit closures across the United States.
methodsWe performed a retrospective study of 4720 US hospitals using the 2008-2018 American Hospital Association survey. We used linear regression to describe trends in pediatric inpatient unit and PICU capacity. We compared trends in pediatric inpatient days and bed counts by state. We examined changes in access to care by calculating distance to the nearest pediatric inpatient services by census block group. We analyzed hospital characteristics associated with pediatric inpatient unit closure in a survival model.
resultsPediatric inpatient units decreased by 19.1% (34 units per year; 95% confidence interval [CI] 31 to 37), and pediatric inpatient unit beds decreased by 11.8% (407 beds per year; 95% CI 347 to 468). PICU beds increased by 16.0% (66.9 beds per year; 95% CI 53 to 81), primarily at children's hospitals. Rural areas experienced steeper proportional declines in pediatric inpatient unit beds (-26.1% vs -10.0%). Most states experienced decreases in both pediatric inpatient unit beds (median state -18.5%) and pediatric inpatient days (median state -10.0%). Nearly one-quarter of US children experienced an increase in distance to their nearest pediatric inpatient unit. Low-volume pediatric units and those without an associated PICU were at highest risk of closing.
conclusionsPediatric inpatient unit capacity is decreasing in the United States. Access to inpatient care is declining for many children, particularly those in rural areas. PICU beds are increasing, primarily at large children's hospitals. Policy and surge planning improvements may be needed to mitigate the effects of these changes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.