Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36220182›Full record

ArticleCMAJ open

Variation in low-value radiograph use for children in the emergency department: a cross-sectional study of administrative databases.

Gabrielle C Freire, Christina Diong, Sima Gandhi, Natasha Saunders, Mark I Neuman, Stephen B Freedman, Jeremy N Friedman, Eyal Cohen

Open access · diamondAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in CMAJ open. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Gabrielle C FreireDivision of Emergency Medicine (Freire), Division of Pediatric Medicine (Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), Department of Pediatrics (Freire, Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto; Child Health Evaluative Sciences (Saunders, Cohen), Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute; ICES (Diong, Gandhi, Saunders, Cohen); Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (Saunders, Cohen), University of Toronto; Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children (Cohen), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Division of Emergency Medicine (Neuman), Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics (Neuman), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.; Sections of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Gastroenterology, Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine (Freedman), Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta.
Christina DiongDivision of Emergency Medicine (Freire), Division of Pediatric Medicine (Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), Department of Pediatrics (Freire, Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto; Child Health Evaluative Sciences (Saunders, Cohen), Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute; ICES (Diong, Gandhi, Saunders, Cohen); Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (Saunders, Cohen), University of Toronto; Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children (Cohen), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Division of Emergency Medicine (Neuman), Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics (Neuman), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.; Sections of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Gastroenterology, Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine (Freedman), Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta.
Sima GandhiDivision of Emergency Medicine (Freire), Division of Pediatric Medicine (Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), Department of Pediatrics (Freire, Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto; Child Health Evaluative Sciences (Saunders, Cohen), Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute; ICES (Diong, Gandhi, Saunders, Cohen); Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (Saunders, Cohen), University of Toronto; Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children (Cohen), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Division of Emergency Medicine (Neuman), Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics (Neuman), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.; Sections of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Gastroenterology, Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine (Freedman), Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta.
Natasha SaundersDivision of Emergency Medicine (Freire), Division of Pediatric Medicine (Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), Department of Pediatrics (Freire, Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto; Child Health Evaluative Sciences (Saunders, Cohen), Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute; ICES (Diong, Gandhi, Saunders, Cohen); Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (Saunders, Cohen), University of Toronto; Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children (Cohen), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Division of Emergency Medicine (Neuman), Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics (Neuman), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.; Sections of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Gastroenterology, Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine (Freedman), Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta.
Mark I NeumanDivision of Emergency Medicine (Freire), Division of Pediatric Medicine (Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), Department of Pediatrics (Freire, Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto; Child Health Evaluative Sciences (Saunders, Cohen), Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute; ICES (Diong, Gandhi, Saunders, Cohen); Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (Saunders, Cohen), University of Toronto; Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children (Cohen), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Division of Emergency Medicine (Neuman), Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics (Neuman), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.; Sections of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Gastroenterology, Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine (Freedman), Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta.
Stephen B FreedmanDivision of Emergency Medicine (Freire), Division of Pediatric Medicine (Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), Department of Pediatrics (Freire, Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto; Child Health Evaluative Sciences (Saunders, Cohen), Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute; ICES (Diong, Gandhi, Saunders, Cohen); Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (Saunders, Cohen), University of Toronto; Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children (Cohen), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Division of Emergency Medicine (Neuman), Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics (Neuman), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.; Sections of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Gastroenterology, Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine (Freedman), Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta.
Jeremy N FriedmanDivision of Emergency Medicine (Freire), Division of Pediatric Medicine (Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), Department of Pediatrics (Freire, Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto; Child Health Evaluative Sciences (Saunders, Cohen), Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute; ICES (Diong, Gandhi, Saunders, Cohen); Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (Saunders, Cohen), University of Toronto; Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children (Cohen), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Division of Emergency Medicine (Neuman), Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics (Neuman), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.; Sections of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Gastroenterology, Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine (Freedman), Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta.
Eyal CohenDivision of Emergency Medicine (Freire), Division of Pediatric Medicine (Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), Department of Pediatrics (Freire, Saunders, Friedman, Cohen), The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto; Child Health Evaluative Sciences (Saunders, Cohen), Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute; ICES (Diong, Gandhi, Saunders, Cohen); Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (Saunders, Cohen), University of Toronto; Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children (Cohen), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Division of Emergency Medicine (Neuman), Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics (Neuman), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.; Sections of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Gastroenterology, Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine (Freedman), Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta. eyal.cohen@sickkids.ca.
Hospital for Sick Children · CASickKids Foundation · CAUniversity of Toronto · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRadiograph use contributes to low-value care for children in emergency departments (EDs), but little is known about systemic factors associated with their use. This study compares low-value radiograph use across ED settings by hospital type, pediatric volumes and physician specialty.

methodsThis is a cross-sectional study of routinely collected administrative data. We included children (age 0-18 yr) discharged from EDs in Ontario, Canada, between 2010 and 2019 with diagnoses of bronchiolitis, asthma, abdominal pain and constipation. Multiple clinical practice guidelines recommend against routine radiograph use in these conditions. Logistic regression evaluated odds of low-value radiograph by ED setting (pediatric academic [referent], adult academic, community with or without pediatric consultation services), pediatric volume and physician specialty (pediatric emergency medicine [PEM, referent], emergency medicine [EM], family medicine with EM training, pediatrics, family medicine), adjusting for demographic, clinical and provider characteristics. We used generalized estimating equations to account for clustering by ED.

resultsOf the total 9 862 787 eligible pediatric ED discharges in Ontario, 60 914 children had bronchiolitis, 141 921 asthma, 333 332 abdominal pain and 110 514 constipation; 26.0% received low-value radiographs. Compared with pediatric EDs and PEM physicians (referents), patients with bronchiolitis were most likely to have a chest radiograph in adult academic EDs (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 5.1 [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.6-5.6]) and by family physicians with EM training (adjusted OR 4.8 [95% CI 4.5-5.1]). Patients with asthma were more likely to have a chest radiograph in adult academic EDs (adjusted OR 3.0 [95% CI 2.8-3.2]) and by EM physicians (adjusted OR 2.8 [95% CI 2.6-3.0]). Patients with abdominal pain and constipation were more likely to have abdominal radiographs in community hospitals with pediatric consultation (adjusted OR 1.6 [95% CI 1.6-1.7] and 2.3 [95% CI 2.3-2.4], respectively) and by family physicians with EM training (adjusted OR 1.6 [95% CI 1.6-1.7] and 2.1 [95% CI 2.0-2.2], respectively).

interpretationOver the decade-long study period, low-value radiograph use was frequent for children with 4 common conditions seen in Ontario EDs. Quality improvement initiatives aimed at reducing unnecessary radiographs in children should focus on EM physicians practising in EDs that primarily treat adult patients.

Indexed as

AsthmaBronchiolitisAbdominal PainAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolConstipationCross-Sectional StudiesEmergency Service, HospitalHumansInfantInfant, NewbornOntario

Identifiers

PMID36220182
PMCPMC9578750
OpenAlexW4304190621

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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.