Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36988413›Full record

ArticleJournal of hospital medicine2023

Variation in stool testing for children with acute gastrointestinal infections.

Jessica L Markham, Matt Hall, Megan E Collins, Samir S Shah, Matthew J Molloy, Paul L Aronson, Jillian M Cotter, Michael J Steiner, Elisha McCoy, Michael J Tchou and 1 more

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of hospital medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 52% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. 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

11 authors at 8 institutions in 1 country.

Jessica L MarkhamDepartment of Pediatrics, Children's Mercy Kansas City, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, Missouri, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1616-7721
Matt HallDepartment of Pediatrics, Children's Mercy Kansas City, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, Missouri, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7778-5887
Megan E CollinsDepartment of Pediatrics, Children's Mercy Kansas City, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, Missouri, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6493-0077
Samir S ShahDepartment of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7902-7000
Matthew J MolloyDepartment of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6290-568X
Paul L AronsonDepartments of Pediatrics and of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Jillian M CotterDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7978-9045
Michael J SteinerDepartment of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Elisha McCoyDepartment of Pediatrics, Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
Michael J TchouDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9710-8920
John R StephensDepartment of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center · USUniversity of Colorado Denver · USUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USChildren's Hospital Association · USUniversity of Kansas · USUniversity of Missouri–Kansas City · USUniversity of Tennessee Health Science Center · USYale University · US

Funding

NIH Prior Approval Process ProfessionalUL1TR002535 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI SOKOL, RONALD J. · 2018 to 2022
$51.1M
Institutional Career Development CoreKL2TR002534 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI BURNHAM, ELLEN L · 2018 to 2022
$4.6M
NCATS NIH HHS KL2 TR002534NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR002535
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

objectiveChildren with gastrointestinal infections often require acute care.The objectives of this study were to describe variations in patterns of stool testing across children's hospitals and determine whether such variation was associated with utilization outcomes. DESIGN, SETTINGS AND

participantsWe performed a multicenter, cross-sectional study using the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database. We identified stool testing (multiplex polymerase chain reaction [PCR], stool culture, ova and parasite, Clostridioides difficile, and other individual stool bacterial or viral tests) in children diagnosed with acute gastrointestinal infections. MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURES: We calculated the overall testing rates and hospital-level stool testing rates, stratified by setting (emergency department [ED]-only vs. hospitalized). We stratified individual hospitals into low, moderate, or high testing institutions. Generalized estimating equations were then used to examine the association of hospital testing groups and outcomes, specifically, length of stay (LOS), costs, and revisit rates.

resultsWe identified 498,751 ED-only and 40,003 encounters for hospitalized children from 2016 to 2020. Compared to ED-only encounters, stool studies were obtained with increased frequency among encounters for hospitalized children (ED-only: 0.1%-2.3%; Hospitalized: 1.5%-13.8%, all p < 0.001). We observed substantial variation in stool testing rates across hospitals, particularly during encounters for hospitalized children (e.g., rates of multiplex PCRs ranged from 0% to 16.8% for ED-only and 0% to 65.0% for hospitalized). There were no statistically significant differences in outcomes among low, moderate, or high testing institutions in adjusted models.

conclusionsChildren with acute gastrointestinal infections experience substantial variation in stool testing within and across hospitals, with no difference in utilization outcomes. These findings highlight the need for guidelines to address diagnostic stewardship.

Indexed as

Communicable DiseasesChildCross-Sectional StudiesHumansLength of StayRetrospective Studies

Identifiers

PMID36988413
PMCPMC11340271
OpenAlexW4361301842

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.