Common genetic variation safeguards children from asthma – ScienceBlog.com (blog)


ScienceBlog.com (blog)

Common genetic variation safeguards children from asthma
ScienceBlog.com (blog)
Exhaled nitric oxide is a biomarker of airway inflammation; higher levels of it increase a child's risk of developing asthma. Children with a common variation of “NOS2,” the primary gene that produces nitric oxide in airways, tend to have lungs that

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Variation in the Management of Infants Hospitalized for Bronchiolitis Persists after the 2006 American Academy of Pediatrics Bronchiolitis Guidelines.

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Variation in the Management of Infants Hospitalized for Bronchiolitis Persists after the 2006 American Academy of Pediatrics Bronchiolitis Guidelines.

J Pediatr. 2014 Jul 8;

Authors: Florin TA, Byczkowski T, Ruddy RM, Zorc JJ, Test M, Shah SS

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe variation across US pediatric hospitals in the utilization of resources not recommended for routine use by the American Academy of Pediatrics guideline for infants hospitalized with bronchiolitis and to examine the association between resource utilization and disposition outcomes.
STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional study of infants ?12 months hospitalized for bronchiolitis from 2007-2012 at 42 hospitals contributing data to the Pediatric Health Information System. Patients with asthma were excluded. The primary outcome was hospital-level variation in utilization of 5 resources not recommended for routine use: albuterol, racemic epinephrine, corticosteroids, chest radiography, and antibiotics. We also examined the association of resource utilization with length of stay (LOS) and readmission.
RESULTS: In total, 64?994 hospitalizations were analyzed. After adjustment for patient characteristics, albuterol (median, 52.4%; range, 3.5%-81%), racemic epinephrine (20.1%; 0.6%-78.8%), and chest radiography (54.9%; 24.1%-76.7%) had the greatest variation across hospitals. Utilization of albuterol, racemic epinephrine, and antibiotics did not change significantly over time compared with small decreases in corticosteroid (3.3%) and chest radiography (8.6%) use over the study period. Utilization of each resource was significantly associated with increased LOS without concomitant decreased odds of readmission.
CONCLUSIONS: Substantial use and variation in 5 resources not recommended for routine use by the American Academy of Pediatrics bronchiolitis guideline persists with increased utilization associated with increased LOS without the benefit of decreased readmission. Future work should focus on developing processes that can be widely disseminated and easily implemented to minimize unwarranted practice variation when evidence and guidelines exist.

PMID: 25015578 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

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Three-fold variation in numbers of children going to A&E – Telegraph.co.uk


Telegraph.co.uk

Three-fold variation in numbers of children going to A&E
Telegraph.co.uk
The Child Health Atlas, released by the Department of Health, investigated variation in care around the country across more than 20 different indicators including admission to hospital for asthma, immunisation rates and deaths.
'Big variations' in NHS child careThe Press Association
New Health Maps To Drive Children's Health ImprovementseGov monitor
Disparities in child healthcare exposedChildren & Young People Now
Public Service –French Tribune
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Third generation map of human genetic variation published

An international consortium today published a third-generation map of human genetic variation, called the HapMap, which includes data from an additional seven global populations, increasing the total number to 11 populations. The improved resolution will help researchers interpret current genome studies aimed at finding common and rarer genetic variants associated with complex diseases.

View full post on National Institutes of Health (NIH) News Releases