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Interventions to reduce acute paediatric hospital admissions: a systematic review
Smita Dick1, Clare MacRae2, Claire McFaul1
1Department of Child Health, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
Insights
Rising hospital admission rates in children necessitate effective interventions. This review found limited robust evidence for current admission prevention strategies, highlighting a need for further research.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Healthcare Research
- Health Services Research
- Evidence-Based Medicine
Background:
- Pediatric hospital admission rates are increasing without a corresponding rise in illness severity.
- Interventions to safely reduce unscheduled hospital admissions may be warranted.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review strategies for preventing pediatric hospital admissions.
- To analyze long-term follow-up data from admission prevention initiatives.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search of multiple databases (MEDLINE, Embase, etc.) and hand-searched reference lists.
- Inclusion of randomized controlled trials and before-and-after studies involving individuals under 18 years.
- Independent screening, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment by multiple reviewers.
Main Results:
- Twenty-eight studies were included; 24 were before-and-after and 4 compared non-randomized groups.
- Asthma-specific referral pathways showed the strongest evidence for admission reduction (34%), but with publication bias.
- Other interventions like staff reconfiguration and short stay units showed some positive but inconsistent results.
Conclusions:
- There is a lack of robust evidence supporting current interventions for preventing pediatric admissions.
- Further research is crucial to identify effective strategies for reducing unnecessary hospitalizations in children.
Background:
Admission rates are rising despite no change to burden of illness, and interventions to reduce unscheduled admission to hospital safely may be justified.
Objective:
To systematically examine admission prevention strategies and report long-term follow-up of admission prevention initiatives.
Data Sources:
MEDLINE, Embase, OVID SP, PsychINFO, Science Citation Index Expanded/ISI Web of Science, The Cochrane Library from inception to time of writing. Reference lists were hand searched.
Study Eligibility Criteria:
Randomised controlled trials and before-and-after studies.
Participants:
Individuals aged <18 years.
Study Appraisal And Synthesis Methods:
Studies were independently screened by two reviewers with final screening by a third. Data extraction and the Critical Appraisals Skills Programme checklist completion (for risk of bias assessment) were performed by one reviewer and checked by a second.
Results:
Twenty-eight studies were included of whom 24 were before-and-after studies and 4 were studies comparing outcomes between non-randomised groups. Interventions included referral pathways, staff reconfiguration, new healthcare facilities and telemedicine. The strongest evidence for admission prevention was seen in asthma-specific referral pathways (n=6) showing 34% (95% CI 28 to 39) reduction, but with evidence of publication bias. Other pathways showed inconsistent results or were insufficient for wider interpretation. Staffing reconfiguration showed reduced admissions in two studies, and shorter length of stay in one. Short stay admission units reduced admissions in three studies.
Conclusions And Implications:
There is little robust evidence to support interventions aimed at preventing paediatric admissions and further research is needed.
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