Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2025
Separation of Immune Cell Subpopulations in Peripheral Blood Samples from Children with Infectious Mononucleosis
Published on: September 7, 2022
Inter-hospital Variation in COVID-19 Era Pediatric Hospitalizations by Age Group and Diagnosis
Daria Murosko1, Molly Passarella1, Sara C Handley1,2,3
1The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Insights
Pediatric hospitalizations varied significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, influenced by respiratory infection rates and unique changes in mental health admissions. This highlights the impact of local policies on noninfectious conditions.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health Services Research
- Epidemiology
- Public Health Policy
Background:
- Geographic variations in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mitigation strategies and public responses influenced pediatric disease burden and hospital practices.
- Hospitalization trends in children varied significantly across different institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify hospital-specific variations in pediatric hospitalizations during the COVID-19 era.
- To compare hospitalization data from the COVID-19 era with pre-pandemic periods.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of data from 44 Children's Hospitals using the Pediatric Health Information Systems database.
- Comparison of hospitalizations for children aged 1 day to 17 years between the COVID-19 era (March 2020–June 2021) and a pre-pandemic period (January 2017–December 2019).
- Determination of variation magnitude using coefficients of variation (CV) and assessment of correlations with community and hospital factors using Spearman's test.
Main Results:
- A notable decline in overall pediatric hospitalizations occurred during the COVID-19 era, with significant inter-hospital variation (CV = 0.41).
- This decline was moderately correlated with reduced hospitalizations for respiratory infections (r = 0.69, P < .001).
- Wide variation was observed in hospitalizations for mental health conditions (CV = 2.58), with some centers experiencing increases in adolescent and newborn admissions.
Conclusions:
- Hospitalization changes during the COVID-19 pandemic varied across institutions, partly due to shifts in respiratory infection rates.
- Unexplained variation in mental health and other noninfectious conditions suggests differential impacts of local policies and hospital-specific practices.
- Further research is needed to understand the unique effects of pandemic-related policies on noninfectious pediatric conditions.
Background:
Mitigation strategies and public responses to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) varied geographically and may have differentially affected burden of pediatric disease and hospitalization practices. We aimed to quantify hospital-specific variation in hospitalizations during the COVID-19 era.
Methods:
Using Pediatric Health Information Systems data from 44 Children's Hospitals, this retrospective multicenter analysis compared hospitalizations of children (1 day-17 years) from the COVID-19 era (March 1, 2020-June 30, 2021) to prepandemic (January 1, 2017-December 31, 2019). Variation in the magnitude of hospital-specific decline between eras was determined using coefficients of variation (CV). Spearman's test was used to assess correlation of variation with community and hospital factors.
Results:
The COVID-19 era decline in hospitalizations varied between hospitals (CV 0.41) and was moderately correlated with declines in respiratory infection hospitalizations (r = 0.69, P < .001). There was no correlation with community or hospital factors. COVID-19 era changes in hospitalizations for mental health conditions varied widely between centers (CV 2.58). Overall, 22.7% of hospitals saw increased admissions for adolescents, and 29.5% saw increases for newborns 1 to 14 days, representing significant center-specific variation (CV 2.30 for adolescents and 1.98 for newborns).
Conclusions:
Pandemic-era change in hospitalizations varied across institutions, partially because of hospital-specific changes in respiratory infections. Residual variation exists for mental health conditions and in groups least likely to be admitted for respiratory infections, suggesting that noninfectious conditions may be differentially and uniquely affected by local policies and hospital-specific practices enacted during the COVID-19 era.
More Related Videos
11:27A Modified Sonographic Algorithm for Image Acquisition in Life-Threatening Emergencies in the Critically Ill Newborn
Published on: April 7, 2023
09:03Nasal Brushing Sampling and Processing Using Digital High Speed Ciliary Videomicroscopy – Adaptation for the COVID-19 Pandemic
Published on: November 7, 2020
Related Concept Videos
01:25Interpreting Run Charts
01:28Hospitals-I
00:59Hospitals-II
Nurses that work in...
01:30Pneumonia I: Introduction
Risk Factors
Various factors influence the likelihood of developing pneumonia. Age plays a crucial role, with infants, children under two, and individuals over 65 at increased risk due to their...
01:29Issues And Trends In Healthcare Delivery System
Cost Containment
Payment for healthcare services has historically promoted adoption of costly and often unnecessary or inefficient...
00:52Pareto Chart
The Pareto chart is named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who described the Pareto...