Measuring vital signs in children with fever at the emergency department: an observational study on adherence to the NICE recommendations in Europe

Vital signs can help clinicians identify children at risk of serious illness. The NICE guideline for fever in under-fives recommends a routine measurement of temperature, heart rate, capillary refill and respiratory rate in all febrile children visiting the emergency department (ED). This study aims to evaluate the measurement of paediatric vital signs in European EDs, with specific attention to adherence to this NICE guideline recommendation. In a prospective observational study, we included 4560 febrile children under 16 years from the ED of 28 hospitals in 11 European countries (2014–2016). Hospitals were academic (n = 17), teaching (n = 10) and non-teaching (n = 1) and ranged in annual paediatric ED visits from 2700 to 88,000. Fifty-four percent were male, their median age was 2.4 years (IQR 1.1–4.7). Temperature was measured most frequently (97%), followed by capillary refill (86%), heart rate (73%), saturation (56%) and respiratory rate (51%). In children under five (n = 3505), a complete measurement of the four NICE-recommended vital signs was performed in 48% of patients. Children under 1 year of age, those with an urgent triage level and with respiratory infections had a higher likelihood of undergoing complete measurements. After adjustment for these factors, variability between countries remained. Conclusion: Measuring vital signs in children with fever in the ED occurs with a high degree of practice variation between different European hospitals, and adherence to the NICE recommendation is moderate. Our study is essential as a benchmark for current clinical practice, in order to tailor implementation strategies to different European settings.What is Known:• Vital signs can quickly provide information on disease severity in children in the emergency department (ED), and the NICE guideline for fever in under-fives recommends to routinely measure temperature, heart rate, capillary refill and respiratory rate.• Data regarding measurement of vital signs in routine practice across European EDs is currently unavailable.What is New:• Measurement of vital signs in febrile children is highly variable across European EDs and across patient subgroups, and compliance to the NICE recommendation is <50%.• Children under 1 year of age, those with an urgent triage level and with respiratory infections had a higher likelihood of undergoing complete measurements

Development and evaluation of a hospital discharge information package to empower parents in caring for a child with a fever

Objectives: First, to explore parents’ views on and experiences of managing their febrile child and to assess their behaviour and needs when in search of information about fever; second, to develop and evaluate a hospital discharge information package about fever in children. Design: Mixed methods: (A) qualitative study with semistructured interviews and a focus group discussion (FGD) and (B) quantitative survey. Setting: Emergency department, non-acute hospital setting and day nursery in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Participants: Parents of children <18 years (interviews, n=22) parents of children under 5 years (FGD (n=14), survey (n=38)). Intervention: Information package about fever in children (leaflet and website including videos). Outcome measures quantitative survey: Knowledge of fever and confidence in caring for a febrile child (Likert scale 0–5). Results: Parents found fever mostly alarming, especially high fever. Help-seeking behaviour was based on either specific symptoms or on an undefined intuition. When parents did not feel recognised in their concern or felt criticised, anxiety increased as well as the threshold to seek healthcare for future illnesses. Information was needed, especially for situations when the general practitioner or social network were less easily available. This information should be reliable, consistent, available in multiple formats and include advice on management of fever at home and precise referral to medical services. Parents reported improved knowledge about fever (p<0.05) and mentioned improved confidence in caring for a child with fever at home after consulting the information package. Conclusion: Parents of children with a fever visiting the hospital are concerned about specific symptoms or based on an undefined intuition. Rather than telling parents that they should manage their child’s illness at home, healthcare professionals should recognise parental intuition and provide clear information on alarming signs and potential diagnoses to empower parents in the management of their febrile child

Timing and sequence of vaccination against COVID-19 and influenza (TACTIC):a single-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial

Background: Novel mRNA-based vaccines have been used to protect against SARS-CoV-2, especially in vulnerable populations who also receive an annual influenza vaccination. The TACTIC study investigated potential immune interference between the mRNA COVID-19 booster vaccine and the quadrivalent influenza vaccine, and determined if concurrent administration would have effects on safety or immunogenicity. Methods: TACTIC was a single-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial conducted at the Radboud University Medical Centre, the Netherlands. Individuals ≥60 years, fully vaccinated against COVID-19 were eligible for participation and randomized into one of four study groups: 1) 0.5 ml influenza vaccination Vaxigrip Tetra followed by 0.3 ml BNT162b2 COVID-19 booster vaccination 21 days later, (2) COVID-19 booster vaccination followed by influenza vaccination, (3) influenza vaccination concurrent with the COVID-19 booster vaccination, and (4) COVID-19 booster vaccination only (reference group). Primary outcome was the geometric mean concentration (GMC) of IgG against the spike (S)-protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, 21 days after booster vaccination. We performed a non-inferiority analysis of concurrent administration compared to booster vaccines alone with a predefined non-inferiority margin of −0.3 on the log10-scale. Findings: 154 individuals participated from October, 4, 2021, until November, 5, 2021. Anti-S IgG GMCs for the co-administration and reference group were 1684 BAU/ml and 2435 BAU/ml, respectively. Concurrent vaccination did not meet the criteria for non-inferiority (estimate −0.1791, 95% CI −0.3680 to −0.009831) and antibodies showed significantly lower neutralization capacity compared to the reference group. Reported side-effects were mild and did not differ between study groups. Interpretation: Concurrent administration of both vaccines is safe, but the quantitative and functional antibody responses were marginally lower compared to booster vaccination alone. Lower protection against COVID-19 with concurrent administration of COVID-19 and influenza vaccination cannot be excluded, although additional larger studies would be required to confirm this. Trial registration number: EudraCT: 2021-002186-17 Funding: The study was supported by the ZonMw COVID-19 Programme.</p

Evaluation of a clinical decision rule to guide antibiotic prescription in children with suspected lower respiratory tract infection in The Netherlands

BACKGROUND: Optimising the use of antibiotics is a key component of antibiotic stewardship. Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are the most common reason for antibiotic prescription in children, even though most of these infections in children under 5 years are viral. This study aims to safely reduce antibiotic prescriptions in children under 5 years with suspected lower RTI at the emergency department (ED), by implementing a clinical decision rule. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial, we included children aged 1-60 months presenting with fever and cough or dyspnoea to 8 EDs in The Netherlands. The EDs were of varying sizes, from diverse geographic and demographic regions, and of different hospital types (tertiary versus general). In the pre-intervention phase, children received usual care, according to the Dutch and NICE guidelines for febrile children. During the intervention phase, a validated clinical prediction model (Feverkidstool) including clinical characteristics and C-reactive protein (CRP) was implemented as a decision rule guiding antibiotic prescription. The intervention was that antibiotics were withheld in children with a low or intermediate predicted risk of bacterial pneumonia (≤10%, based on Feverkidstool). Co-primary outcomes were antibiotic prescription rate and strategy failure. Strategy failure was defined as secondary antibiotic prescriptions or hospitalisations, persistence of fever or oxygen dependency up to day 7, or complications. Hospitals were randomly allocated to 1 sequence of treatment each, using computer randomisation. The trial could not be blinded. We used multilevel logistic regression to estimate the effect of the intervention, clustered by hospital and adjusted for time period, age, sex, season, ill appearance, and fever duration; predicted risk was included in exploratory analysis. We included 999 children (61% male, median age 17 months [IQR 9 to 30]) between 1 January 2016 and 30 September 2018: 597 during the pre-intervention phase and 402 during the intervention phase. Most children (77%) were referred by a general practitioner, and half of children were hospitalised. Intention-to-treat analyses showed that overall antibiotic prescription was not reduced (30% to 25%, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.07 [95% CI 0.57 to 2.01, p = 0.75]); strategy failure reduced from 23% to 16% (aOR 0.53 [95% CI 0.32 to 0.88, p = 0.01]). Exploratory analyses showed that the intervention influenced risk groups differently (p < 0.01), resulting in a reduction in antibiotic prescriptions in low/intermediate-risk children (17% to 6%; aOR 0.31 [95% CI 0.12 to 0.81, p = 0.02]) and a non-significant increase in the high-risk group (47% to 59%; aOR 2.28 [95% CI 0.84 to 6.17, p = 0.09]). Two complications occurred during the trial: 1 admission to the intensive care unit during follow-up and 1 pleural empyema at day 10 (both unrelated to the study intervention). Main limitations of the study were missing CRP values in the pre-intervention phase and a prolonged baseline period due to logistical issues, potentially affecting the power o

Thoraxfoto draagt niet bij aan besluit over antibiotica bij kinderen met een luchtweginfectie op de SEH

The chest x-ray (CXR) was the gold standard in the diagnosis of pneumonia in children. However, CXR has limitations and cannot discriminate in etiology. Current guidelines recommend against routine use of CXR in children with uncomplicated lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). We used routine care data from a multicentre RCT including 597 children with LRTI symptoms, to evaluate the influence of CXR on antibiotic prescription in the emergency department (ED). CXR remains frequently performed in non-complex children suspected of LRTI in the ED (18%). Children who underwent CXR were more likely to receive antibiotics, even when adjusted for symptoms, hospital and CXR results. Our study highlights the inferior role of CXR in treatment decisions for children with LRTI as CXR, regardless of its results, is independently associated with more antibiotic prescriptions

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine for prevention of COVID-19 and other respiratory tract infections in older adults with comorbidities: a randomized controlled trial

Objectives: To test whether Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination would reduce the incidence of COVID-19 and other respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in older adults with one or more comorbidities. Methods: Community-dwelling adults aged 60 years or older with one or more underlying comorbidities and no contraindications to BCG vaccination were randomized 1:1 to BCG or placebo vaccination and followed for 6 months. The primary endpoint was a self-reported, test-confirmed COVID-19 incidence. Secondary endpoints included COVID-19 hospital admissions and clinically relevant RTIs (i.e. RTIs including but not limited to COVID-19 requiring medical intervention). COVID-19 and clinically relevant RTI episodes were adjudicated. Incidences were compared using Fine-Gray regression, accounting for competing events. Results: A total of 6112 participants with a median age of 69 years (interquartile range, 65–74) and median of 2 (interquartile range, 1–3) comorbidities were randomized to BCG (n = 3058) or placebo (n = 3054) vaccination. COVID-19 infections were reported by 129 BCG recipients compared to 115 placebo recipients [hazard ratio (HR), 1.12; 95% CI, 0.87–1.44]. COVID-19-related hospitalization occurred in 18 BCG and 21 placebo recipients (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.46–1.61). During the study period, 13 BCG recipients died compared with 18 placebo recipients (HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.35–1.43), of which 11 deaths (35%) were COVID-19-related: six in the placebo group and five in the BCG group. Clinically relevant RTI was reported by 66 BCG and 72 placebo recipients (HR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.66–1.28). Discussion: BCG vaccination does not protect older adults with comorbidities against COVID-19, COVID-19 hospitalization, or clinically relevant RTIs

The influence of chest X-ray results on antibiotic prescription for childhood pneumonia in the emergency department

The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of chest X-ray (CXR) results on antibiotic prescription in children suspected of lower respiratory tract infections (RTI) in the emergency department (ED). We performed a secondary analysis of a stepped-wedge, cluster randomized trial of children aged 1 month to 5 years with fever and cough/dyspnoea in 8 EDs in the Netherlands (2016–2018), including a 1-week follow-up. We analysed the observational data of the pre-intervention period, using multivariable logistic regression to evaluate the influence of CXR result on antibiotic prescription. We included 597 children (median age 17 months [IQR 9–30, 61% male). CXR was performed in 109/597 (18%) of children (range across hospitals 9 to 50%); 52/109 (48%) showed focal infiltrates. Children who underwent CXR were more likely to receive antibiotics, also when adjusted for clinical signs and symptoms, hospital and CXR result (OR 7.25 [95% CI 2.48–21.2]). Abnormalities on CXR were not significantly associated with antibiotic prescription. Conclusion: Performance of CXR was independently associated with more antibiotic prescription, regardless of its results. The limited influence of CXR results on antibiotic prescription highlights the inferior role of CXR on treatment decisions for suspected lower RTI in the ED.What is Known:• Chest X-ray (CXR) has a high inter-observer variability and cannot distinguish between bacterial or viral pneumonia.• Current guidelines recommend against routine use of CXR in children with uncomplicated respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in the outpatient setting.What is New:• CXR is still frequently performed in non-complex children suspected of lower RTIs in the emergency department• CXR performance was independently associated with more antibiotic prescriptions, regardless of its results, highlighting the inferior role of chest X-rays in treatment decisions