Variation in Care of Well-Appearing Hypothermic Young Infants: A Multisite Study
Monica D. Combs, Meredith Mitchell, Kira Molas-Torreblanca, Clifton Lee, Jennifer L. Raffaele, Meenu Sharma, Stephanie Berger, John Morrison, Madhuri Prasad, Julie K. Wood, Annalise Van Meurs, Rachael Mullin, Vignesh Doraiswamy, Evan Ingram, Sumeet L. Banker, Jennifer Lee, Xiyan Tan, Nicholas M. Potisek, Elizabeth E. Halvorson, Hania Adib, Saylor McCartor, Kathryn Westphal,- Pediatrics
- General Medicine
- Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Numerous decision tools have emerged to guide management of febrile infants, but limited data exist to guide the care of young infants presenting with hypothermia. We evaluated the variation in care for well-appearing hypothermic young infants in the hospital and/or emergency department setting between participating sites.
METHODS
This is a retrospective cohort study of well-appearing infants ≤90 days old across 9 academic medical centers from September 1, 2016 to May 5, 2021. Infants were identified via billing codes for hypothermia or an initial temperature ≤36.0°C with manual chart review performed. Primary outcomes included assessment of variation in diagnostic evaluation, disposition, empirical antimicrobial therapy, and length of stay.
RESULTS
Of 14 278 infants originally identified, 739 met inclusion criteria. Significant interhospital variation occurred across all primary outcomes. Across sites, a full serious bacterial illness evaluation was done in 12% to 76% of hypothermic infants. Empirical antibiotics were administered 20% to 87% of the time. Performance of herpes simplex viral testing ranged from 7% to 84%, and acyclovir was empirically started 8% to 82% of the time. Hospital admission rates ranged from 45% to 100% of patients.
CONCLUSIONS
Considerable variation across multiple aspects of care exists for well-appearing young infants presenting with hypothermia. An improved understanding of hypothermic young infants and their risk of infection can lead to the development of clinical decision tools to guide appropriate evaluation and management.