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INTRODUCTION: Children with ventricular shunts undergo frequent neuroimaging, and therefore, radiation exposures, to evaluate shunt malfunctions. The objective of this study was to safely reduce radiation exposure in this population by reducing computed tomography (CT) and increasing "rapid" magnetic resonance imaging (rMRI-shunt) among patients warranting neuroimaging for possible shunt malfunction. METHODS: This was a single-center quality improvement study in a tertiary care pediatric emergency department (ED). We implemented a multidisciplinary guideline for ED shunt evaluation, which promoted the use of rMRI-shunt over CT. We included patients younger than 18 years undergoing an ED shunt evaluation during 11 months of the preintervention and 25 months of the intervention study periods. The primary outcome was the CT rate, and we evaluated the relevant process and balancing measures. RESULTS: There were 266 encounters preintervention and 488 during the intervention periods with similar neuroimaging rates (80.7% versus 81.5%, P = 0.8.) CT decreased from 90.1% to 34.8% (difference -55.3%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -71.1, -25.8), and rMRI-shunt increased from 9.9% to 65.2% (difference 55.3%, 95% CI: 25.8, 71.1) during the preintervention and intervention periods, respectively. There were increases in the mean time to neuroimaging (53.1 min; [95% CI: 41.6, 64.6]) and ED length of stay (LOS) (52.3 min; [95% CI: 36.8, 67.6]), without changes in total neuroimaging, 72-hour revisits, or follow-up neuroimaging. CONCLUSIONS: Multidisciplinary implementation of a standardized guideline reduced CT and increased rMRI-shunt use in a pediatric ED setting. Clinicians should balance the reduction in radiation exposure with ED rMRI-shunt for patients with ventricular shunts against the increased time of obtaining imaging and LOS.
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PURPOSE: Elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) pediatric patients in our institution have historically been admitted for an overnight hospital stay (OHS). The purpose of this study was to implement an ERAS protocol for elective LC in pediatric patients to promote same-day discharge (SDD) while maintaining excellent outcomes. METHODS: An ERAS protocol for elective LC was implemented encompassing pre-, peri-, and postoperative management. A retrospective review of prospectively collected data from patients before (BI) and after implementation (AI) of the protocol was performed. RESULTS: A total of 250 patients (BI 105, AI 145) were included in the study. The AI group had significantly higher rate of SDD compared to BI (77.2% vs. 1.9%, pâ¯<â¯<0.01) and significantly decreased opioid use (morphine equivalents mg/kg AI 0.36 vs. BI 0.46, pâ¯<â¯<0.001). There were also no significant differences in the rate of total 30-day emergency department visits (BI 11.4% vs. AI 9.7%, pâ¯=â¯0.52) or surgery-related 30-day emergency department visits (BI 7.6% vs. AI 8.3%, pâ¯=â¯0.53). Factors that predisposed patients to an OHS after LC included higher ASA, later surgery start times, and longer operative times. CONCLUSIONS: The ERAS protocol significantly increased the rate of SDD after elective LC in pediatric patients without an associated increase in emergency department visits or readmissions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.