Both ADEs and potential ADEs are common among hospitalized children with greater disease burden and medication exposure. These findings suggest that these events were a consequence, rather than a cause, of more severe illness.

This study demonstrated that a computerized physician order entry system with substantive decision support was associated with a reduction in both adverse drug events and potential adverse drug events in the inpatient pediatric population. Additional system refinements will be necessary to affect remaining adverse drug events. Preventable events did not predict excess length of stay and instead may represent a sign, rather than a cause, of more complicated illness.

For new immigrants to the United States from developing nations, a strategy of detecting and treating latent tuberculosis infection would lead to substantial health and economic benefits. Because of the high prevalence of resistance to isoniazid, treatment with a rifampin-containing regimen should be strongly considered for immigrants from Vietnam, Haiti, and the Philippines.

Background-Contact precautions are recommended for interactions with patients colonized/ infected with multidrug-resistant organisms; however, rates of contact precautions practice are unknown.