Objectives:In 1999, alcohol related motor vehicle crashes in the United States claimed 15 786 lives and injured more than 300 000 persons. Drinking and driving behavior is shaped by individual and environmental level influences. In this study, the association between each state's driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) countermeasures and self reported alcohol impaired driving was explored.Methods:Mothers Against Drunk Driving's (MADD's)Rating the States 2000survey, which graded states on their DUI countermeasures from 1996–99, was used as an index of each state's comprehensive DUI prevention activities. Information on alcohol impaired driving from residents of each state was obtained from the 1997 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. The association between the MADD state grades and alcohol impaired driving was assessed using multiple logistic regression.Results:Of the 64 162 BRFSS respondents who reported drinking any alcohol during the past month, 2.1% of women and 5.8% of men reported at least one episode of alcohol impaired driving in the past month. Those living in states with a MADD grade of “D” were 60% more likely to report alcohol impaired driving than those from states with a MADD grade of “A” (odds ratio 1.6, 95% confidence interval 1.3 to 2.1). The association existed for men and women.Conclusion:These findings suggest that stronger state level DUI countermeasures are associated with lower rates of self reported alcohol impaired driving.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To explore the microbiologic etiology and trends in incidence and survival of nonneonatal pediatric sepsis in the United States by using the 2006, 2009, and 2012 Kids’ Inpatient Database. METHODS: Children with sepsis were identified by using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes for severe sepsis and septic shock (ICD-9-CM cohort) and by the modified Angus method, which incorporates ICD-9-CM codes for infection and organ dysfunction (Angus cohort). Temporal trends in incidence and microbiologic etiology were evaluated. RESULTS: Among 8 830 057 discharges, 26 470 patients in the ICD-9-CM cohort were diagnosed with severe sepsis and septic shock (29.97 per 10 000 discharges) and 89 505 patients in the Angus cohort (101.34 per 10 000 discharges). The incidence of sepsis increased in both cohorts from 2006 to 2012 (P < .01). In the Angus cohort, the case-fatality rate was the highest for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (14.42%, P < .01) among Gram-positive organisms and for Pseudomonas (21.49%; odds ratio: 2.58 [95% confidence interval: 1.88–3.54]; P < .01) among Gram-negative organisms. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of sepsis has increased, and the sepsis case-fatality rate has decreased, without a decrease in the overall sepsis-associated mortality rate among hospitalized children. Also, bacterial and fungal organisms associated with the pediatric sepsis have changed over these years. These findings are important for focusing the allocation of health care resources and guiding the direction of future studies.

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Background There has been a steady rise in types 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus among the youth in the USA from 2001 to 2017. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a common and preventable presentation of both types of diabetes mellitus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) United States Diabetes Surveillance System, during 2004-2019 an increase in DKA hospitalization rates by 59.4% was noted, with people aged less than 45 years having the highest rates. Readmissions reflect the quality of disease management, which is integrally tied to care coordination and communication with the patient and their families. This study analyzes the trends and risk factors contributing to 30-day unplanned DKA readmissions in the pediatric age group and looks into possible preventive measures to decrease them. Methods A retrospective study was performed using the National Readmission Database (NRD) from January 1, 2017, to December 1, 2017. Pediatric patients aged 18 years and younger with the primary diagnosis of DKA were included using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) code E10.10. All statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 1.0.0.1327 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Pearson’s chi-square test was used for categorical variables and Mann-Whitney U test was used for continuous variables. To independently determine the predictors of readmission within each clinical variable, multiple logistic regressions with values presented as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were performed. Results A weighted total of 19,519 DKA-related pediatric index admissions were identified from the 2017 NRD. Of these pediatric patients, 831 (4.3%) had 30-day DKA readmission. The median age of a child for readmission was 16 years with an interquartile range of 0 to 18 years. A sharp rise in 30-day DKA readmissions was noted for ages 16 years and over. Females in the 0-25th percentile median household income category, with Medicaid covered, large metropolitan areas with at least 1 million residents, and metropolitan teaching hospitals were found to have a statistically significant higher percentage of readmissions. The mean length of stay for those who had a DKA readmission was 2.06 days, with a standard deviation of 1.84 days. The mean hospital charges for those who had a DKA readmission were $ 20,339.70. The 30-day DKA readmission odds were seen to be increased for female patients, Medicaid-insured patients, admissions at metropolitan non-teaching hospitals, and children from 0-25th percentile median household income category. Conclusion There has not been much of a change in the trend and risk factors contributing to the 30-day unplanned DKA readmissions over the years despite the steady rise in cases of diabetes mellitus. The length of stay for those who did not get readmitted within 30 days was longer than for those who did. This could ...