Changing patterns of routine laboratory testing over time at children's hospitals.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Research into low-value routine testing at children's hospitals has not consistently evaluated changing patterns of testing over time.

Objectives

To identify changes in routine laboratory testing rates at children's hospitals over ten years and the association with patient outcomes.

Design, settings, and participants

We performed a multi-center, retrospective cohort study of children aged 0-18 hospitalized with common, lower-severity diagnoses at 28 children's hospitals in the Pediatric Health Information Systems database.

Main outcomes and measures

We calculated average annual testing rates for complete blood counts, electrolytes, and inflammatory markers between 2010 and 2019 for each hospital. A > 2% average testing rate change per year was define

SUBMITTER: Tchou MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11296890 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature