Browsing by Author "Fallat, Mary E."
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Item Accuracy of Chest Computed Tomography in Distinguishing Cystic Pleuropulmonary Blastoma From Benign Congenital Lung Malformations in Children(American Medical Association, 2022-06-01) Engwall-Gill, Abigail J.; Chan, Sherwin S.; Boyd, Kevin P.; Saito, Jacqueline M.; Fallat, Mary E.; St. Peter, Shawn D.; Bolger-Theut, Stephanie; Crotty, Eric J.; Green, Jared R.; Hulett Bowling, Rebecca L.; Kumbhar, Sachin S.; Rattan, Mantosh S.; Young, Cody M.; Canner, Joseph K.; Deans, Katherine J.; Gadepalli, Samir K.; Helmrath, Michael A.; Hirschl, Ronald B.; Kabre, Rashmi; Lal, Dave R.; Landman, Matthew P.; Leys, Charles M.; Mak, Grace Z.; Minneci, Peter C.; Wright, Tiffany N.; Kunisaki, Shaun M.; Midwest Pediatric Surgery Consortium; Surgery, School of MedicineImportance: The ability of computed tomography (CT) to distinguish between benign congenital lung malformations and malignant cystic pleuropulmonary blastomas (PPBs) is unclear. Objective: To assess whether chest CT can detect malignant tumors among postnatally detected lung lesions in children. Design, setting, and participants: This retrospective multicenter case-control study used a consortium database of 521 pathologically confirmed primary lung lesions from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2015, to assess diagnostic accuracy. Preoperative CT scans of children with cystic PPB (cases) were selected and age-matched with CT scans from patients with postnatally detected congenital lung malformations (controls). Statistical analysis was performed from January 18 to September 6, 2020. Preoperative CT scans were interpreted independently by 9 experienced pediatric radiologists in a blinded fashion and analyzed from January 24, 2019, to September 6, 2020. Main outcomes and measures: Accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of CT in correctly identifying children with malignant tumors. Results: Among 477 CT scans identified (282 boys [59%]; median age at CT, 3.6 months [IQR, 1.2-7.2 months]; median age at resection, 6.9 months [IQR, 4.2-12.8 months]), 40 cases were extensively reviewed; 9 cases (23%) had pathologically confirmed cystic PPB. The median age at CT was 7.3 months (IQR, 2.9-22.4 months), and median age at resection was 8.7 months (IQR, 5.0-24.4 months). The sensitivity of CT for detecting PPB was 58%, and the specificity was 83%. High suspicion for malignancy correlated with PPB pathology (odds ratio, 13.5; 95% CI, 2.7-67.3; P = .002). There was poor interrater reliability (κ = 0.36 [range, 0.06-0.64]; P < .001) and no significant difference in specific imaging characteristics between PPB and benign cystic lesions. The overall accuracy rate for distinguishing benign vs malignant lesions was 81%. Conclusions and relevance: This study suggests that chest CT, the current criterion standard imaging modality to assess the lung parenchyma, may not accurately and reliably distinguish PPB from benign congenital lung malformations in children. In any cystic lung lesion without a prenatal diagnosis, operative management to confirm pathologic diagnosis is warranted.Item Association of Nonoperative Management Using Antibiotic Therapy vs Laparoscopic Appendectomy With Treatment Success and Disability Days in Children With Uncomplicated Appendicitis(American Medical Association, 2020-08) Minneci, Peter C.; Hade, Erinn M.; Lawrence, Amy E.; Sebastião, Yuri V.; Saito, Jacqueline M.; Mak, Grace Z.; Fox, Christa; Hirschl, Ronald B.; Gadepalli, Samir; Helmrath, Michael A.; Kohler, Jonathan E.; Leys, Charles M.; Sato, Thomas T.; Lal, Dave R.; Landman, Matthew P.; Kabre, Rashmi; Fallat, Mary E.; Cooper, Jennifer N.; Deans, Katherine J.; Surgery, School of MedicineImportance: Nonoperative management with antibiotics alone has the potential to treat uncomplicated pediatric appendicitis with fewer disability days than surgery. Objective: To determine the success rate of nonoperative management and compare differences in treatment-related disability, satisfaction, health-related quality of life, and complications between nonoperative management and surgery in children with uncomplicated appendicitis. Design, setting, and participants: Multi-institutional nonrandomized controlled intervention study of 1068 children aged 7 through 17 years with uncomplicated appendicitis treated at 10 tertiary children's hospitals across 7 US states between May 2015 and October 2018 with 1-year follow-up through October 2019. Of the 1209 eligible patients approached, 1068 enrolled in the study. Interventions: Patient and family selection of nonoperative management with antibiotics alone (nonoperative group, n = 370) or urgent (≤12 hours of admission) laparoscopic appendectomy (surgery group, n = 698). Main outcomes and measures: The 2 primary outcomes assessed at 1 year were disability days, defined as the total number of days the child was not able to participate in all of his/her normal activities secondary to appendicitis-related care (expected difference, 5 days), and success rate of nonoperative management, defined as the proportion of patients initially managed nonoperatively who did not undergo appendectomy by 1 year (lowest acceptable success rate, ≥70%). Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was used to adjust for differences between treatment groups for all outcome assessments. Results: Among 1068 patients who were enrolled (median age, 12.4 years; 38% girls), 370 (35%) chose nonoperative management and 698 (65%) chose surgery. A total of 806 (75%) had complete follow-up: 284 (77%) in the nonoperative group; 522 (75%) in the surgery group. Patients in the nonoperative group were more often younger (median age, 12.3 years vs 12.5 years), Black (9.6% vs 4.9%) or other race (14.6% vs 8.7%), had caregivers with a bachelor's degree (29.8% vs 23.5%), and underwent diagnostic ultrasound (79.7% vs 74.5%). After IPTW, the success rate of nonoperative management at 1 year was 67.1% (96% CI, 61.5%-72.31%; P = .86). Nonoperative management was associated with significantly fewer patient disability days at 1 year than did surgery (adjusted mean, 6.6 vs 10.9 days; mean difference, -4.3 days (99% CI, -6.17 to -2.43; P < .001). Of 16 other prespecified secondary end points, 10 showed no significant difference. Conclusion and relevance: Among children with uncomplicated appendicitis, an initial nonoperative management strategy with antibiotics alone had a success rate of 67.1% and, compared with urgent surgery, was associated with statistically significantly fewer disability days at 1 year. However, there was substantial loss to follow-up, the comparison with the prespecified threshold for an acceptable success rate of nonoperative management was not statistically significant, and the hypothesized difference in disability days was not met.Item Association of Transport Time, Proximity, and Emergency Department Pediatric Readiness With Pediatric Survival at US Trauma Centers(American Medical Association, 2023) Glass, Nina E.; Salvi, Apoorva; Wei, Ran; Lin, Amber; Malveau, Susan; Cook, Jennifer N. B.; Mann, N. Clay; Burd, Randall S.; Jenkins, Peter C.; Hansen, Matthew; Mohr, Nicholas M.; Stephens, Caroline; Fallat, Mary E.; Lerner, E. Brooke; Carr, Brendan G.; Wall, Stephen P.; Newgard, Craig D.; Surgery, School of MedicineImportance: Emergency department (ED) pediatric readiness is associated with improved survival among children. However, the association between geographic access to high-readiness EDs in US trauma centers and mortality is unclear. Objective: To evaluate the association between the proximity of injury location to receiving trauma centers, including the level of ED pediatric readiness, and mortality among injured children. Design, setting, and participants: This retrospective cohort study used a standardized risk-adjustment model to evaluate the association between trauma center proximity, ED pediatric readiness, and in-hospital survival. There were 765 trauma centers (level I-V, adult and pediatric) that contributed data to the National Trauma Data Bank (January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2017) and completed the 2013 National Pediatric Readiness Assessment (conducted from January 1 through August 31, 2013). The study comprised children aged younger than 18 years who were transported by ground to the included trauma centers. Data analysis was performed between January 1 and March 31, 2022. Exposures: Trauma center proximity within 30 minutes by ground transport and ED pediatric readiness, as measured by weighted pediatric readiness score (wPRS; range, 0-100; quartiles 1 [low readiness] to 4 [high readiness]). Main outcomes and measures: In-hospital mortality. We used a patient-level mixed-effects logistic regression model to evaluate the association of transport time, proximity, and ED pediatric readiness on mortality. Results: This study included 212 689 injured children seen at 765 trauma centers. The median patient age was 10 (IQR, 4-15) years, 136 538 (64.2%) were male, and 127 885 (60.1%) were White. A total of 4156 children (2.0%) died during their hospital stay. The median wPRS at these hospitals was 79.1 (IQR, 62.9-92.7). A total of 105 871 children (49.8%) were transported to trauma centers with high-readiness EDs (wPRS quartile 4) and another 36 330 children (33.7%) were injured within 30 minutes of a quartile 4 ED. After adjustment for confounders, proximity, and transport time, high ED pediatric readiness was associated with lower mortality (highest-readiness vs lowest-readiness EDs by wPRS quartiles: adjusted odds ratio, 0.65 [95% CI, 0.47-0.89]). The survival benefit of high-readiness EDs persisted for transport times up to 45 minutes. The findings suggest that matching children to trauma centers with high-readiness EDs within 30 minutes of the injury location may have potentially saved 468 lives (95% CI, 460-476 lives), but increasing all trauma centers to high ED pediatric readiness may have potentially saved 1655 lives (95% CI, 1647-1664 lives). Conclusions and relevance: These findings suggest that trauma centers with high ED pediatric readiness had lower mortality after considering transport time and proximity. Improving ED pediatric readiness among all trauma centers, rather than selective transport to trauma centers with high ED readiness, had the largest association with pediatric survival. Thus, increased pediatric readiness at all US trauma centers may substantially improve patient outcomes after trauma.Item Changing the Paradigm for Management of Pediatric Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax: A Simple Aspiration Test Predicts Need for Operation(Elsevier, 2019) Leys, Charles M.; Hirschl, Ronald B.; Kohler, Jonathan E.; Cherney-Stafford, Linda; Marka, Nicholas; Fallat, Mary E.; Gadepalli, Samir K.; Fraser, Jason D.; Grabowski, Julia; Burns, R. Cartland; Downard, Cynthia D.; Foley, David S.; Halleran, Devin R.; Helmrath, Michael A.; Kabre, Rashmi; Knezevich, Michellle S.; Lal, Dave R.; Landman, Matthew P.; Lawrence, Amy E.; Mak, Grace Z.; Minneci, Peter C.; Musili, Ninette; Rymeski, Beth; Saito, Jacqueline M.; Sato, Thomas T.; St. Peter, Shawn D.; Warner, Brad W.; Ostlie, Daniel J.; Surgery, School of MedicinePurpose Chest tube (CT) management for pediatric primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) is associated with long hospital stays and high recurrence rates. To streamline management, we explored simple aspiration as a test to predict need for surgery. Methods A multi-institution, prospective pilot study of patients with first presentation for PSP at 9 children’s hospitals was performed. Aspiration was performed through a pigtail catheter, followed by 6 h observation with CT clamped. If pneumothorax recurred during observation, the aspiration test failed and subsequent management was per surgeon discretion. Results Thirty-three patients were managed with simple aspiration. Aspiration was successful in 16 of 33 (48%), while 17 (52%) failed the aspiration test and required hospitalization. Twelve who failed aspiration underwent CT management, of which 10 (83%) failed CT management owing to either persistent air leak requiring VATS or subsequent PSP recurrence. Recurrence rate was significantly greater in the group that failed aspiration compared to the group that passed aspiration [10/12 (83%) vs 7/16 (44%), respectively, P = 0.028]. Conclusion Simple aspiration test upon presentation with PSP predicts chest tube failure with 83% positive predictive value. We recommend changing the PSP management algorithm to include an initial simple aspiration test, and if that fails, proceed directly to VATS.Item Current operative management of congenital lobar emphysema in children: A report from the Midwest Pediatric Surgery Consortium(Elsevier, 2019) Kunisaki, Shaun M.; Saito, Jacqueline M.; Fallat, Mary E.; St. Peter, Shawn D.; Kim, Aimee G.; Johnson, Kevin N.; Mon, Rodrigo A.; Adams, Cheryl; Aladegbami, Bola; Bence, Christina; Burns, R. Cartland; Corkum, Kristine S.; Deans, Katherine J.; Downard, Cynthia D.; Fraser, Jason D.; Gadepalli, Samir K.; Helmrath, Michael A.; Kabre, Rashmi; Lal, Dave R.; Landman, Matthew P.; Leys, Charles M.; Linden, Allison F.; Lopez, Joseph J.; Mak, Grace Z.; Minneci, Peter C.; Rademacher, Brooks L.; Shaaban, Aimen; Walker, Sarah K.; Wright, Tiffany N.; Hirschl, Ronald B.; Surgery, School of MedicinePurpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical presentation and operative outcomes of patients with congenital lobar emphysema (CLE) within a large multicenter research consortium. Methods After central reliance IRB-approval, a retrospective cohort study was performed on all operatively managed lung malformations at eleven participating children's hospitals (2009–2015). Results Fifty-three (10.5%) children with pathology-confirmed CLE were identified among 506 lung malformations. A lung mass was detected prenatally in 13 (24.5%) compared to 331 (73.1%) in non-CLE cases (p < 0.0001). Thirty-two (60.4%) CLE patients presented with respiratory symptoms at birth compared to 102 (22.7%) in non-CLE (p < 0.0001). The most common locations for CLE were the left upper (n = 24, 45.3%), right middle (n = 16, 30.2%), and right upper (n = 10, 18.9%) lobes. Eighteen (34.0%) had resection as neonates, 30 (56.6%) had surgery at 1–12 months of age, and five (9.4%) had resections after 12 months. Six (11.3%) underwent thoracoscopic excision. Median hospital length of stay was 5.0 days (interquartile range, 4.0–13.0). Conclusions Among lung malformations, CLE is associated with several unique features, including a low prenatal detection rate, a predilection for the upper/middle lobes, and infrequent utilization of thoracoscopy. Although respiratory distress at birth is common, CLE often presents clinically in a delayed and more insidious fashion.Item Demographic and Clinical Characteristics Associated With the Failure of Nonoperative Management of Uncomplicated Appendicitis in Children: Secondary Analysis of a Nonrandomized Clinical Trial(JAMA, 2022-05-02) Minneci, Peter C.; Hade, Erinn M.; Gil, Lindsay A.; Metzger, Gregory A.; Saito, Jacqueline M.; Mak, Grace Z.; Hirschl, Ronald B.; Gadepalli, Samir; Helmrath, Michael A.; Leys, Charles M.; Sato, Thomas T.; Lal, Dave R.; Landman, Matthew P.; Kabre, Rashmi; Fallat, Mary E.; Cooper, Jennifer N.; Deans, Katherine J.; Midwest Pediatric Surgery Consortium; Surgery, School of MedicineImportance: The factors associated with the failure of nonoperative management of appendicitis and the differences in patient-reported outcomes between successful and unsuccessful nonoperative management remain unknown. Objectives: To investigate factors associated with the failure of nonoperative management of appendicitis and compare patient-reported outcomes between patients whose treatment succeeded and those whose treatment failed. Design, setting, and participants: This study was a planned subgroup secondary analysis conducted in 10 children's hospitals that included 370 children aged 7 to 17 years with uncomplicated appendicitis enrolled in a prospective, nonrandomized clinical trial between May 1, 2015, and October 31, 2018, with 1-year follow-up comparing nonoperative management with antibiotics vs surgery for uncomplicated appendicitis. Statistical analysis was performed from November 1, 2019, to February 12, 2022. Interventions: Nonoperative management with antibiotics vs surgery. Main outcomes and measures: Failure of nonoperative management and patient-reported outcomes. The relative risk (RR) of failure based on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics was calculated. Patient-reported outcomes were compared based on the success or failure of nonoperative management. Results: Of 370 patients (34.6% of 1068 total patients; 229 boys [61.9%]; median age, 12.3 years [IQR, 10.0-14.6 years]) enrolled in the nonoperative group, treatment failure occurred for 125 patients (33.8%) at 1 year, with 53 patients (14.3%) undergoing appendectomy during initial hospitalization and 72 patients (19.5%) experiencing delayed treatment failure after hospital discharge. Higher patient-reported pain at presentation was associated with increased risk of in-hospital treatment failure (RR, 2.1 [95% CI, 1.0-4.4]) but not delayed treatment failure (RR, 1.3 [95% CI, 0.7-2.3]) or overall treatment failure at 1 year (RR, 1.5 [95% CI, 1.0-2.2]). Pain duration greater than 24 hours was associated with decreased risk of delayed treatment failure (RR, 0.3 [95% CI, 0.1-1.0]) but not in-hospital treatment failure (RR, 1.2 [95% CI, 0.5-2.7]) or treatment failure at 1 year (RR, 0.7 [95% CI, 0.4-1.2]). There was no increased risk of treatment failure associated with age, white blood cell count, sex, race, ethnicity, primary language, insurance status, transfer status, symptoms at presentation, or imaging results. Health care satisfaction at 30 days and patient-reported, health-related quality of life at 30 days and 1 year were not different. Satisfaction with the decision was higher with successful nonoperative management at 30 days (28.0 vs 27.0; difference, 1.0 [95% CI, 0.01-2.0]) and 1 year (28.1 vs 27.0; difference, 1.1 [95% CI, 0.2-2.0]). Conclusions and relevance: This analysis suggests that a higher pain level at presentation was associated with a higher risk of initial failure of nonoperative management and that a longer duration of pain was associated with lower risk of delayed treatment failure. Although satisfaction was high in both groups, satisfaction with the treatment decision was higher among patients with successful nonoperative management at 1 year.Item Development of a multi-institutional registry for children with operative congenital lung malformations(Elsevier, 2019) Kunisaki, Shaun M.; Saito, Jacqueline M.; Fallat, Mary E.; St. Peter, Shawn D.; Lal, Dave R.; Johnson, Kevin N.; Mon, Rodrigo A.; Adams, Cheryl; Aladegbami, Bola; Bence, Christina; Burns, R. Cartland; Corkum, Kristine S.; Deans, Katherine J.; Downard, Cynthia D.; Fraser, Jason D.; Gadepalli, Samir K.; Helmrath, Michael A.; Kabre, Rashmi; Landman, Matthew P.; Leys, Charles M.; Linden, Allison F.; Lopez, Joseph J.; Mak, Grace Z.; Minneci, Peter C.; Rademacher, Brooks L.; Shaaban, Aimen; Walker, Sarah K.; Wright, Tiffany N.; Hirschl, Ronald B.; Surgery, School of MedicineIntroduction The purpose of this study was to develop a multi-institutional registry to characterize the demographics, management, and outcomes of a contemporary cohort of children undergoing congenital lung malformation (CLM) resection. Methods After central reliance IRB approval, a web-based, secure database was created to capture retrospective cohort data on pathologically-confirmed CLMs performed between 2009 and 2015 within a multi-institutional research collaborative. Results Eleven children's hospitals contributed 506 patients. Among 344 prenatally diagnosed lesions, the congenital pulmonary airway malformation volume ratio was measured in 49.1%, and fetal MRI was performed in 34.3%. One hundred thirty-four (26.7%) children had respiratory symptoms at birth. Fifty-eight (11.6%) underwent neonatal resection, 322 (64.1%) had surgery at 1–12 months, and 122 (24.3%) had operations after 12 months. The median age at resection was 6.7 months (interquartile range, 3.6–11.4). Among 230 elective lobectomies performed in asymptomatic patients, thoracoscopy was successfully utilized in 102 (44.3%), but there was substantial variation across centers. The most common lesions were congenital pulmonary airway malformation (n = 234, 47.3%) and intralobar bronchopulmonary sequestration (n = 106, 21.4%). Conclusion This multicenter cohort study on operative CLMs highlights marked disease heterogeneity and substantial practice variation in preoperative evaluation and operative management. Future registry studies are planned to help establish evidence-based guidelines to optimize the care of these patients.Item Emergency Department Pediatric Readiness Among US Trauma Centers: A Machine Learning Analysis of Components Associated with Survival(Wolters Kluwer, 2023) Newgard, Craig D.; Babcock, Sean R.; Song, Xubo; Remick, Katherine E.; Gausche-Hill, Marianne; Lin, Amber; Malveau, Susan; Mann, N. Clay; Nathens, Avery B.; Cook, Jennifer N. B.; Jenkins, Peter C.; Burd, Randall S.; Hewes, Hilary A.; Glass, Nina E.; Jensen, Aaron R.; Fallat, Mary E.; Ames, Stefanie G.; Salvi, Apoorva; McConnell, K. John; Ford, Rachel; Auerbach, Marc; Bailey, Jessica; Riddick, Tyne A.; Xin, Haichang; Kuppermann, Nathan; Pediatric Readiness Study Group; Surgery, School of MedicineObjective: We used machine learning to identify the highest impact components of emergency department (ED) pediatric readiness for predicting in-hospital survival among children cared for in US trauma centers. Background: ED pediatric readiness is associated with improved short-term and long-term survival among injured children and part of the national verification criteria for US trauma centers. However, the components of ED pediatric readiness most predictive of survival are unknown. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of injured children below 18 years treated in 458 trauma centers from January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2017, matched to the 2013 National ED Pediatric Readiness Assessment and the American Hospital Association survey. We used machine learning to analyze 265 potential predictors of survival, including 152 ED readiness variables, 29 patient variables, and 84 ED-level and hospital-level variables. The primary outcome was in-hospital survival. Results: There were 274,756 injured children, including 4585 (1.7%) who died. Nine ED pediatric readiness components were associated with the greatest increase in survival: policy for mental health care (+8.8% change in survival), policy for patient assessment (+7.5%), specific respiratory equipment (+7.2%), policy for reduced-dose radiation imaging (+7.0%), physician competency evaluations (+4.9%), recording weight in kilograms (+3.2%), life support courses for nursing (+1.0%-2.5%), and policy on pediatric triage (+2.5%). There was a 268% improvement in survival when the 5 highest impact components were present. Conclusions: ED pediatric readiness components related to specific policies, personnel, and equipment were the strongest predictors of pediatric survival and worked synergistically when combined.Item Evaluating the Regional Differences in Pediatric Injury Patterns During the COVID-19 Pandemic(Elsevier, 2023) Collings, Amelia T.; Farazi, Manzur; Van Arendonk, Kyle J.; Fallat, Mary E.; Minneci, Peter C.; Sato, Thomas T.; Speck, K. Elizabeth; Gadepalli, Samir; Deans, Katherine J.; Falcone, Richard A., Jr.; Foley, David S.; Fraser, Jason D.; Keller, Martin S.; Kotagal, Meera; Landman, Matthew P.; Leys, Charles M.; Markel, Troy; Rubalcava, Nathan; St. Peter, Shawn D.; Flynn-O'Brien, Katherine T.; Midwest Pediatric Surgery Consortium; Surgery, School of MedicineIntroduction: Reports of pediatric injury patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic are conflicting and lack the granularity to explore differences across regions. We hypothesized there would be considerable variation in injury patterns across pediatric trauma centers in the United States. Materials and methods: A multicenter, retrospective study evaluating patients <18 y old with traumatic injuries meeting National Trauma Data Bank criteria was performed. Patients injured after stay-at-home orders through September 2020 ("COVID" cohort) were compared to "Historical" controls from an averaged period of equivalent dates in 2016-2019. Differences in injury type, intent, and mechanism were explored at the site level. Results: 47,385 pediatric trauma patients were included. Overall trauma volume increased during the COVID cohort compared to the Historical (COVID 7068 patients versus Historical 5891 patients); however, some sites demonstrated a decrease in overall trauma of 25% while others had an increase of over 33%. Bicycle injuries increased at every site, with a range in percent change from 24% to 135% increase. Although the greatest net increase was due to blunt injuries, there was a greater relative increase in penetrating injuries at 7/9 sites, with a range in percent change from a 110% increase to a 69% decrease. Conclusions: There was considerable discrepancy in pediatric injury patterns at the individual site level, perhaps suggesting a variable impact of the specific sociopolitical climate and pandemic policies of each catchment area. Investigation of the unique response of the community during times of stress at pediatric trauma centers is warranted to be better prepared for future environmental stressors.Item Impact of “Stay-at-Home”orders on non-accidental trauma: A multi-institutional study(Elsevier, 2022) Collings, Amelia T.; Farazi, Manzur; Van Arendonk, Kyle; Fallat, Mary E.; Minneci, Peter C.; Sato, Thomas T.; Speck, K. Elizabeth; Deans, Katherine J.; Falcone, Richard A.; Foley, David S.; Fraser, Jason D.; Keller, Martin S.; Kotagal, Meera; Landman, Matthew P.; Leys, Charles M.; Markel, Troy; Rubalcava, Nathan; St. Peter, Shawn D.; Flynn-O’Brien, Katherine T.; Midwest Pediatric Surgery Consortium; Surgery, School of MedicineBackground: It is unclear how Stay-at-Home Orders (SHO) of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the welfare of children and rates of non-accidental trauma (NAT). We hypothesized that NAT would initially decrease during the SHO as children did not have access to mandatory reporters, and then increase as physicians' offices and schools reopened. Methods: A multicenter study evaluating patients <18 years with ICD-10 Diagnosis and/or External Cause of Injury codes meeting criteria for NAT. "Historical" controls from an averaged period of March-September 2016-2019 were compared to patients injured March-September 2020, after the implementation of SHO ("COVID" cohort). An interrupted time series analysis was utilized to evaluate the effects of SHO implementation. Results: Nine Level I pediatric trauma centers contributed 2064 patients meeting NAT criteria. During initial SHO, NAT rates dropped below what was expected based on historical trends; however, thereafter the rate increased above the expected. The COVID cohort experienced a significant increase in the proportion of NAT patients age ≥5 years, minority children, and least resourced as determined by social vulnerability index (SVI). Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic affected the presentation of children with NAT to the hospital. In times of public health crisis, maintaining systems of protection for children remain essential.