<p><strong>OBJECTIVE: </strong>To describe the prevalence and characteristics of infection-related readmissions in children and to identify opportunities for readmission reduction and estimate associated cost savings.</p>

<p><strong>STUDY DESIGN: </strong>Retrospective analysis of 380,067 nationally representative index hospitalizations for children using the 2014 Nationwide Readmissions Database. We compared 30-day, all-cause unplanned readmissions and costs across 22 infection categories. We used the Inpatient Essentials database to measure hospital-level readmission rates and to establish readmission benchmarks for individual infections. We then estimated the number of readmissions avoided and costs saved if hospitals achieved the 10th percentile of hospitals' readmission rates (ie, readmission benchmark). All analyses were stratified by the presence/absence of a complex chronic condition (CCC).</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>The overall 30-day readmission rate was 4.9%. Readmission rates varied substantially across infections and by presence/absence of a CCC (CCC: range, 0%-21.6%; no CCC: range, 1.5%-8.6%). Approximately 42.6% of readmissions (n = 3,576) for children with a CCC and 54.7% of readmissions (n = 5,507) for children without a CCC could have been potentially avoided if hospitals achieved infection-specific benchmark readmission rates, which could result in an estimated savings of $70.8 million and $44.5 million, respectively. Bronchiolitis, pneumonia, and upper respiratory tract infections were among infections with the greatest number of potentially avoidable readmissions and cost savings for children with and without a CCC.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSION: </strong>Readmissions following hospitalizations for infection in children vary significantly by infection type. To improve hospital resource use for infections, future preventative measures may prioritize children with complex chronic conditions and those with specific diagnoses (eg, respiratory illnesses).</p>

<p><strong>OBJECTIVE: </strong>To examine how characteristics vary between children with any mental health (MH) diagnosis who have typical spending and the highest spending; to identify independent predictors of highest spending; and to examine drivers of spending groups.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>This retrospective analysis utilized 2016 Medicaid claims from 11 states and included 775,945 children ages 3-17 years with any MH diagnosis and at least 11 months of continuous coverage. We compared demographic characteristics and Medicaid expenditures based on total healthcare spending: the top 1% (highest-spending) and remaining 99% (typical-spending). We used chi-squared tests to compare the 2 groups and adjusted logistic regression to identify independent predictors of being in the top 1% highest-spending group.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Children with MH conditions accounted for 55% of Medicaid spending among 3- to 17-year-olds. Patients in the highest-spending group were more likely to be older, have multiple MH conditions, and have complex chronic physical health conditions (p&lt;0.001). The highest-spending group had $164,003 per-member-per-year (PMPY) in total healthcare spending, compared to $6097 PMPY in the typical-spending group. Ambulatory MH services contributed the largest proportion (40%) of expenditures ($2455 PMPY) in the typical-spending group; general health hospitalizations contributed the largest proportion (36%) of expenditures ($58,363 PMPY) in the highest-spending group.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Among children with MH conditions, mental and physical health comorbidities were common and spending for general healthcare outpaced spending for MH care. Future research and quality initiatives should focus on integrating MH and physical healthcare services and investigate whether current spending on MH services supports high-quality MH care.</p>

<p><strong>BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: </strong>Although potentially dangerous, little is known about outpatient opioid exposure (OE) in children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). We assessed the prevalence and types of OE and the diagnoses and health care encounters proximal to OE in CYSHCN.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>This is a retrospective cohort study of 2 597 987 CYSHCN aged 0-to-18 years from 11 states, continuously enrolled in Medicaid in 2016, with ≥1 chronic condition. OE included any filled prescription (single or multiple) for opioids. Health care encounters were assessed within 7 days before and 7 and 30 days after OE.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Among CYSHCN, 7.4% had OE. CYSHCN with OE versus without OE were older (ages 10-18 years: 69.4% vs 47.7%), had more chronic conditions (≥3 conditions: 49.1% vs 30.6%), and had more polypharmacy (≥5 other medication classes: 54.7% vs 31.2%), &lt; .001 for all. Most (76.7%) OEs were single fills with a median duration of 4 days (interquartile range: 3-6). The most common OEs were acetaminophen-hydrocodone (47.5%), acetaminophen-codeine (21.5%), and oxycodone (9.5%). Emergency department visits preceded 28.8% of OEs, followed by outpatient surgery (28.8%) and outpatient specialty care (19.1%). Most OEs were preceded by a diagnosis of infection (25.9%) or injury (22.3%). Only 35.1% and 62.2% of OEs were associated with follow-up visits within 7 and 30 days, respectively.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>OE in CYSHCN is common, especially with multiple chronic conditions and polypharmacy. In subsequent studies, researchers should examine the appropriateness of opioid prescribing, particularly in emergency departments, as well as assess for drug interactions with chronic medications and reasons for insufficient follow-up.</p>