@article{ref1,
title="Association between language, serious adverse events, and length of stay among hospitalized children",
journal="Hospital pediatrics",
year="2013",
author="Lion, K. Casey and Rafton, Sarah A. and Shafii, Jaleh and Brownstein, Dena and Michel, Eriberto and Tolman, Michelle and Ebel, Beth E.",
volume="3",
number="3",
pages="219-225",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the risk for serious/sentinel adverse events among hospitalized children according to race, ethnicity, and language and to evaluate factors affecting length of stay associated with serious/sentinel adverse events.   METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all pediatric inpatients at a large children's hospital from October 2007 to October 2009. We evaluated the relationship between self-reported race, ethnicity, and primary language; with having a serious or sentinel adverse event, defined as an unexpected occurrence involving risk of death or serious injury; or a potentially harmful event resulting from nonstandard practice. We also examined length of stay. Clinical complexity was adjusted for by using Clinical Risk Groups.   RESULTS: Of 33885 patients, 8% spoke Spanish and 4% spoke other languages. Serious and sentinel events were rare; however, among patients with such events, 14% spoke Spanish. Adjusting for potential confounders, Spanish speakers trended toward an elevated odds of adverse event (odds ratio: 1.83 [95% confidence interval: 0.98-3.39]). Controlling for age, language, and clinical complexity, having an adverse event was associated with a nearly fivefold increase in length of stay (95% confidence interval: 3.87-6.12). Spanish-speaking patients with an adverse event were hospitalized significantly longer than comparable English speakers (26 vs 12.7 days; P = .03 for interaction between language and adverse event).   CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalized children from Spanish-speaking families had significantly longer hospital stays in association with an adverse event and may have increased odds of a serious or sentinel event. These findings suggest that an important component of patient safety may be to address communication barriers.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2154-1663",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}