We piloted a methodology for collecting and interpreting root cause—or environmental deficiency (ED)—information from Legionnaires’ disease (LD) outbreak investigation reports. The methodology included a classification framework to assess common failures observed in the implementation of water management programs (WMPs). We reviewed reports from fourteen CDC-led investigations between 1 January 2015 and 21 June 2019 to identify EDs associated with outbreaks of LD. We developed an abstraction guide to standardize data collection from outbreak reports and define relevant parameters. We categorized each ED according to three criteria: ED type, WMP-deficiency type, and source of deficiency. We calculated the prevalence of EDs among facilities and explored differences between facilities with and without WMPs. A majority of EDs identified (81%) were classified as process failures. Facilities with WMPs (n = 8) had lower prevalence of EDs attributed to plumbed devices (9.1%) and infrastructure design (0%) than facilities without WMPs (n = 6; 33.3% and 24.2%, respectively). About three quarters (72%) of LD cases and 81% of the fatalities in our sample originated at facilities without a WMP. This report highlights the importance of WMPs in preventing and mitigating outbreaks of LD. Building water system process management is a primary obstacle toward limiting the root causes of LD outbreaks. Greater emphasis on the documentation, verification, validation, and continuous program review steps will be important in maximizing the effectiveness of WMPs.
Background: Guidelines state that all hospitalized children with suspected or confirmed influenza receive prompt treatment with influenza-specific antivirals. We sought to determine the frequency of, and factors associated with, antiviral receipt among hospitalized children. Methods: We conducted active surveillance of children presenting with fever or respiratory symptoms from 1 December 2016 to 31 March 2020 at 7 pediatric medical centers in the New Vaccine Surveillance Network. The cohort consisted of children hospitalized with influenza A or B confirmed by clinical or research testing. The primary outcome was frequency of antiviral receipt during hospitalization. We used logistic regression to obtain adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for factors associated with antiviral receipt. Results: A total of 1213 children with laboratory-confirmed influenza were included. Overall, 652 children (53.8%) received an antiviral. Roughly 63.0% of children received clinical influenza testing. Among those with clinical testing, 67.4% received an antiviral. Factors associated with higher odds of antiviral receipt included hematologic (aOR = 1.76; 95% CI = 1.03–3.02) or oncologic/immunocompromising (aOR = 2.41; 95% CI = 1.13–5.11) disorders, prehospitalization antiviral receipt (aOR = 2.34; 95% CI = 1.49–3.67), clinical influenza testing (aOR = 3.07; 95% CI = 2.28–4.14), and intensive care unit admission (aOR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.02–2.29). Symptom duration >2 days was associated with lower odds of antiviral treatment (aOR = 0.40; 95% CI = .30–.52). Antiviral receipt varied by site with a 5-fold difference across sites. Conclusions: Almost half of children hospitalized with influenza did not receive antivirals. Additional efforts to understand barriers to guideline adherence are crucial for optimizing care in children hospitalized with influenza.