Timing of critical events in the PICU among English and LOE patients

Emerging literature suggests diurnal variation in the timing of critical events and their outcomes, 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 but studies are limited on the timing of critical events in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Children from families who use languages other than English (LOE) are known to experience worse outcomes, including increased length of stay and higher rates of ICU transfer. 5 , 6 While robust professional interpreter services mitigate some of the disparities faced by LOE patients and families, access to interpretation services varies by hospital, language, and time of day. 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 Therefore, overnight critical events among LOE families are potentially complicated by limited access to interpretation resources compared to daytime events. Our study had two primary objectives: (1) to describe variation in the timing of critical events (including day/night and weekday/weekend) by family language and (2) to characterize the frequency of professional interpretation surrounding critical events occurring to patients from families who use languages other than English.