The UCSF Northern California Neonatal and Pediatric Hospital Medicine Consortiums formed in 2013 to increase collaboration among pediatric hospitalists and neonatologists at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals and affiliated community hospitals across the region. The primary goal of the consortiums is to standardize care and eliminate unwanted variation in clinical practice within and across institutions for common pediatric and neonatal conditions treated in the emergency department, well newborn and neonatal intensive care nurseries, and pediatric inpatient hospital setting.

Representatives from UCSF and affiliated hospitals meet on a quarterly basis with rotating leadership to develop consensus clinical care guidelines on selected conditions with a focus on community-based hospital medicine. Content is derived from medical literature review and integration of current national practice standards with input from local topical experts. The implementation of guidelines within the consortium network will be evaluated by measuring performance on specific process and outcome metrics at each of the participating sites.

Consensus clinical practice guidelines are reviewed periodically to ensure they remain consistent with current medical literature, national guidelines, and updates in local practices. New and revised guidelines will be posted on this site as they become available.

Pediatric hospital medicine consortium

Participating hospitals

  • UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco
  • UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland
  • San Francisco General Hospital
  • Marin General Hospital
  • Washington Hospital
  • Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital
  • Natividad Medical Center
  • Community Regional Medical Center (Fresno)

Clinical guidelines and resources

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Asthma guidelines

Executive Summary & Full Consensus Guidelines
Appendix 1: UCSF BCH Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) Acute Asthma Algorithm
Appendix 2: Modified Pediatric Asthma Severity Score (MPASS)
Appendix 3: Asthma Medications
Appendix 4: UCSF BCH-SF Inpatient Asthma Pathway and UCSF BCH-Oakland Pathway
Appendix 5: ICS Dosing Table
Appendix 6: Stepwise Approach for Management of Asthma
Appendix 7: Classifying Asthma Severity
Appendix 8: Assessing Asthma Control

Asthma education resources
Living with Asthma (Arabic | Chinese (traditional) | English | Spanish | Vietnamese)

Bronchiolitis guidelines
Executive Summary
Full Consensus Guidelines
References

Croup guidelines
Executive Summary
Full Consensus Guidelines
Appendix 1: Croup Algorithm
Appendix 2: Croup Medications
References

Community acquired pneumonia guidelines
Executive Summary
Full Consensus Guidelines
Table: Initial Empiric Antibiotic Therapy for Community Acquired Pneumonia
References

Hypoglycemia in children
Executive Summary
Full Guideline
Hypoglycemia Pathway

Inadequate Growth Guidelines
Executive Summary
Full Consensus Guideline
Appendix 1 – Inadequate Growth Admission Pathway
Appendix 2 – Inadequate Growth Inpatient Pathway
Appendix 3 – Pre-Admission and Transfer Checklists
Appendix 4 – Nutrition and Growth Resources
Appendix 5 – History and Physical 
Appendix 6 – Differential Diagnoses

Maintenance IV fluids
Executive Summary
Full Guideline
Appendix 1: IV Fluids Composition
Appendix 2: IV Fluids Pathway

Urinary tract infection guidelines
Executive Summary
UTI Full Consensus Guidelines
Table 1: Empiric Antibiotic Therapy
Appendix 1: Who and How to Test – Children Without Known Risk Factors
Appendix 2: Who and How to Test – Children With Known Risk Factors
References

Northern California Neonatal Consortium (NC)²

Participating hospitals

  • UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco
  • San Francisco General Hospital
  • Marin General Hospital
  • Washington Hospital
  • Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital
  • Natividad Medical Center
  • Community Hospital of the Monterey Penninsula

Clinical guidelines

Apnea guidelines
Executive Summary
Full Consensus Guidelines
References

Car seat challenge statement
Consensus Statement for Infant Car Seat Challenge Testing

Neonatal abstinence syndrome guidelines

Coming soon

Neonatal sepsis guidelines
Full Consensus Guidelines
Appendix 1: Kaiser Newborn Sepsis Calculator
Appendix 2: Classification of Infant's Clinical Presentation
Appendix 3: Common Pathogens in Neonatal EOS, 2019
References

Late preterm infant feeding guidelines
Full Consensus Guidelines
Addendum 1 Nutrient Analysis
Addendum 2 Feeding and Supplementation Selection
References

Hyperbilirubinemia in neonates > 35 weeks gestational age
This guideline was created in 2017 and hence predates the American Academy of Pediatrics' 2022 Clinical Practice Guideline Revision: Management of Hyperbilirubinemia in the Newborn Infant 35 or More Weeks of Gestation. Please refer to the 2022 AAP guidelines for updated evidence-based recommendations on the management of hyperbilirubinemia in neonates.
Executive Summary
Full Consensus Guidelines
Phototherapy Thresholds
Exchange Transfusion Thresholds and Flowchart
References
Phototherapy Calculator

Hypoglycemia screening and management guidelines
Full Consensus Guidelines
Appendix 1: Fenton Neonatal Growth Curves
Appendix 2: Screening & Management of Neonatal Hypoglycemia in ASYMPTOMATIC infants ≥ 34wks GA
Appendix 3: Screening & Management of Neonatal Hypoglycemia in SYMPTOMATIC infants ≥ 34wks GA
References

Polycythemia
Executive Summary
Full Guideline
References

Disclaimer: These clinical practice guidelines are based upon the evidence-based consensus opinions of consortium members affiliated with UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals. They are intended to guide pediatric/neonatal providers, but do not substitute for individual clinical judgment. Evaluation and treatment of specific patients should be adapted based upon the unique conditions of each patient, family and clinical environment.