Disaster medicine and public health preparedness
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Jun 2012
ReviewTriage of mechanical ventilation for pediatric patients during a pandemic.
The novel H1N1 influenza pandemic renewed the concern that during a severe pandemic illness, critical care and mechanical ventilation resources will be inadequate to meet the needs of patients. Several published protocols address the need to triage patients for access to ventilator resources. However, to our knowledge, none of these has addressed the pediatric populations. ⋯ We present a pediatric-specific ventilator triage protocol using the PELOD scoring system to complement the NY State adult triage protocol. Further evaluation of pediatric scoring systems is imperative to ensure appropriate triage of pediatric patients.