Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Apr 2011
Case ReportsTrichobezoar presenting with chief complaints of chest pain, weight loss, and gastrointestinal bleeding.
Abdominal pain is a frequent presenting complaint in pediatric patients seeking acute medical care. We report the case of an adolescent female who presented with nonspecific complaints of chest pain, faintness, and weight loss and whose diagnosis was determined only after the disclosure of trichophagia.
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Pediatric emergency care · Apr 2011
Effect of a rapid assessment program on total length of stay in a pediatric emergency department.
Wait times and length of stay (LOS) measure efficiency of care in pediatric emergency departments (PEDs). Our hospital introduced a rapid assessment program (RAP) wherein patients will be seen by a physician within 29 minutes of arrival to the PED. Our primary objective was to evaluate the impact of this RAP on total LOS and compare it with the pre-RAP period. The secondary objective was to compare door-to-physician times and admission frequencies. ⋯ In our PED, a RAP reduced the total LOS of patients with lower acuity of illness.
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Simulation provides a range of educational tools that have increasingly been incorporated into emergency medicine (EM) curricula. Standardized patients and some partial task trainers, such as intubation heads, have been used for decades. More recently, a growing number of computer-screen simulations, high-fidelity mannequins, and virtual-reality simulators have expanded the number of procedures and conditions, which can be effectively simulated. ⋯ The advanced technology used to operate many current simulators can erroneously become the focus of efforts to create a simulation-based curriculum. Simulation can most effectively be incorporated into EM curricula through the use of time-proven concepts, which start with defining the targeted learners, assessing their general and specific educational needs, defining learning objectives, and selecting the best educational strategy for achieving each objective. In many, but not all, instances, simulation can be the best tool for achieving EM learning objectives.
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Pediatric emergency care · Apr 2011
Seasonality patterns in croup presentations to emergency departments in Alberta, Canada: a time series analysis.
Croup is a common pediatric respiratory illness presenting to the emergency department (ED) in the fall and winter months. Most cases are caused by parainfluenza viruses. We examine the monthly patterns of young children who made croup-related visits to EDs in Alberta, Canada. ⋯ We observed the presence of a clear biennial pattern of croup ED visits. The seasonal autoregressive moving average models and predictions offer insights into the epidemiology of croup-related visits to EDs and may be helpful in planning both research and resource needs.
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Pediatric emergency care · Apr 2011
Comparative StudyConsistency between emergency department and orthopedic physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of distal fibular Salter Harris I fractures.
The objective was to determine diagnostic and management differences between emergency physicians (EPs) and orthopedic physicians (OPs) for patients with distal fibular physis pain without radiographic fracture. ⋯ Although EPs diagnosed SH I fracture more frequently than OPs, few fractures were missed. Most patients required ongoing immobilization by OPs regardless of final diagnosis. Suspected SH I fractures should be immobilized and referred for orthopedic evaluation.