Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Mar 2012
Ondansetron use in the pediatric emergency room for diagnoses other than acute gastroenteritis.
Ondansetron is widely used in the pediatric emergency department (PED) for vomiting and acute gastroenteritis (GE). Little is known about the spectrum of its use in diagnoses other than acute GE. ⋯ Although ondansetron is a widely accepted treatment for GE in children, this study identifies a broader spectrum of primary diagnoses for which ondansetron is being used.
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Pediatric emergency care · Mar 2012
Multicenter StudyComputed tomographic scan diagnosis of appendicitis in children by pediatric and adult radiologists.
Computed tomographic (CT) scans are an accepted radiographic mode to the diagnosis of appendicitis. Radiologists play a critical role in its diagnostic accuracy. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in the diagnostic accuracy between pediatric and general radiologists interpreting pediatric abdominal/pelvic CT scans for appendicitis. ⋯ There is a similar accuracy rate in the interpretation of CT scans positive for appendicitis between general and pediatric radiologists, but pediatric radiologists were more definitive.
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Our aim was to identify the demographics, mechanism, and patterns of injury in children presenting with snowboarding injuries. ⋯ Young male snowboarders are at risk for having abdominal organ injury and upper extremity injury. There is a high incidence of children presenting with both upper extremity and abdominal trauma after a fall while snowboarding.
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Pediatric emergency care · Mar 2012
Review Case ReportsPrimary amebic meningoencephalitis: a case report and literature review.
Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) is a rare but nearly always fatal disease caused by infection with Naegleria fowleri, a thermophilic, free-living ameba found in freshwater environments. Cases of N. fowleri infection have been reported from many of the southern-tier states in the United States, with Florida and Texas disproportionately represented among them. ⋯ Pediatric acute care practitioners in emergency departments, general pediatric wards, and critical care units, especially those practicing in the southern United States, should be familiar with the risk factors for acquisition of PAM, its clinical presentation, and the fact that common empiric treatment of bacterial meningitis will not treat N. fowleri. Herein, we present the case of an adolescent who died of PAM and review the (a) epidemiology, (b) pathophysiology, (c) available diagnostic modalities, (d) treatment options, and (e) outcomes of patients treated for N. fowleri infection of the central nervous system.
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Pediatric emergency care · Mar 2012
Use of tent for screening during H1N1 pandemic: impact on quality and cost of care.
This article aimed to assess the impact on quality and cost of care of using a tent in the emergency department (ED) parking lot to screen patients with an influenza-like illness (ILI). ⋯ The tent provided cost-effective care with measurable improvements in quality of care indicators. Our analytic model demonstrated that the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of tent during the H1N1 surge was modest. The tent may be a useful model during future pandemics.