Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2012
Case ReportsAn unusual cause of accidental hanging in a toddler.
Accidental hanging in children, although uncommon, has been reported worldwide. We report a case of a toddler who was brought to our hospital with an alleged history of hanging with his head trapped in-between the railings of a balcony. He became unconscious and developed seizures secondary to asphyxial injury and survived. ⋯ There is paucity of data in Indian literature regarding accidental hanging injuries in children. According to available data from western countries, strangulation ranks fourth among the causes of unintentional injury in children younger than 1 year after roadside accidents, drowning, and burns. The unique mode of hanging in this child has prompted us to report this case.
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2012
Case ReportsAltered lymphocyte counts in a pediatric patient with H5N1 infection.
Flow cytometry was used to analyze the changes in lymphocyte subsets in the youngest child with avian influenza in China. During the early stage, the absolute CD3 count was 62.9% (lower limit of normal), the CD8 count was 32.5% (slightly higher than normal), and the CD4 count was 28.6% (lower than normal). ⋯ During the convalescent stage, the CD4 count and the CD4/CD8 ratio returned to normal. The CD3CD1656 count increased from its value at the early stage of the disease.
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2012
Case ReportsDeep vein thrombosis and septic pulmonary emboli with MRSA osteomyelitis in a pediatric patient.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are relatively rare occurrences in the pediatric population. However, DVT and PE are associated with significant morbidity and mortality to the patient if not promptly diagnosed and treated. ⋯ The patient had a prolonged hospital course with multiple complications but was eventually discharged in a good condition. In areas with a high prevalence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus, it is important for physicians in the emergency department to be aware of the rare, but potentially fatal, complications of infection, including DVT with PE from septic emboli.
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2012
Intussusception: clinical presentations and imaging characteristics.
The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of clinical findings associated with intussusception based on age and to evaluate the test characteristics of the presence of air in the ascending colon on abdominal radiographs and the effectiveness of ultrasound in diagnosing intussusception. ⋯ Abdominal pain is the most common complaint in all ages for children presenting with intussusception. In children younger than 12 months, the strongest clinical predictors are emesis, irritability, and blood in the stool. For diagnosing intussusceptions, radiographs of the abdomen performed well, but ultrasound performed better, diagnosing intussusception in 92% of the cases.
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2012
Bedside ultrasound education in pediatric emergency medicine fellowship programs in the United States.
As the use of bedside ultrasound becomes more prevalent in pediatric emergency departments, the need for a national curriculum for fellows' training in pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) has increased. The objectives of this study were to describe the current state of bedside ultrasound education among existing PEM fellowship programs and to explore the interest in a national curriculum. ⋯ Bedside ultrasound use in pediatric emergency departments is very common, and PEM fellowship directors would welcome the development of a standard curriculum.