Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Jan 2013
Hospital-based emergency preparedness: evacuation of the neonatal intensive care unit-the smallest and most vulnerable population.
The objective of this study was to report an experience with a full-scale neonatal intensive care unit evacuation exercise. ⋯ When a disaster occurs, hospital clinical staff, emergency management, and administrators may help avoid unnecessarily high morbidity and mortality among the smallest and most vulnerable patients by developing and practicing contingency plans. We learned what our rate-limiting steps are and how we would mitigate these.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jan 2013
Characteristics and diagnoses of neonates who revisit a pediatric emergency center.
Families with neonates may utilize emergency centers (ECs) for nonurgent complaints. We sought to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of neonates evaluated in an urban tertiary children's EC more than once in a 5-day period and to determine the frequency of serious illnesses and admission at the second visit. ⋯ Of neonates discharged from the EC with nonurgent medical issues, more than a third of those revisiting the EC required admission within 5 days. The risk of fever, respiratory distress, and admission was higher in neonates who originally presented with infectious symptoms than neonates who presented with noninfectious process. Of neonates presenting twice with gastroesophageal reflux and/or vomiting, almost a third had pyloric stenosis, indicating that close follow-up of vomiting neonates is needed.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jan 2013
The characteristics and outcomes of foreign body ingestion and aspiration in children due to lodged foreign body in the aerodigestive tract.
Injury due to foreign body (FB) aspiration and/or ingestion is a common and serious pediatric emergency. Foreign body injury (FBI) most commonly occurs in children younger than 6 years, and the incidence of FBI has increased in recent years. The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare the characteristics of FBI due to ingestion and aspiration. ⋯ Prevention is the key to dealing with FBIs. Because the frequency of foreign bodies is higher in underdeveloped countries, education of parents regarding the dangers and prevention of aspiration and ingestion is important.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jan 2013
Case ReportsTorsion of the ovary in an incarcerated inguinal hernia.
A 2.5-month-old girl with a left-sided, painful inguinal swelling for the last 2 days was brought to the emergency department. After physical examination and radiological evaluation, the diagnosis of incarcerated inguinal hernia of the ovary was made. Because of the long-standing history, she was taken to the operation room without an attempt for manual reduction. ⋯ The majority of the painful inguinal swellings in the infancy are related to incarcerated hernia. The treatment option varies from manual reduction to surgical intervention, depending on the duration from beginning of swelling to the time the exact diagnosis was made. Even though the presence of short-term history and the lack of peritoneal irritation findings are indications for a manual reduction, the suspicion of an ovarian torsion should be raised for ovaries within the incarcerated inguinal hernia, and ovarian viability should be considered before an attempt of manual reduction.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jan 2013
Which management strategy do parents prefer for their head-injured child: immediate computed tomography scan or observation?
The objectives of this study were to determine which method of head injury evaluation, immediate computed tomography (CT) or observation, parents would prefer for their child when given the opportunity to make an informed decision and to determine factors influencing preference. ⋯ When given the opportunity to make an informed decision regarding the evaluation of their head-injured child, parents were divided as to their preference. A small majority preferred observation.