Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Feb 2013
Case ReportsSpontaneous spinal epidural hematoma in a teenage boy with cholestasis: a case report.
Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma (SSEH) is a rare condition, often causing significant neurologic morbidity owing to its insidious nature and difficulty in diagnosis. Initial nonspecific clinical findings make the timely diagnosis challenging. ⋯ Here, we present a case of SSEH where coagulopathy was originating from underlying cholestasis. This, to our knowledge, represents the first case reported in the literature where a primary cholestatic disease is the underlying etiology.
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Pediatric emergency care · Feb 2013
Case ReportsUse of conivaptan for refractory syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone in a pediatric patient.
The syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) is the most common form of hyponatremia in hospitalized patients. The available treatment options for SIADH are limited and not completely effective. ⋯ Conivaptan played an integral role in the treatment of hyponatremia in this situation when conventional treatment modalities were ineffective. This patient did not experience any adverse effects, and his sodium level corrected slowly over a 24-hour period, avoiding complications of rapid sodium correction.
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Pediatric emergency care · Feb 2013
Case ReportsThe necessity of simple X-ray examination: a case report of button battery migration into the nasal cavity.
Since the discovery of button battery, it has been widely applied in various electric devices. However, the button battery has a potential risk as a foreign body in the nasopharyngeal field. Thus, there is a need for early diagnosis and removal of these batteries. ⋯ The button battery was a potential risk because it contained toxic substances, could release an electrical current, and exerted direct pressure on the surrounding tissues. Surgical removal of button battery is the treatment of first choice. As for late complications, saddle nose is reported. Our patient would receive nasoplastic surgery around the age of 18 years. In summary, our patient's nose was not initially examined using x-ray study. It is very important to keep in mind the possibility of a nasal foreign body, not only for ear, nose, and throat doctors but also for pediatricians.
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Pediatric emergency care · Feb 2013
Case ReportsReducing the time in making the diagnosis and improving workflow with point-of-care ultrasound.
During the past decade, point-of-care ultrasound (POC US) has been increasingly performed in emergency medicine for a variety of indications. However, pediatric emergency physicians have been slower to understand the importance of POC US in the diagnosis of critical care cases. ⋯ This report illustrates the impact that POC US can make during an early diagnosis of intussusception. With thorough knowledge of the US features characteristic of intussusception, its accurate diagnosis using POC US has the potential to reduce morbidity and mortality as well as improve patient flow and throughput time in the ED.
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Commonly used acute asthma scoring systems assess severity of symptoms, whereas other clinical models aim to predict hospitalization; all rely on a measure of response to treatment and use the same criteria across age ranges. This may not reflect a child's changing physiology and response to illness as he or she grows older.This study aimed to find age-specific objective predictors of hospitalization readily known at triage. The goal is to identify rapidly those who will likely need admission regardless of treatment administered or response to aggressive treatment in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ Age-specific assessment is important in the evaluation of acute asthma or reactive airway exacerbation. Diastolic hypotension may serve as an early warning indicator of severity of disease and need for hospitalization. Variability by age group in vital sign predictor for admission calls for further development or refinement of age-specific asthma assessment tools.