Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Aug 2018
Observational StudyChanges in Pediatric-Sized Endotracheal Tube Cuff Pressure With Elevation Gain: Observations in Ex Vivo Simulations and In Vivo Air Medical Transport.
Prolonged excessive endotracheal cuff pressure greater than 30 cmH2O is thought to cause ischemic airway injury. Excessive cuff pressure with altitude gain during air medical transport has been previously described in adult patients. It is poorly understood how pediatric-sized endotracheal tube (ETT) cuffs behave with atmospheric pressure change during flight. ⋯ Children who are intubated with cuffed ETTs for air medical transport are subject to excessive endotracheal cuff pressure at even low flight altitudes. Endotracheal tube size did not affect the degree of cuff pressure change, contrary to previous study. These findings need to be validated and correlated to patient clinical outcomes. The implications of these data need to be considered clinically particularly for prolonged transport of intubated pediatric patients at elevation.
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Pediatric emergency care · Aug 2018
Observational StudyDefining No Pain, Mild, Moderate, and Severe Pain Based on the Faces Pain Scale-Revised and Color Analog Scale in Children With Acute Pain.
The aims of this study were to define the Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R) and Color Analog Scale (CAS) scores associated with no pain, mild pain, moderate pain, and severe pain in children with acute pain, and to identify differences based on age, sex, and ethnicity. ⋯ We defined pain scores for the FPS-R and CAS associated with categories of pain intensity in children with acute pain that are generalizable across subgroups based on patient characteristics. There were minor but potentially important differences in pain scores used to delineate categories of pain intensity compared to prior convention.
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We report a 21-month-old boy with a sutured laceration of the left upper eyelid with drainage of cerebrospinal fluid. Careful evaluation, including computerized tomography, revealed a penetrating injury of the left orbital wall and a linear bone fracture. The wound was resutured carefully. There was no cerebrospinal fluid leakage in the postoperative follow-up period.
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Pediatric emergency care · Aug 2018
Presentation of Acute Childhood Stroke in a Tertiary Pediatric Emergency Department.
The aim was to describe clinical presentation, management, and outcomes of stroke in a tertiary emergency department (ED) of a developing country. ⋯ The spectrum of stroke in a developing country was similar to published series from developed countries in terms of final diagnosis, risk factors, and delay to ED presentation, neuroimaging, and long-term neurodeficits. No tropical diseases were identified as risk factors.
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Pediatric emergency care · Aug 2018
Assessing Dehydration Employing End-Tidal Carbon Dioxide in Children With Vomiting and Diarrhea.
Serum bicarbonate reflects dehydration severity in children with gastroenteritis. Previous work in children receiving intravenous rehydration has correlated end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2) with serum bicarbonate. We evaluated whether EtCO2 predicts weight change in children with vomiting and/or diarrhea. ⋯ The limited accuracy of EtCO2 measurement to predict 5% or more dehydration precludes its use as a tool to assess dehydration severity in children. End-tidal carbon dioxide monitoring does not have the ability to identify those children with 5% or more dehydration in a cohort of children with vomiting and/or diarrhea presenting for ED care.