Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Nov 2020
Case ReportsSpinal Epidural Abscess in an Infant Presenting as Fever and Respiratory Distress.
A 9-month-old healthy female presented during winter to the emergency department with a chief complaint of fever and prominent respiratory symptoms. She was discharged on oseltamivir with a presumptive diagnosis of influenza. She returned to the emergency department 2 days later with continued fever and more upper respiratory symptoms. ⋯ When her high fevers continued, bloodwork that was concerning for leukocytosis, elevated inflammatory markers, and elevated alkaline phosphatase was obtained. During her workup for fever, a full body magnetic resonance imaging was performed, which revealed the diagnosis of a C3 to L5 spinal epidural abscess. This case demonstrates the difficulty of making this important diagnosis in a preverbal child presenting with a concurrent virus during winter viral season.
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Pediatric emergency care · Nov 2020
Endoscopic Findings Associated With Button Battery Ingestion in Children: Do We Need to Change the Protocol for Managing Gastric Location?
Ingested button batteries (BB) can cause corrosive damage of digestive mucosa within minutes. Immediate endoscopic removal of esophageal BB has been clearly established, but the management of BB located in the stomach is still controversial. ⋯ Esophageal BB cause damage within hours. The BB located in the stomach may also cause damage early. Extraction of gastric BB before 48 hours should be considered.
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Pediatric emergency care · Nov 2020
Case ReportsTwo-Year-Old With Sleep Disturbance and Left Arm Movements.
A 29-month-old boy presented to a pediatric emergency department with complaints of trouble sleeping for more than a week. History consisted of episodes of screaming while asleep from which he could not be awakened. A detailed physical examination revealed left arm dystonia and left plantar reflex to be upgoing. ⋯ The patient was discharged with residual defects that will need long-term therapy. The varied presenting symptoms are easily misinterpreted as common clinical entities. Pediatric emergency physicians need to be aware of the wide spectrum of presenting symptoms for this clinical entity because earlier diagnosis and treatment have been shown to improve long-term morbidity.
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Pediatric emergency care · Nov 2020
Emergency Medicine Providers' Knowledge and Management of Pediatric Tropical Diseases: A Needs Assessment.
The aim of this study was to perform a needs assessment of pediatric (PEM) and general emergency medicine (EM) provider knowledge, comfort, and current practice patterns in the evaluation of pediatric tropical infectious diseases. ⋯ Pediatric EM and EM providers' knowledge and evaluation for pediatric tropical diseases are variable. Providers recognized their knowledge gaps and expressed interest in gaining access to resources and guidelines to standardize and improve evaluation and treatment of these diseases.