Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Dec 2020
Point-of-Care Ultrasound Diagnosis of Perforated Appendicitis in the Pediatric Emergency Department: A Case Series.
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is being used for clinical decision making with increasing frequency across a broad range of indications in pediatric emergency medicine (PEM). We present a series of 4 patients in whom POCUS was used to facilitate a diagnosis of perforated appendicitis.
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Pediatric emergency care · Dec 2020
Pediatric Emergency Department Return Visits: An Innovative and Systematic Approach to Promote Quality Improvement and Patient Safety.
Emergency department (ED) return visits (RVs) leading to hospital admission are a quality measure that can potentially signal gaps in patient care. Systematic capture and investigation of RVs at a case level can provide an understanding of patient- and visit-level factors associated with RVs, and thus inform system-level quality improvement (QI) opportunities. Our objective is to describe the development of a database that enables tracking and analyzing of all pediatric ED RVs, to understand recurring themes and inform QI initiatives. ⋯ Systematic monitoring and investigation of all ED RVs provides an innovative and effective approach to seeking provider- and system-level improvement opportunities.
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Pediatric emergency care · Dec 2020
Exposures to Single-Use Detergent Sacs Reported to a Statewide Poison Control System, 2013-2015.
Single-use detergent sacs (SUDSs) represent a relatively new household hazard to children. Brand differences and packaging changes may contribute to differential risks with accidental exposure. We sought to identify high-risk features from SUDS exposures in children and to assess whether product packaging changed trends in SUDS exposures reported to poison centers. ⋯ Central nervous system and respiratory effects as well as certain brand types predict serious outcomes from SUDS exposures. Manufacturing changes had a brief beneficial effect on the volume of SUDS exposures reported between 2013 and 2015.
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Emergency departments (EDs) varied in their preparedness to provide pediatric emergency care, with mortality rates being higher when EDs were unprepared. Guidelines are available to aid EDs in their preparedness. We aimed to determine the preparedness of EDs in our healthcare cluster using the guidelines from the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and International Federation for Emergency Medicine (IFEM) as references for audit. ⋯ The standards of pediatric emergency care were met to different extents in the healthcare cluster. Using available references, EDs should identify lapses unique to their own settings to improve the delivery of pediatric emergency care.
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Pediatric emergency care · Dec 2020
Pain Intensity and Risk of Bone Fracture in Children With Minor Extremity Injuries.
Injuries are one of the most common causes of pediatric emergency department (ED) visit. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the intensity of pain at the ED visit of children presenting with an extremity injury and the risk of fracture. ⋯ In this series, pain intensity in children with a minor extremity injury was not a good marker of fracture. Nevertheless, children with mild palpation pain or with a mild increase of pain between spontaneous and palpation pain had a low risk of fracture.