Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Jan 2022
Utility of Body Habitus Parameters to Determine and Improve the Accuracy of the Broselow Tape.
The aims of this study were to determine and improve accuracy of the Broselow Tape (BT) in estimating children's weight by adding body habitus parameters. ⋯ We conclude that there might be inaccuracies in the weight predicted by BT in our patient population, especially those weighing more than 15 kg and older than 2 years. Our study also demonstrates that MTC correlates closely with the actual weight and could be used in addition to BT for more accurate weight estimation.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jan 2022
Quality of Resuscitative Care Provided to an Infant With Abusive Head Trauma in Community Emergency Departments: An In Situ, Prospective, Simulation-Based Study.
Abusive head trauma (AHT) is a very common and serious form of physical abuse, and a major cause of mortality and morbidity for young children. Early Recognition and supportive care of children with AHT is a common challenge in community emergency department (CEDs). We hypothesized that standardized, in situ simulation can be used to measure and compare the quality of resuscitative measures provided to children with AHT in a diverse set of CEDs. ⋯ This study used in situ simulation to describe quality of resuscitative care provided to an infant presenting with AHT across a diverse set of CEDs, revealing variability in the initial recognition and stabilizing efforts and provided and targets for improvement. Future interventions focusing on reducing these gaps could improve the performance of CED providers and lead to improved patient outcomes.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jan 2022
Observational StudyPoint-of-Care Ultrasound for Central Venous Assessment in the Emergency Department: A Prospective Study Comparing the Femoral and Internal Jugular Veins.
The objective of this study was to estimate the width, height, and depth of the femoral vein (FV) and internal jugular vein (IJV), both sites of potential central line placement in children, using point-of-care ultrasound. ⋯ The IJV was significantly wider and taller than the FV in the same child in all age groups. The FV was significantly deeper than the IJV in children 6 years and older. This supports the use of the IJV as a potential site when placing ultrasound-guided central lines in children.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jan 2022
Design and Test of a Graphic Medication Dosage Calculator in Paramedic Practice With Children.
Children are more vulnerable to medication errors during prehospital care because of paramedic staff having less experience with pediatric patients. One of the possible solutions to this problem is the use of technologies as cognitive aids to medication dosage calculation. ⋯ The results show that the graphic calculator was usable, more effective, efficient, and preferred compared with the current dosage calculation method. Technologies such as the graphic calculator designed and tested in this study can help not only with the rare cases, such as pediatrics, but might also mitigate skill decay.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jan 2022
Acute Care Utilization and Health Care Expenditures in Medicaid-Enrolled Children.
Although recent health care reform efforts have focused on minimizing high cost health care utilization, the relationship between acute care use and health care expenditures among certain vulnerable populations such as Medicaid-insured children remains poorly understood. We sought to evaluate the association between acute care utilization and health care expenditures and to identify characteristics associated with high spending. ⋯ Medicaid spending for children increases with increasing acute care use; this trend was disproportionately observed in older age groups and children without chronic medical conditions. Improved understanding of factors contributing to frequent acute care utilization and disproportionate spending is needed to potentially reduce unnecessary health care costs in these pediatric populations.