Pediatric emergency care
-
Pediatric emergency care · Nov 2022
A Comparison of Temperature Thresholds to Begin Laboratory Evaluation of Well-Appearing Febrile Infants.
Young infants who develop fever are at an increased risk for serious infection. It is unclear, however, what temperature cutoff would be optimal to begin evaluating these infants because some criteria use different thresholds. We sought to determine the percentage of infants presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with a temperature less than 38.2°C who develop serious infection compared with those with higher temperatures. ⋯ In this study, we found that infants with temperatures lower than 38.2°C were significantly less likely to have a serious infection than those with higher temperatures. Using an evaluation cutoff of 38.2°C, however, would likely miss a clinically important number of well-appearing infants with serious infections.
-
Pediatric emergency care · Nov 2022
Evaluation of a Novel Point-of-Care Ultrasound Curriculum for First-Year Pediatric Residents.
The aim of the study is to evaluate a novel point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) educational curriculum for pediatric residents. ⋯ Postgraduate year 1 pediatric residents learned the basics of POCUS through 3 brief educational sessions. The increase in posttest scores demonstrated improved POCUS knowledge, and the high OSCE score demonstrated their ability to acquire ultrasound images. Point-of-care ultrasound guidelines are needed for pediatric residency programs.
-
Pediatric emergency care · Nov 2022
Evaluating the Clinical Impact of a Novel Pediatric Emergency Medicine Curriculum on Asthma Outcomes in Belize.
Respiratory-related complaints prompt most pediatric visits to Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Authority's (KHMHA) Emergency Department (ED) in Belize. We developed and taught a novel pediatric respiratory emergencies module for generalist practitioners there. We assessed the curriculum's clinical impact on pediatric asthma emergency management. ⋯ The curriculum positively impacted clinical outcomes leading to earlier albuterol administration, increased PRAM score use, obtaining less chest radiographs, and decreased admission rates. The timeliness of systemic steroid administration was unaffected.
-
Pediatric emergency care · Nov 2022
Evaluation of the Relationship Between Head Trauma and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Primary School Children Admitted to the Emergency Department.
Head trauma causes a significant number of deaths as well as temporary and permanent disabilities every year. In this study, the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in primary school children who visited the emergency department (ED) for mild head trauma and the role of ADHD in mild head trauma of this age group were investigated. ⋯ The prevalence of ADHD has been found to be higher in children of primary school age who present to the ED with mild head trauma. Hence, it can be deduced that the diagnosis of childhood ADHD increases the risk of presenting to the ED with head trauma. We believe that it is very important to keep the possible diagnosis of ADHD in mind and to refer that cases to the CAPD in case of high clinical suspicion, especially in primary school boys who are admitted to the ED with mild head trauma. We believe that in this way, morbidity and mortality due to head trauma in this age group can be significantly reduced.
-
Pediatric emergency care · Nov 2022
Case ReportsHypoxia and Polycythemia: A Pediatric Emergency Department Point of Care Ultrasound Diagnosis of Pulmonary AVM.
Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) can be useful in the differentiation between cardiac and pulmonary etiologies of hypoxia. Here, we present a child with signs of chronic hypoxia, found on POCUS to have multiple pulmonary arteriovenous malformations. A combination of POCUS and history supported a presumptive pediatric emergency department diagnosis of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. This case is the first case of a pulmonary arteriovenous malformation found on POCUS and reinforces the importance of POCUS as a first-line examination in the evaluation of chronic hypoxia in the pediatric emergency department.