Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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The objective was to compare video-assisted laryngoscopy (VAL) to direct laryngoscopy (DL) on success rate and complication rate of intubations performed in a pediatric emergency department (ED). ⋯ We found no difference between DL and VAL with regard to first-pass intubation success rate, complication rate, or rate of successful intubation by ED providers for children undergoing intubation in a pediatric ED.
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Interhospital transfer is a common strategy to provide high-quality regionalized care in rural emergency departments (EDs), but several reports have highlighted problems with selection of children for transfer. The purpose of this study is to characterize the burden of potentially avoidable transfer (PAT) and to estimate the medical and family-oriented costs associated with PAT. ⋯ Potentially avoidable pediatric interhospital transfer is common and is responsible for significant healthcare-related costs. Future work should focus on improving selection of children who benefit from interhospital transfer for high-yield conditions, to reduce the costly and distressing burden that PAT places on rural patients and their families.