Anales de pediatría : publicación oficial de la Asociación Española de Pediatría (A.E.P.)
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The systemic inflammatory response syndrome developed after cardiac surgery impedes the detection of complications. The aim of our study was to examine the behaviour of C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT), as well as to evaluate its relationship with severity and to analyse its usefulness in the identification of complications. ⋯ CPR does not correlate with the severity or the incidence of complications after paediatric cardiac surgery. PCT correlates with clinical severity and may be able to detect post-surgical complications.
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Ultrasound does not distinguish between different types of synovitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate its contribution, together with several clinical data, in the diagnosis of septic arthritis (SA) and transient synovitis (TS) of the hip. ⋯ In spite of the study limitations (sample size and low prevalence) the combination of age and history of fever appears to be useful in distinguishing transient synovitis from septic arthritis. The contribution of ultrasound was to confirm the presence of joint effusion.
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The aim of this study is to report nasal nitric oxide (nNO) values in children with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) and to compare them with nNO values in healthy children, asthmatic children, children with cystic fibrosis and children with post infectious bronchiectasis. ⋯ The measurement of nasal NO appears to be a useful tool for screening children for PCD, in which a cut-off level of < or =112 ppb suggests the disease, although nNO above 112 ppb does not exclude PCD.
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Intracranial hypertension (ICH) is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with severe traumatic head injuries. Decompressive craniectomy (DC) is a surgical technique that allows to reduce intracranial pressure (ICP) and to improve cerebral blood flow. ⋯ DC is an alternative for the management of refractory intracranial hypertension in children and adolescents with severe TBI. It could be used simultaneously with the barbiturate coma or as an alternative, particularly in haemodynamically unstable patients.
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[Study on the suitability of ambulance transportation to a paediatric medical emergency department].
To evaluate the appropriateness of ambulance use as transport to Emergency Medical Services and to determine if ambulance use is associated with preferential attention and to illness severity. ⋯ A high number of patients arriving by ambulance could have used another means of transport. However, the greater severity of a significant number of patients justifies the preferential attention given. Triage use in all patients arriving by ambulance would help in the detection of high priority cases and to improve the Emergency Department performance.