Anales de pediatría : publicación oficial de la Asociación Española de Pediatría (A.E.P.)
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The international bibliographic databases (Medline, Embase, Current Contents, etc.) are one of the main sources of information in medicine. Because only some Spanish journals are included in these databases, knowledge and use of the Indice Médico Español (IME) is also important because this database includes almost all Spanish biomedical and scientific journals (basic, experimental and clinical), which provides certain well known advantages for authors and editors in Spain. Of the journals indexed at any given time in the IME (461 journals), those related to pediatrics constitute 5.2 % of the total (24 journals) with a total of 21,006 documents. ⋯ The hypothetical national IF of Anales de Pediatría (0.334) is noteworthy among Spanish medical journals overall and is much higher than those of Acta Pediátrica Española (0.134), Pediatrika (0.119), Cirugía Pediátrica (0.099) and Revista Española de Pediatría (0.079). The international IF of Anales de Pediatría (0.372) is higher than that of some pediatrics journals included in the Science Citation Index. The IME should be included in bibliographic search strategies for scientific information in pediatrics as a complement to international databases.
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To describe patient demand and management in a hospital pediatric emergency setting. ⋯ The number of patients attended in our pediatric emergency unit gradually increased between 1995 and 2002, mostly due to young children with fever or respiratory distress. In nearly half of the patients, a thorough anamnesis and physical examination were sufficient for evaluation. Because many of the processes were of recent onset, continuous observation, whether at home or in hospital, was useful to adequately monitor these children.
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The most common causes of persistent cough are upper respiratory tract disease (postnasal drip syndrome, infections) and asthma. In the last year, six patients (four boys and two girls), aged 7-12 years old, with a diagnosis of hard-to-manage asthma and/or persistent cough were referred to our department. All the patients had undergone treatment with multiple drugs for long periods without favorable clinical response. ⋯ Intelligence quotient was in the lower normal range and generalized anxiety order was identified, thus establishing a diagnosis of psychogenic cough. Treatment consisted of relaxation techniques and psychopedagogic support with favorable outcome. To avoid diagnostic errors and inappropriate treatment, psychogenic cough should be included in the differential diagnosis of persistent cough and hard-to-manage asthma.
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The Internet has revolutionized access to biomedical information among health professionals and the general public. There is demand for pediatric societies to develop quality contents directed at both pediatricians and parents. ⋯ The presence of pediatric societies on the Internet is acceptable, without noteworthy differences between Spanish organizations and member organizations of the Latin American Pediatric Association. In general, interaction with parents is of poor quality.
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Measuring the quality of care in emergency departments requires tools to quantify the most important aspects in the care process. The quality indicator is the quantitative measure used in quality assurance. ⋯ The quality indicators are useful in measuring concrete and specific aspects of clinical care and in providing information on quality. The indicators provide valid, reliable and objective information. The indicator is an early warning sign to identify areas requiring improvement and allows appropriate measures to be taken to correct the detected deficiencies. The use of indicators allows comparisons with uniform criteria to be made.