Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2005
Case ReportsSigmoid sinus thrombosis following mastoiditis: early diagnosis enhances good prognosis.
Sigmoid sinus thrombosis following mastoiditis is a rare, but potentially life-threatening, condition. Its treatment usually consists of systemic antibiotics and mastoidectomy. In this report, we describe a pediatric case of sigmoid sinus thrombosis following mastoiditis, presenting with nonspecific symptoms such as fever, otalgia, and headache. ⋯ In conclusion, mastoiditis may present few clinical symptoms. In case of treatment failure or new-onset neurologic deficit in children with acute otitis media, life-threatening complications associated with mastoiditis should be considered. Early diagnosis is important, as favorable prognosis can be achieved with conservative management without performing any surgical intervention.
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2005
Case Reports Comparative StudyHospital pharmacy and emergency department availability of parenteral pyridoxine.
Pyridoxine is a recommended antidote that should be available in emergency departments (EDs). A pediatric use of this preparation is the treatment of acute seizures secondary to pyridoxine dependency or responsiveness. Two cases of children with pyridoxine-dependent and pyridoxine-responsive seizures whose treatment was affected by the unavailability of pyridoxine in local EDs are presented. These cases prompted the development of a survey to ascertain the availability of parenteral pyridoxine in the pharmacies and EDs of both children's and general hospitals in the United States. ⋯ Given the number of possible uses of parenteral pyridoxine in the ED, it is suggested that there is a case for all pediatric and general hospital pharmacies to have it on the formulary and further for all EDs in these hospitals to have injectable pyridoxine available for immediate use.
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2005
Predicting the need for hospitalization in acute childhood asthma using end-tidal capnography.
To explore the utility of end-tidal capnography for predicting hospitalization in acute childhood asthma. ⋯ This pilot study suggests that baseline capnography may be useful as an objective effort-independent tool for identifying children with an asthma exacerbation who are at risk for hospitalization.