Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · May 2006
Too long in the tooth: a descriptive study of adults presenting to a pediatric emergency department.
To describe the demographics, presenting complaints, diagnoses, and disposition of adults presenting to an Australian pediatric emergency department. It was hypothesized that most patients would be younger than 20 years, with low acuity complaints predominantly related to minor injuries resulting in a low admission rate. ⋯ Adult presentations were not infrequent. Twenty patients (41.7%) were within 1 year of the age cutoff at Princess Margaret Hospital. Although 45.8% of presentations had a low acuity, the majority of patients had Australasian Triage Scale scores of 2 or 3. The presentations were heterogeneous in nature, with injuries accounting for a large proportion. Most patients were referred for further care, but a minority were not compliant with follow-up instructions. There was a low admission rate.
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Pediatric emergency care · May 2006
The interrater reliability of a validated bronchiolitis severity assessment tool.
We previously constructed and tested a bronchiolitis severity assessment tool in 2 independent hospitals. The model uses age, work of breathing, dehydration and tachycardia to successfully predict disease severity. ⋯ Overall interrater reliability for this bronchiolitis severity assessment tool is substantial.
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Pediatric emergency care · May 2006
Maternal and child factors affecting high-volume pediatric emergency department use.
To describe maternal and child characteristics associated with high-volume nonurgent pediatric emergency department (ED) use. ⋯ Marital status, high maternal use of the ED, perception of the ED as the place to seek care for a sick child, and lack of weekend hours for usual source of care are associated with high-volume ED use among children. Given similarities in patterns of ED use among mothers and children, further attention is needed to address clinical practice and system issues that contribute to familial use of EDs.
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Pediatric emergency care · May 2006
Randomized Controlled TrialBrief focal ultrasound with topical anesthetic decreases the pain of intravenous placement in children.
To determine whether brief, focal pretreatment of children's skin with low-frequency ultrasound followed by a 5-minute application of a 4% lidocaine topical anesthetic decreases the pain of intravenous (IV) catheter placement. ⋯ Visual analog scale scores measuring children's pain and parents' perception of the child's pain were lower in those who were pretreated with brief focal ultrasound and 5 minutes of 4% lidocaine cream when compared with those pretreated with ultrasound and placebo.