Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Apr 2007
ReviewAlternative airway devices for use in children requiring prehospital airway management: update and case discussion.
This manuscript reviews the latest literature on alternative airways for use in children requiring prehospital airway management. Case discussions serve as a springboard for discussion of alternatives to bag-mask ventilation and endotracheal intubation for management of ventilation in infants and children in the prehospital setting. Few airway procedures have been studied with any rigor in this setting, and most of the data that are available are extrapolated from adults. Laryngeal mask airway may be the best alternative airway with the most promise to add to the armamentarium of the prehospital provider, but no controlled trial to date has been conducted.
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Pediatric emergency care · Apr 2007
ReviewIs cardiopulmonary resuscitation warranted in children who suffer cardiac arrest post trauma?
The use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is accepted universally for patients with cardiovascular compromise. However, outcomes from CPR in subsets of trauma patients may not be as good as initially thought. This article reviews the literature on outcomes from traumatic arrest in both adults and children. ⋯ Finally, we discuss possible reasons to resuscitate. Organ donation and the ethics of nontherapeutic ventilation and other strategies to increase the donor pool are discussed. We hope to stimulate discussion around a very difficult issue.
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Pediatric emergency care · Apr 2007
Comparative StudyAccuracy of weight estimation methods for children.
To evaluate differences in accuracy of 2 weight estimation methods for children when compared with measured weights: the Broselow-Luten tape (patient's height as the predictor) and the devised weight estimation method (DWEM) (patient's height and body habitus as predictors). ⋯ Although both the Broselow-Luten and DWEM weight estimations show statistical correlation with measured weights, the Broselow-Luten method underestimates weights in all weight classes, and the DWEM underestimates weights in the weight classes greater than 20 kg.
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Pediatric emergency care · Apr 2007
Case ReportsPresentation of systemic lupus erythematosus in emergency department.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem inflammatory disease that is often difficult to diagnose in the emergency department. It is an autoimmune disease with great variability in presentation and course. ⋯ The emergency physician must maintain a high degree of suspicion for the early diagnosis and management of this important condition. We present 3 children who presented to emergency department with different initial manifestations of SLE.