Pediatric emergency care
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Viral bronchiolitis is the most common cause of hospitalization among infants. Despite its prevalence, no consistently effective therapy has been found to date, providing the driving force behind much of the ongoing research into this illness. In this review, we present a summary of the most recent published trials of interventions for bronchiolitis. Included are studies evaluating bronchodilators, corticosteroids, positive pressure ventilation, as well as 3 newer therapies for bronchiolitis: heliox, mucolytics, and leukotriene receptor antagonists.
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Pediatric emergency care · Apr 2010
Compliance of child care centers in Pennsylvania with national health and safety performance standards for emergency and disaster preparedness.
To determine the preparedness of child care centers in Pennsylvania to respond to emergencies and disasters based on compliance with National Health and Safety Performance Standards for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs. ⋯ Although many of the child care centers we surveyed are in compliance with the recommendations for emergency and disaster preparedness, specific areas for improvement include increasing the frequency of practice of the WEP, establishing specific written procedures for external disasters and urgent medical emergencies, maintaining the immediate availability of potentially life-saving medications, and ensuring that all child care center staff are trained in first aid and CPR.
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Pediatric emergency care · Apr 2010
Case ReportsTension gastrothorax-colothorax secondary to traumatic diaphragmatic hernia.
Traumatic diaphragmatic hernia secondary to diaphragmatic injury is a recognized complication following trauma. It is frequently unrecognized in acute trauma, and delayed presentations with complications are not uncommon. We report the case of a 12-year-old boy presenting in respiratory distress 1 year after blunt abdominal trauma. ⋯ The hernia was reduced, and a noncongenital diaphragmatic defect was repaired. Although well described in patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, tension gastrothorax-colothorax has not been well characterized in traumatic diaphragmatic hernia. We present the second reported pediatric case and discuss the diagnostic workup, operative approach, and postoperative course of this unusual condition.
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Pediatric emergency care · Apr 2010
Adolescents' perceptions of interpersonal communication, respect, and concern for privacy in an urban tertiary-care pediatric emergency department.
To measure adolescents' perceived overall satisfaction with health care in a pediatric emergency department (PED), identify key factors that contributed to satisfaction, and determine how these factors interacted with length of stay (LOS) and triage acuity. ⋯ Adolescents expressed high levels of satisfaction with their overall PED experience at our institution. Interpersonal communication and respect highly correlated with overall satisfaction. A multicenter study using a similar self-administered survey would further support the relationship between key factors and PED adolescent satisfaction. Utilization of a self-administered survey for adolescent research is feasible in the PED and could be used to improve quality control measures for adolescent care.