Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · May 2020
Case ReportsTraumatic Pneumoperitoneum After Vaginal Intercourse.
Pneumoperitoneum with peritonitis, although uncommon, is a serious injury encountered in the pediatric emergency department. Although the patients may often appear ill or toxic, they can have normal vital signs at initial presentation. Patients with such injury can present with a variety of complaints because of the nature of referred pain. As a result, some patients may be more or less straightforward, thus illustrating the importance of obtaining a detailed history and performing a thorough physical examination. ⋯ Pneumoperitoneum resulting from vaginal intercourse in an otherwise healthy adolescent female is a rare cause of peritonitis. Although it has been described in the adult literature, this case illustrates the importance of considering sexual history as a contributory factor in pediatric patients presenting with an acute abdomen.
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Pediatric emergency care · May 2020
Case ReportsPerforated Meckel Diverticulum: A Rare Cause of Acute Abdomen in Children.
Meckel diverticulum (MD) is the most common congenital anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract and the most common cause of gastrointestinal bleeding in children. Although it usually follows the rule of 2's, exceptions to this rule are reported in the literature. Often asymptomatic, MD is commonly an incidental finding during surgical interventions. ⋯ Meckel diverticulum has been reported to mimic other abdominal pathologies like appendicitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and pancreatitis to name a few. We report a patient with acute abdomen in whom the more common causes of acute abdomen were ruled out and a diagnosis of MD was established on exploratory laparoscopy, only after he developed perforation. This report emphasizes the need for maintaining a high index of suspicion towards a possibility of a complicated MD in patients presenting with an acute abdomen, once other causes of acute abdomen are ruled out.
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Pediatric emergency care · May 2020
Virtual Pediatric Emergency Department Telehealth Network Program: A Case Series.
Pediatric patients living in rural, underserved areas have reduced access to medical care. There is a lack of research describing the use of telemedicine (TM) for general pediatric emergency medicine (PEM). In 2013, we established the Child Ready Virtual Pediatric Emergency Department Telehealth Network (CR-VPED), a PEM TM consultation service serving rural hospitals across the state of New Mexico. The aim of this article is to describe our experience for 6 years (2013-2018). ⋯ Previous studies have investigated the use of TM in pediatric acute care, but most studies have focused on critical care or subspecialty care in the office setting. Our experience with CR-VPED has shown that it has been feasible to provide general pediatric emergency care to patients in underserved, rural emergency departments across New Mexico. Patients requiring TM consultation were heterogeneous in age and presentation.
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Pediatric emergency care · May 2020
Review Case ReportsUltrasound-Guided Posterior Tibial Nerve Block for Plantar Foot Foreign Body Removal.
Ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia is a growing modality within the pediatric emergency department. Here we present a case where a posterior tibial nerve block was used for anesthesia during foreign body removal from the plantar foot. We further review the technique and literature regarding this straightforward and highly effective procedure.