Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Jun 2021
Invasive Bacterial Infections in Infants Younger Than 60 Days With Skin and Soft Tissue Infections.
The objective of this study was to describe the frequency of invasive bacterial infections (IBIs) in young infants with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) and the impact of IBI evaluation on disposition, length of stay (LOS), and cost. ⋯ Invasive bacterial infection occurs infrequently in infants younger than 60 days who present to children's hospital EDs with SSTI. Bacteremia is the most common IBI. More extensive evaluation for IBI is associated with increased rate of admission, LOS, and cost. Further studies are needed to evaluate the safety of a limited IBI evaluation in young infants with SSTI.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jun 2021
Comparison of the Demographics and Visit Characteristics of Patients Who Left the Pediatric Emergency Department Without Being Seen With Those Who Were Evaluated in the Emergency Department.
We compared those patients who left without being seen (LWBS) with those who stay for evaluation and determined which subsets were more likely to depart prematurely in the largest pediatric population studied to date. ⋯ Our findings demonstrated and confirmed that age, time of arrival, and acuity level upon presentation were predictors of patients leaving before evaluation. This can guide institutions with staffing and flow processes as they attempt to reduce LWBS rates but also raises further questions as to whether these subsets go forward to have worse clinical outcomes after leaving prematurely.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jun 2021
An Analysis of Computed Tomography-Related Radiation Exposure in Pediatric Trauma Patients.
To compare radiation doses used for pediatric computed tomography (CT) scans at community-based referring facilities (RF) to those at a designated pediatric trauma center (PTC) to assess the consistency of radiation exposure. ⋯ Our data suggest that CT scans performed at RFs expose pediatric patients to significantly higher doses of radiation when compared with a PTC. These data support further study to identify factors associated with increased radiation and educational outreach to RFs.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jun 2021
True Versus False Bacteremia in Infants and Children Less Than 3 Years of Age.
The objective of this study was to examine patient history as well as clinical and laboratory features associated with true bacteremia versus false bacteremia in previously healthy febrile children ages 0 to 36 months in the era of polyvalent conjugate pneumococcal immunization. ⋯ We found that previously healthy children with true bacteremia are more likely to grow bacteria faster on blood culture and lack exposure to sick contacts than children with false bacteremia.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jun 2021
Maintenance of Certification Pediatrics: Pediatric Emergency Medicine: The New Part 3 Maintenance of Certification Assessment Option.
Starting in 2022, the American Board of Pediatrics will launch the Maintenance of Certification Assessment for Pediatrics: Pediatric Emergency Medicine (MOCA-Peds: PEM) longitudinal assessment, which will provide an at-home alternative to the point-in-time examination. This longitudinal assessment will help engage PEM physicians participating in continuing certification in a more flexible and continuous lifelong, self-directed learning process while still providing a summative assessment of their knowledge. This commentary provides background information on MOCA-Peds and an introduction to MOCA-Peds: PEM and how it gives the PEM physician another option to participate in continuing certification.