Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Jul 2021
Parental Attitudes and Knowledge About Lumbar Puncture in Children.
Lumbar puncture (LP) is fundamental for diagnosis and treatment; however, some parents do not provide consent for their children to undergo the procedure, which can make diagnosis and determination of the optimal treatment difficult. The present study aimed to describe the level of knowledge and attitudes toward LP of parents whose children were scheduled to undergo the procedure. ⋯ We found that most parents had little knowledge about LP, and the most common parental concern was paralysis. Despite this, in our study, only 5% of parents did not consent to LP.
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Single-sided (1-tailed) and double-sided (2-tailed) probabilities are products of statistical tests that can be crucial to drawing accurate conclusions in scientific studies. In a review of articles published in issues of Pediatric Emergency Care from 2020, we identified 2 where single-sided versus double-sided probability issues potentially reversed a conclusion of study investigators. The purpose of this study is to describe single-sided versus double-sided probability issues found in Pediatric Emergency Care 2020 articles to increase awareness surrounding these issues. ⋯ These articles demonstrate how single-sided versus double-sided probability issues can cause researchers to draw inaccurate conclusions. As such, we would urge that this be more rigorously evaluated when the P values are between 0.05 and 0.10.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jul 2021
Trends in Head Computed Tomography Utilization in Children Presenting to Emergency Departments After Traumatic Head Injury.
Although closed head injuries occur commonly in children, most do not have a clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI) and do not require neuroimaging. We sought to determine whether the utilization of computed tomography of the head (CT-H) in children presenting to an emergency department (ED) with a closed head injury changed after publication of validated clinical prediction rules to identify children at risk of ciTBI by the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN). ⋯ There was no overall reduction in CT-H utilization after publication of the 2009 PECARN prediction rules. However, patients treated at metropolitan teaching hospitals were significantly less likely to undergo CT-H after 2009, suggesting some penetration of the PECARN tool in that setting. Further research should study patterns of CT-H utilization in nonteaching hospitals and nonmetropolitan hospitals to assess challenges for adoption of validated pediatric ciTBI prediction rules.
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Pediatric emergency care · Jul 2021
Treatment Outcomes of Pediatric Status Epilepticus in a Tertiary Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
Status epilepticus is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality; thus, early diagnosis and proper treatment are crucial. We aimed to study the etiology, clinical features, and treatment among pediatric patients with convulsive status epilepticus. ⋯ Phenytoin is still one of the most efficient antiepileptic drugs. If the duration of status epilepticus can be shortened by prompt treatment, neurological complications may be prevented.