Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Oct 2022
Characteristics of a Pediatric Emergency Psychiatric Telephone Triage Service.
Caregivers of youth in psychiatric crisis often seek treatment from hospital emergency departments (EDs) as their first point of entry into the mental health system. Emergency departments have struggled over the last decade with growing numbers and now, because of the pandemic, have experienced a deluge of mental health crises. As one approach to divert unnecessary ED admissions, pediatric emergency psychiatric telephone triage services have been created. This study aimed to define the characteristics and utilization of a pediatric triage service and to examine clinician documentation of calls to identify the assessment of risk and disposition. ⋯ A dearth of information on pediatric crisis telephone triage services exists; thus, developing an evidence base is an important area for future work. This information assists not only in our understanding of which, why, and how many youths are diverted from the ED but allows us to extrapolate significant costs that have been saved because of the utilization of the triage service.
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Pediatric emergency care · Oct 2022
Describing the Patient Population of a Pediatric Emergency Department Based on Visit Frequency.
A small number of children in the United States use a disproportionate share of emergency healthcare services. Our study objective was to examine characteristics associated with frequent pediatric emergency department (PED) utilization. ⋯ Although the percentage of frequent users to a PED in 2017 was low, they made up a disproportionate share of total visits. Differences between persistent and incidental frequent PED users suggest that these subgroups may benefit from tailored interventions to reduce frequent PED utilization.
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Pediatric emergency care · Oct 2022
Effectiveness of a Reliable Toxicological Analysis for a Correct Diagnosis of Acute Intoxication in Pediatrics: 2-Year Experience of an Analytical Toxicological Laboratory.
This study aimed to assess the role of the laboratory of toxicology as a support for a correct diagnosis of intoxication through the application of a reliable analytical approach, critically designed to meet pediatric needs. ⋯ An analytical approach critically designed to minimize misinterpretation of laboratory data and able to provide reliable results for a wide number of substances in a time compatible with the urgency represents a useful support for a correct diagnosis of intoxication in pediatrics.