Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2023
Multicenter StudyValidity of the Adrogué-Madias Formula for the Management of Acute Dysnatremias in Critically Ill Children: A Prospective Multicenter Analysis.
Current conventional formulas do not predict the expected changes in serum sodium after administration of various fluids to correct serum sodium abnormalities. The Adrogué-Madias formula is currently the preferred and widely used fluid prescription for adult patients with dysnatremias, but its therapeutic efficacy has not been validated in pediatric patients. ⋯ This study demonstrates that the use of the Adrogué-Madias quantitative formula allows to calculate the appropriate rate of administration of various fluids. The calculated fluid administration resulted in the subsequent actual laboratory values and clinical changes.
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2023
Nighttime Sedations in the Pediatric Emergency Department: A Single-Center Experience.
Procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) is the standard of care for many procedures in the pediatric emergency department (PED). Although generally performed by skilled PED physicians, in Israeli PEDs, during nighttime hours, it is mainly performed by pediatric residents. The safety of PSA by residents is considered comparable yet has not been evaluated regarding nighttime performance. ⋯ Sedations performed during nighttime hours by pediatric residents seem safe and effective. This should strengthen the empowerment of residents to perform sedations when necessary even at late hours of the night. Recognizing cases at higher risk may avoid possible AEs.
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2023
Case ReportsOut-of-Hospital Pediatric Video Laryngoscopy With an Adult Device: A Case Series Presented With a Contemporary Group Intubated With Direct Laryngoscopy.
After introducing an adult video laryngoscope (VL) in our physician-paramedic prehospital and retrieval medical service, our quality assurance process identified this blade being used during pediatric intubations. We present a case series of pediatric intubations using this oversized adult VL alongside a contemporaneous group of direct laryngoscopy (DL) intubations. ⋯ Adult VL became the most common method of intubation in patients older than 1 year during the study period. An adult C-MAC4 VL could be considered for clinicians who prefer VL when a pediatric VL is unavailable or as a second-line device if a pediatric VL is not present when intubating children older than 1 year.
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2023
Yield of Postmortem Skeletal Surveys in Infants Presenting to Emergency Care With Sudden and Unexpected Death.
Child abuse should be considered in cases of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID). Postmortem skeletal surveys (PM-SS) are recommended to evaluate for abusive fractures in SUID. Little is known about the yield of PM-SS among infants presenting to emergency care with SUID. Our objectives were to (1) describe the presentation and care of infants with SUID at a tertiary children's hospital emergency department and (2) report PM-SS use and findings. ⋯ One in 12 cases of SUID had a possible and/or definite fracture identified on plain radiography. Multicenter studies are needed to compare yield across different postmortem imaging modalities and populations.
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Pediatric emergency care · Sep 2023
Observational StudyStroke Volume Measurements by Echocardiography and Ultrasonic Cardiac Output Monitor in Children: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study.
Stroke volume (SV) and cardiac output monitoring is a cornerstone of hemodynamic assessment. Noninvasive technologies are increasingly used in children. This study compared SV measurements obtained by transcutaneous Doppler ultrasound techniques (ultrasonic cardiac output monitor [USCOM]), transthoracic echocardiography jugular (TTE-J), and parasternal (TTE-P) views performed by pediatric intensivists (OP-As) with limited training in cardiac sonography (20 previous examinations) and pediatric cardiologists (OP-Bs) with limited training in USCOM (30 previous examinations) in spontaneously ventilating children. ⋯ Our findings show that the methods are not interchangeable because SV values by USCOM are higher in comparison with the SV values obtained by TTE. Both methods have low level of intraobserver variability. The SV measurements obtained by TTE-P were significantly lower compared with the TTE-J for the operator with limited training in echocardiography. The TTE-P requires longer practice compared with the TTE-J; therefore, we recommend to prefer TTE-J to TTE-P for inexperienced operators.