Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Oct 1999
Comparative StudyCurrent income profile for academic pediatric emergency medicine faculty.
To survey academic pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) programs for information on financial compensation and patient care activities of PEM faculty and compare the results to the financial data published by the AAEM, AAAP, and MGMA. ⋯ Direct patient care responsibility of PEM academic faculty has not changed significantly in the past 13 years, despite the availability of clinical appointments within most of the surveyed programs. Our data indicate that the annual income for PEM faculty in academic institutions is significantly less than AEM faculty. No significant difference was observed between programs at the assistant, associate, or full professor level when stratified by size or geographic region. Bonus/incentive plans for exceptional patient care or scholarly activity were available in less than half of the surveyed programs.
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Pediatric emergency care · Oct 1999
Comparative StudyManagement of children with aseptic meningitis in the emergency department.
To review the emergency department management of children with aseptic meningitis and compare the clinical features, laboratory findings, and short-term follow-up of those who were hospitalized or discharged to determine guidelines for discharge. ⋯ It is feasible, clinically safe and less costly to treat a subgroup of children with aseptic meningitis in an ambulatory setting. Although absolute criteria for ambulatory follow-up could not be defined, age >1 year, a nontoxic clinical appearance, normal white blood cell count, mild cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis (even with a high percentage of polymorphonuclear cells), negative CSF Gram stain, and a reliable family setting could serve as guidelines for decision-making regarding emergency department discharge. Further prospective research is needed to better specify these criteria.
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Pediatric emergency care · Oct 1999
Case ReportsSerous fluid leakage after a modified Blalock-Taussig shunt: a cause of hypercyanotic episodes.
We report a case of a 10-week-old girl, with tetralogy of Fallot and a Blalock-Taussig shunt, who presented with hypercyanotic episodes. She was found to have serous fluid leakage around her shunt, causing compression of her trachea. Hypercyanotic episodes resulting from shunt leakage have not previously been reported. An awareness of this possible complication of a Blalock-Taussig shunt will allow the emergency physician to consider it in the differential diagnosis of hypercyanotic episodes.
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The purpose of this study was: 1) to evaluate the role of the pediatric emergency department (PED) in placing peripherally inserted midline or central catheters (long lines), and 2) to review indications and complications to use this technology to reduce the number and duration of admissions and provide an alternative method for administering intravenous therapy. ⋯ 1) Long lines can be inserted in the pediatric emergency department by physicians with different levels of training with minor complications and no adverse clinical effects; 2) the placement of long lines can eliminate the need for hospitalization in some cases, reduce the duration of hospitalization in others, and lessen the need for repeated venipunctures for routine peripheral catheter replacement in patients requiring i.v. therapy; 3) the planned duration of therapy as well as other factors not analyzed in this study should be considered when selecting patients for long line placement in the emergency department.