Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Apr 1999
Case ReportsPrehospital epinephrine overdose in a child resulting in ventricular dysrhythmias and myocardial ischemia.
Epinephrine overdoses in children have been associated with supraventricular tachycardia. Myocardial ischemia subsequent to epinephrine overdose has not been reported in pediatric patients. ⋯ There is no role for high-dose epinephrine in the treatment of allergic reactions or asthma. Careful epinephrine dosing, using mg/kg and verifying the volume, dilution, and route of administration is essential to prevent epinephrine toxicity.
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Pediatric emergency care · Apr 1999
Comparative StudyUtilization analysis of an observation unit for children with asthma.
Short-stay observation unit (OU) care for children with asthma has the potential to reduce hospitalization rates for this common pediatric condition. In the effort to increase the efficiency of such a unit, knowledge of predictive factors for successful discharge is important. ⋯ No clinical predictive factors determined at the time of arrival to the ED were identified for children with asthma who were successfully discharged from the OU except for a lesser need of oxygen supplementation. The patients observed in the OU had similar management in the initial 3 hours of arrival and similar length of stay in the OU, regardless of their disposition outcome. Maximal OU efficiency remains limited by the lack of clear predictive factors for successful discharge. Further study in this area is indicated.