Pediatric emergency care
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Pediatric emergency care · Oct 2006
Multicenter StudyUse of single-dose activated charcoal among Canadian pediatric emergency physicians.
Gastric decontamination with single-dose activated charcoal (SDAC) is a mainstay in emergency department (ED) treatment of ingestions. Guidelines updated in 2005 encourage practitioners to use SDAC only in toxic ingestions presenting within 1 hour. Despite these guidelines, adult studies demonstrate a significant lack of consensus. This study examined the proposed use of SDAC for gastric decontamination in common pediatric ingestion scenarios by emergency physicians working in Canadian pediatric EDs. ⋯ There is variation in the use of SDAC among emergency physicians working in Canadian pediatric EDs. This variation suggests that optimal management is not clear and that continued education and research are required.
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Pediatric emergency care · Oct 2006
ReviewEmergency physician intershift handovers: an analysis of our transitional care.
The emergency department intershift transfer of patient care is a universal event. Despite the frequency of its occurrence and complexity of issues surrounding the exchange, emergency department patient handover is insufficiently explored in our literature. This article reviews the effectiveness and efficiencies of the handover practice. The authors provide personal opinion regarding favorable parameters for the prehandover, intershift meeting, and posthandover activities.
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Pediatric emergency care · Oct 2006
Epidemiology of a pediatric emergency medicine research network: the PECARN Core Data Project.
To examine the epidemiology of pediatric patient visits to emergency departments (ED). ⋯ We describe previously unavailable epidemiological information about childhood illnesses and injuries that can inform development of future studies on the effectiveness, outcomes, and quality of emergency medical services for children. Most pediatric ED patients in our study sought care for infectious causes or asthma and were discharged from the ED. Hospital admission rate differed according to age, payer type, race/ethnicity, and diagnosis.
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We report a case of shock, revealing a severe hypernatremia caused by salt poisoning in a 17-day-old male neonate. ⋯ This poisoning underscores the need for providing appropriate help to mothers at discharge from the maternity ward or neonatology unit.