Pediatric emergency care
-
Pediatric emergency care · Oct 2004
Pediatric rapid sequence intubation: incidence of reflex bradycardia and effects of pretreatment with atropine.
The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) recommends atropine as adjunctive therapy to prevent reflex bradycardia prior to laryngoscopy/tracheal intubation (L/TI) in pediatric patients. ⋯ Atropine is not routinely administered prior to L/TI in this pediatric ED. Pretreatment with atropine did not prevent bradycardia in all cases. These data suggest that use of atropine prior to L/TI may not be required for all pediatric patients. Some patients will experience bradycardia regardless of atropine pretreatment.
-
Pediatric emergency care · Oct 2004
Clinical experience of removing aerodigestive tract foreign bodies with rigid endoscopy in children.
This study was undertaken to document the aerodigestive tract foreign body accidents among children, and to investigate the circumstances surrounding these events. ⋯ Foreign bodies in the airway and esophagus constitute a constant hazard in all age groups, which demands immediate approach and management. Although the rigid endoscopic removal of aerodigestive foreign bodies was successful in this series, the most effective treatment of foreign body accidents is their prevention.
-
Hearing loss from airbag deployment after motor vehicle crashes has been documented multiple times in the adult population, but rarely in the pediatric population. We report a case of significant sensorineural hearing loss following airbag deployment in a pediatric patient who presented to the ED on the day of the crash. This report highlights the need for pediatric physicians to be aware of the potential of minor to significant hearing loss in patients who present for medical evaluation after airbag deployment in motor vehicle crashes and to be aware of the importance of follow-up in these children.