Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Adherence to Pediatric Cardiac Arrest Guidelines Across a Spectrum of Fifty Emergency Departments: A Prospective, In Situ, Simulation-based Study.
Pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival outcomes are dismal (<10%). Care that is provided in adherence to established guidelines has been associated with improved survival. Lower mortality rates have been reported in higher-volume hospitals, teaching hospitals, and trauma centers. The primary objective of this article was to explore the relationship of hospital characteristics, such as annual pediatric patient volume, to adherence to pediatric cardiac arrest guidelines during an in situ simulation. Secondary objectives included comparing adherence to other team, provider, and system factors. ⋯ This study demonstrated variable adherence to pediatric cardiac arrest guidelines across a spectrum of EDs. Overall adherence was not associated with ED pediatric volume. Medium-high-volume EDs demonstrated the highest levels of adherence for BLS and PEA. Lower-volume EDs were noted to have lower adherence to BLS guidelines. Improved adherence was not directly associated with higher PRS score provider experience, simulation teamwork performance, or more providers with PALS training. This study demonstrates that current approaches optimizing the care of children in cardiac arrest in the ED (provider training, teamwork training, environmental preparation) are insufficient.
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Multicenter Study
Reliability of HEARTSMAP as a Tool for Evaluating Psychosocial Assessment Documentation Practices in Emergency Departments for Pediatric Mental Health Complaints.
The goal of this study was to assess the reliability of HEARTSMAP as a standardized tool for evaluating the quality of psychosocial assessment documentation of pediatric mental health (MH) presentations to the emergency department (ED). In addition, we report on current documentation practices. ⋯ The HEARTSMAP tool can be reliably used to assess pediatric psychosocial assessment documentation across a diverse range of EDs. Current documentation practices are variable and often inadequate, and the HEARTSMAP tool can aid in quality improvement initiatives to standardize and optimize care for the growing burden of pediatric mental illness.
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Differences in emergency care for children exist between general and pediatric emergency departments (EDs). Some pediatric quality measures are available but are not routinely employed nationwide. We sought to create a short list of applied measures that would provide a starting point for EDs to measure pediatric emergency care quality and to compare care between general and pediatric EDs for these measures. ⋯ Using a national sample of ED visits, we demonstrated the feasibility of using nationally representative data to assess quality measures for children cared for in the ED. Differences between pediatric and general ED care identify targets for quality improvement.
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Pediatric patients attended to by emergency medical services (EMS) but not transported to the hospital are an at-risk population. We aimed to evaluate risk factors associated with nontransport by EMS in pediatric patients. ⋯ Pediatric nontransports are associated with traumatic, respiratory, and toxicologic complaints and older age. These findings can facilitate development of refusal protocols and research on outcomes of these at-risk patients.
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To achieve high-quality emergency care for pediatric patients nationwide, it is necessary to define the key elements for pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) education and scholarship that would: 1) close the gaps in fundamental PEM education and 2) promote systems and standards that assure an ongoing communication of best practices between tertiary pediatric institutions, general (nonchildren's) hospital emergency departments, and urgent care centers. A working group of medical educators was formed to review the literature, develop a framework for consensus discussion at the breakout session, and then translate their findings into recommendations for future research and scholarship. The breakout session consensus discussion yielded many recommendations. The group concluded that future progress depends on multicenter collaborations as a PEM education research network and a unified vision for PEM education that bridges organizations, providers, and institutions to assure the best possible outcomes for acutely ill or injured children.