Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Scapular fractures have been traditionally taught to be associated with significant injuries and major morbidity. As we demonstrated with sternal fracture, pulmonary contusion, and rib fracture, increased chest computed tomography (CT) utilization and head-to-pelvis CT (pan-scan) protocols in blunt trauma evaluation, however, may diagnose minor, clinically irrelevant scapular fractures, possibly rendering previous teachings obsolete. ⋯ Under current blunt trauma imaging protocols that commonly include chest CT, most scapular fractures are SOCTO and most are associated with other thoracic injuries. Although patients with scapular fracture SOCTO and isolated scapular fracture have higher admission rates and ISS than nonscapular fracture patients, their hospital mortality is similar.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Economic Analysis of Diagnostic Imaging in Pediatric Patients With Suspected Appendicitis.
The use of computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) in patients with acute abdominal pain has substantial variation across pediatric emergency departments (EDs). This study compares the cost of diagnosing and treating suspected appendicitis across a multicenter network of children's hospitals. ⋯ Our results provide support for US as the primary imaging modality for appendicitis. Sites that preferentially utilized US had lower costs per case than sites that primarily used CT. Imaging rates across sites varied due to practice patterns and resulted in a significant cost consequence without higher rates for negative appendectomies or missed appendicitis cases.
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Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a significant risk factor for morbidity and mortality in children. Little is known about community-acquired AKI (CA-AKI) in the pediatric emergency department (PED). Early recognition of AKI allows for nephroprotective measures. The goal of this investigation was to determine the incidence of CA-AKI and the frequency of clinician identified CA-AKI to better inform future nephroprotective interventions. ⋯ CA-AKI remains an underrecognized entity in the PED. Better tools for early recognition of AKI in the busy PED environment are needed.