Archives of disease in childhood
-
It is believed that hypoalbuminaemia confounds interpretation of the anion gap (AG) unless corrected for serum albumin in critically ill children with shock. ⋯ Hypoalbuminaemia is common in critically ill children with shock, and is associated with a low observed anion gap that may fail to detect clinically significant amounts of lactate and other occult tissue anions. We suggest that the albumin corrected anion gap should be calculated to screen for occult tissue anions in these children.
-
Foreign body ingestion is common but multiple magnet ingestion is rare. When more than one magnet is ingested, gastrointestinal complications may occur. ⋯ We report a case of perforation following the ingestion of 12 small magnets. Clinicians who care for children should be aware of this hazard.
-
Comparative Study
A comparison of three scoring systems for mortality risk among retrieved intensive care patients.
To assess the impact of two paediatric intensive care unit retrieval teams on the performance of three mortality risk scoring systems: pre-ICU PRISM, PIM, and PRISM II. ⋯ PIM appears to offer advantages over the other two scores in terms of being less affected by the retrieval process and easier to collect. Recalibration of all scoring systems is needed.