Archives of disease in childhood
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Comparative Study Observational Study
Estimating the weight of ethnically diverse children attending an Australian emergency department: a prospective, blinded, comparison of age-based and length-based tools including Mercy, PAWPER and Broselow.
To prospectively compare the actual weights of Australian children in an ethnically diverse metropolitan setting with the predicted weights using the Paediatric Advanced Weight Prediction in the Emergency Room (PAWPER) tape, Broselow tape, Mercy system and calculated weights using the updated Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS), Luscombe and Owens and Best Guess formulae. ⋯ In an ethnically diverse population, length-based methods with or without body habitus modification are superior to age-based methods for predicting actual body weight. Body habitus modifications increase the accuracy and precision slightly.
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Feeding and eating disorders (FEDs) are serious mental health disorders that cause impairments in physical health, development, cognition and psychosocial function and can go undetected for months or years. They are characterised by disturbed eating behaviour associated with concerns about weight and shape or by disinterest in food, phobic avoidance or avoidance due to sensory aspects of food. Restrictive forms of FEDs lead to significant weight loss requiring intervention. ⋯ It emphasises the importance of a family-focused, developmentally appropriate and multidisciplinary approach to care. It does not address aspects of medical assessment and treatment. Other feeding or EDs not included in this article are pica, rumination disorder, other specified feeding and eating disorder and unspecified feeding and eating disorder.
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Observational Study
A prospective quality improvement study in the emergency department targeting paediatric sepsis.
Quality improvement sepsis initiatives in the paediatric emergency department have been associated with improved processes, but an unclear effect on patient outcome. We aimed to evaluate and improve emergency department sepsis processes and track subsequent changes in patient outcome. ⋯ Use of quality improvement methodologies to improve the management of paediatric sepsis in the emergency department was associated with a reduction in hospital length of stay.
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Multicenter Study
Risk and protective factors for falls on stairs in young children: multicentre case-control study.
To investigate risk and protective factors for stair falls in children aged <5 years. ⋯ Structural factors including having landings part-way up the stairs and keeping stairs in good repair were associated with reduced stair fall injury risk. Family factors including having stair gates, not leaving gates open and having stair carpets were associated with reduced injury risk. If these associations are causal, addressing these factors in housing policy and routine child health promotion could reduce stair fall injuries.