Archives of disease in childhood
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This study looks at whether UK specialist registrars (SpRs) are involved in teaching and meeting their educational obligations. A questionnaire was distributed to all 133 paediatric SpRs in the region. 92% responded (122/133). All SpRs reported doing some teaching with nearly all teaching junior trainees and students. ⋯ Developing SpRs as educators was felt to be best achieved through mandatory training (61%, 74) and themed regional SpR training days (61%, 74). SpRs are making an important contribution to education. Teaching competences should be included in the personal development plan of all trainees and rostered time allocated to SpRs specifically to teach.
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Multicenter Study
Epidemiology of critically ill children in England and Wales: incidence, mortality, deprivation and ethnicity.
The purpose of this work was to investigate the incidence rate for admission and mortality of children receiving paediatric intensive care in relation to socioeconomic status and ethnicity in England and Wales. ⋯ In England and Wales, the admission rate to paediatric intensive care is higher for children from more deprived areas and 36% higher for children from the south Asian population. Risk-adjusted mortality increases in south Asian children as deprivation decreases.
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To examine and compare the characteristics of food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) caused by rice and cow's milk/soy. ⋯ This study highlights the emerging importance of rice, a food commonly thought to be "hypoallergenic", as a significant trigger of FPIES. Paediatricians should be aware that rice not only has the potential to cause FPIES, but that such reactions tend be more severe than those caused by cow's milk/soy.
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We describe three adolescents who experienced sudden cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation in an out-of-hospital setting and survived with good neurological outcome despite delayed time to defibrillation. All three were treated with prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by certified basic life support providers prior to first defibrillation. This report stresses the importance of early, minimally interrupted, chest compression CPR in children who suffer sudden cardiac arrest in the out-of-hospital setting where defibrillation could be delayed.
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Medical errors are a major problem in the UK and other countries. Apart from the direct expense to the healthcare system, there are great personal costs to those involved including patients, their families and staff, and public confidence is undermined. Therefore, policy initiatives have been implemented to reduce such mistakes. ⋯ However, recent evidence highlights the fact that medication errors are also a significant problem in the paediatric population. This paper reviews the factors contributing to paediatric medication errors, including lack of appropriate paediatric formulations, communication issues between health professionals, dose calculation mistakes and inadequate clinical practice. This review will also discuss risk reduction strategies such as electronic prescribing and computerised physician order entry (CPOE) systems which can significantly reduce paediatric medication errors in conjunction with pharmacist monitoring, improved communication and environments which promote best practice.