Journal of pediatric surgery
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Pectus excavatum involves wide range of chest wall depression. The degree of depression or asymmetry varies between young and adolescent patients. It has not been clear how the deformity progresses as patients grow. To elucidate the change of asymmetric deformity, preoperative computed tomography (CT) scan was evaluated according to different age groups. ⋯ The degree of chest depression did not show any change in all age groups. Asymmetric deformity on the right side progressed around the age of 10 to 12. Half of patients over the age of 13 showed moderate or severe asymmetry. These results were suggestive to consider the optimum age for the correction of pectus excavatum.
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Penetrating cardiac injuries in pediatric patients are rarely encountered. Likewise, the in-hospital outcome measures following these injuries are poorly described. ⋯ Penetrating cardiac trauma is a rare injury in the pediatric population. Cardiac chambers predominantly involved are the right and left ventricles. This injury is associated with a low in-hospital survival (<30%).
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We investigated the incidence of hyperglycemia of patients in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) after receiving abdominal surgery and its association with clinical outcomes. ⋯ Hyperglycemia was prevalent among patients after major abdominal surgery in PICU and was correlated with increased PICU length of stay, total hospital length of stay. Appropriate glycemic control may improve clinical outcomes for this group of patients.
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Traumatic abdominal wall hernia (TAWH) from high speed mechanism is a unique finding in adult trauma, and exceedingly rare in pediatrics. The majority of reports are of low-speed "handlebar" hernias associated with direct injury by bicycle handlebars. ⋯ Different operative approaches were used in each case to manage the varying types of disruptions. This adds to the pediatric literature the largest series of its kind.