Journal of pediatric surgery
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In Canada, mortality from falling televisions (TVs) is the 15th leading cause of childhood death owing to injury. Frequency, characteristics, and outcomes of TV childhood injuries were examined to determine any at risk populations. ⋯ Injury severity appeared higher in patients from First Nations and recent immigrant families. Television injury would likely have been prevented by a securing device or support.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Evaluation of a new pediatric intraosseous needle insertion device for low-resource settings.
The Near Needle Holder (NNH) (Near Manufacturing, Camrose, Alberta, Canada) is a reusable tool to introduce a standard hollow needle for pediatric intraosseous (IO) infusion. We compared the NNH to the Cook Dieckmann (Cook Critical Care, Bloomington, IN) manual IO needle in a simulation setting. ⋯ After training, all subjects successfully inserted the NNH IO device in a simulation environment, and most rated it as easy to use and safe. The NNH is a significant advance because IO needles are often not available in emergency departments in developing countries. Further studies are needed to evaluate clinical effectiveness of the NNH.
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Duodenal perforation secondary to blunt abdominal trauma in children is rare and usually associated with delays in diagnosis and surgical intervention. The authors encountered such a case in a 12-year-old boy owing to his falling over the handlebar of a bicycle. ⋯ Using a 5-port transperitoneal laparoscopic technique, primary closure of the perforation was successfully performed at 6 hours after the impact. Laparoscopic approach appears to be safe and feasible in hemodynamically stable children with solitary traumatic duodenal perforation if the operation can be performed early in the course of the incident.
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Parenteral nutrition (PN) has transformed the outcome for neonates with surgical problems in the intensive care unit. Trace element supplementation in PN is a standard practice in many neonatal intensive care units. However, many of these elements are contaminants in PN solutions, and contamination levels may, in themselves, be sufficient for normal metabolic needs. Additional supplementation may actually lead to toxicity in neonates whose requirements are small. ⋯ Appropriate supplementation of trace elements in surgical infants is important, and levels should be monitored. In certain settings, it may be more appropriate to individualize trace element supplementation based on the predetermined physiologic need rather than using bundled packages of trace elements as is the current norm. Balance studies of trace element requirements should be performed to better establish clinical recommendations for optimal trace element dosing in the neonatal surgical population.
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Review Case Reports
Swyer-James-MacLeod syndrome in a surgically treated child: a case report and brief literature review.
Swyer-James-Macleod syndrome (SJMS) is a rare, complex disease characterized by unilateral hyperlucent lung or lobe owing to loss of pulmonary vasculature and alveolar hyperdistention. Treatment is generally conservative, and surgical management is rare. In fact, only 4 reports on surgically treated children with SJMS are available in the literature. ⋯ Histologic examination revealed panacinar emphysema and chronic bronchitis/bronchiolitis. At 6-month follow-up, the child showed improved symptoms and a forced expiratory volume in 1 second of 1.15 L (77% of expected value) and a forced vital capacity of 1.4 L (83% of expected value). This report shows that although rarely indicated, surgical treatment can improve quality of life and pulmonary function in SJMS.