Pediatrics
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Distinguishing Lyme from septic knee monoarthritis in Lyme disease-endemic areas.
Because Lyme and septic arthritis may present similarly, we sought to identify children with knee monoarthritis at low risk for septic arthritis who may not require arthrocentesis. ⋯ Laboratory criteria can be used to identify children with knee monoarthritis at low risk for septic arthritis who may not require diagnostic arthrocentesis.
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Review
Low-dose heparin use and the patency of peripheral IV catheters in children: a systematic review.
To assess evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the efficacy of low-dose heparin for prolonging patency of peripheral intravenous (PIV) catheters in the pediatric population. ⋯ Low-dose heparin as continuous infusion in PIV catheters resulted in clinically significant benefits in terms of catheter patency and fewer episodes of infusion failures. Heparin's use in intermittent flush solutions showed minimal benefits.
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Tracheal intubation is an important intervention to stabilize critically ill and injured children. Provider training level has been associated with procedural safety and outcomes in the neonatal intensive care settings. We hypothesized that tracheal intubation success and adverse tracheal intubation-associated events are correlated with provider training level in the PICU. ⋯ Across a broad spectrum of PICUs, resident provider tracheal intubation success is low and adverse associated events are high, compared with fellows. More intensive pediatric resident procedural training is necessary before "live" tracheal intubations in the intensive care setting.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Chest compression quality over time in pediatric resuscitations.
Chest compression (CC) quality deteriorates with time in adults, possibly because of rescuer fatigue. Little data exist on compression quality in children or on work done to perform compressions in general. We hypothesized that compression quality, work, and rescuer fatigue would differ in child versus adult manikin models. ⋯ CC quality deteriorates similarly in child and adult manikin models. Peak work per compression cycle is comparable in both. Peak power output is analogous to that generated during intense exercise such as running. CC providers should switch every 2 minutes as recommended by current guidelines.
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Review Case Reports
The culture of dysthanasia: attempting CPR in terminally ill children.
Both dying children and their families are treated with disrespect when the presumption of consent to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) applies to all hospitalized children, regardless of prognosis and the likely efficacy of CPR. This "opt-out" approach to CPR fails to appreciate the nuances of the special parent-child relationship and the moral and emotional complexity of enlisting parents in decisions to withhold CPR from their children. The therapeutic goal of CPR is not merely to resume spontaneous circulation, but rather it is to provide circulation to vital organs to allow for treatment of the underlying proximal and distal etiologies of cardiopulmonary arrest. ⋯ Rather, physicians should carry the primary professional and moral responsibility for the decision and use a model of informed assent from parents, allowing for respectful disagreement. As emphasized in the palliative care literature, we recommend a directive and collaborative goal-oriented approach to conversations about limiting resuscitation, in which physicians provide explicit recommendations that are in alignment with the goals and hopes of the family and emphasize the therapeutic indications for CPR. Through this approach, we hope to help parents understand that "doing everything" for their dying child means providing medical therapies that ameliorate suffering and foster the intimacy of the parent-child relationship in the final days of a child's life, making the dying process more humane.