Arch Pediat Adol Med
-
Arch Pediat Adol Med · Sep 1999
The role of serial radiographs in the management of pediatric torus fractures.
To assess the utility of radiographs taken immediately after the application of a cast in the management of pediatric torus (or buckle) fractures and to determine the need for serial radiographs taken at follow-up visits. ⋯ Postcast studies of torus fractures are unnecessary. Multiple radiographs taken during follow-up visits, especially early in the healing process, do not change fracture management. Relying on the clinical examination, perhaps combined with a single follow-up study, is a more appropriate regimen for the management of pediatric torus fractures and translates into a cost savings of over $ 10000 for our 70 patients.
-
Arch Pediat Adol Med · Sep 1999
A chronology of pain and comfort in children with sickle cell disease.
To examine the patterns of children's and caregivers' descriptions of pain and the comfort measures used to relieve the pain of sickle cell disease (SCD) at home and in the hospital. ⋯ A chronology of the pain and comfort experiences for children and adolescents during a vasoocclusive event of SCD emerged from the descriptive data of this study. Findings need to be examined further in larger, quantitative, longitudinal studies that examine more closely the duration, intensity, and character of pain at different times during vaso-occlusive episodes as well as the comfort measures used during specific phases of the pain event.
-
Laparoscopy may offer fast recovery and improved cosmesis, but its cost has been perceived as excessive. ⋯ Laparoscopy is cost-effective, particularly for fundoplication, appendectomy, and cholecystectomy. Detailing the costs of supplies, operating time, and length of stay allows interinstitutional comparison and critical cost-analysis of laparoscopy. With a more selective use of reusable instruments and further shortening of operative time, the global savings of laparoscopy may increase.
-
Arch Pediat Adol Med · Sep 1999
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialFamily presence during invasive procedures in the pediatric intensive care unit: a prospective study.
To determine if allowing 1 or both parents to be present during invasive procedures reduces the anxiety that parents experience while their child is in the pediatric intensive care unit; to evaluate if the parent's presence was helpful to the child and parent; and to determine whether this presence was harmful to the nurses or physicians. ⋯ Allowing parental presence during procedures decreases procedure-related anxiety. The implications of such a policy change on physicians and other aspects of pediatric intensive care, including medical education, need further evaluation.