Pediatr Crit Care Me
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jul 2012
Glasgow Coma Scale as a predictor for hemocoagulative disorders after blunt pediatric traumatic brain injury.
Coagulopathy is a complication of traumatic brain injury and its presence after injury has been identified as a risk factor for prognosis. It was our aim to determine whether neurologic findings reflected by Glasgow Coma Scale at initial resuscitation can predict hemocoagulative disorders resulting from traumatic brain injury that may aggravate clinical sequelae and outcome in children. ⋯ Glasgow Coma Scale ≤ 8 at scene in children with isolated traumatic brain injury is associated with increased risk for coagulopathy and mortality. These results may guide laboratory testing, management, and blood bank resources in acute pediatric trauma care.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jul 2012
The role of fecal calprotectin and lactoferrin in the diagnosis of necrotizing enterocolitis.
Early detection of necrotizing enterocolitis can improve the prognosis, however, there is not a reliable laboratory test to detect either newborns at risk for necrotizing enterocolitis development or those at early stages of the disease. Since fecal lactoferrin and fecal calprotectin are inflammatory markers of gastrointestinal diseases, it was hypothesized that both these biomarkers could be successfully used in the diagnosis of necrotizing enterocolitis. ⋯ Neither fecal lactoferrin nor fecal calprotectin has a role in the identification of necrotizing enterocolitis, especially in early stages of the disease. Further studies on wider necrotizing enterocolitis series are needed for a more definite conclusion.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jul 2012
Radiation exposure from diagnostic imaging in the pediatric intensive care unit.
To determine the range of radiation exposure from diagnostic imaging in children requiring mechanical ventilation. ⋯ Ventilated pediatric intensive care unit patients experienced an average daily thoracic radiation exposure above background environmental exposure and exposure varied widely, but exposures would not be expected to cause acute or chronic toxicity. Overall patient exposures were less than that received from 1 yr of natural background radiation.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jul 2012
Thrombosis risk factor assessment and implications for prevention in critically ill children.
To describe nursing compliance with a computer-based pediatric thrombosis risk assessment tool; to generate an estimate of risk factors present in our population; and to explore relationships between risk factors and confirmed thrombotic events. ⋯ Incorporation of a scoring system into the bedside nursing assessment flow sheet was successful and identified children at risk for in-hospital thrombosis. The overall score appears to be most indicative of thrombus risk. These data may serve as a platform for future development of routine screening and possible interventional trials in critically ill children.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jul 2012
Socioeconomic impact on device-associated infections in pediatric intensive care units of 16 limited-resource countries: international Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium findings.
We report the results of the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium prospective surveillance study from January 2004 to December 2009 in 33 pediatric intensive care units of 16 countries and the impact of being in a private vs. public hospital and the income country level on device-associated health care-associated infection rates. Additionally, we aim to compare these findings with the results of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network annual report to show the differences between developed and developing countries regarding device-associated health care-associated infection rates. ⋯ Country socioeconomic level influence device-associated infection rates in developing countries and need to be considered when comparing device-associated infections from one country to another.