Pediatric emergency medicine practice
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Pediatr Emerg Med Pract · Mar 2013
ReviewPediatric diabetic ketoacidosis: an outpatient perspective on evaluation and management.
Diabetic ketoacidosis is a common, serious acute complication in children with diabetes mellitus. Diabetic ketoacidosis can accompany new-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus or it can occur with established type 1 diabetes mellitus during the increased demands of an acute illness or with decreased insulin delivery due to omitted doses or insulin pump failure. Additionally, diabetic ketoacidosis episodes in children with type 2 diabetes mellitus are being reported with greater frequency. ⋯ The initial management of children with diabetic ketoacidosis frequently occurs in an emergency department. Physicians must be aware that diabetic ketoacidosis is an important consideration in the differential diagnosis of pediatric metabolic acidosis. This review will acquaint emergency medicine clinicians with the pathophysiology, treatment, and potential complications of this disorder.
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The febrile young infant is commonly encountered in the emergency department, and the incidence of serious bacterial infection in these patients is as high as 15%. Undiagnosed bacterial infections such as meningitis and bacteremia can lead to overwhelming sepsis and death or neurologic sequelae. ⋯ Parents and emergency clinicians often question the necessity of this approach in the well-appearing febrile young infant, and it is important to understand and communicate the evidence that guides the approach to these patients. Recent studies examining the risk of serious bacterial infection in young infants with bronchiolitis and the role of viral testing in the febrile young infant will also be discussed in this review.