Articles: emergency-department.
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Pediatric emergency care · Dec 2024
Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physicians' Perspectives of Concussion in Young Children.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) during early childhood (before 6 years) is prevalent, accounting for rising rates of emergency department visits. These injuries may lead to postconcussive symptoms, which may be subtle and difficult to diagnose in young children. Inadequate discharge counseling may lead to prolonged duration of symptoms and possible developmental delays. We aimed to explore pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) physicians' perspectives on "concussion" terminology, diagnosis, and management, specifically in a young child with mild TBI. ⋯ Variability exists among PEM physicians in diagnosis and management of concussions in young children. Discomfort with lack of reliability of symptoms and underappreciation of typical early childhood characteristics may account for findings. Educational initiatives, age-appropriate clinical tools and treatment-guided outcomes research are needed to guide PEM physicians in the care of young children with head injuries.
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Pediatric emergency care · Dec 2024
Understanding Strategies to Reduce the Impact of Non-urgent Visits to the Pediatric Emergency Department: A Scoping Review.
The pediatric emergency department (PED) is increasingly being used for non-urgent reasons. This impacts PED input and throughput, and contributes to overcrowding. To identify solutions, it is essential to identify and describe the approaches that have been trialed. ⋯ Consistent definitions of non-urgent visits and standardized outcome measures may allow for more precise comparisons between studies. We identify 3 commonly employed strategies that may help reduce the impact of non-urgent visits on the PED.
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We aimed to determine the inter-rater reliability of ultrasonographic optic nerve sheath diameter measurements performed by emergency nurses. ⋯ There is good inter-rater reliability among emergency nurses with no previous experience in measuring the optic nerve sheath diameter with point-of-care ultrasound.
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Pediatric emergency care · Dec 2024
Point-of-Care Ultrasound in the Expedient Identification and Management of Hydropneumothorax Secondary to Necrotizing Pneumonia.
We report the use of point-of-care ultrasound to identify a hydropneumothorax in a 6-year-old previously healthy girl arriving at the emergency department in severe respiratory distress. The use of point-of-care ultrasound in this instance allowed for the expedient management and stabilization of the hydropneumothorax with emergent thoracentesis. The patient was ultimately found to have Streptococcus pyogenes bacteremia and necrotizing pneumonia.
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Pediatric emergency care · Dec 2024
"Room of Horrors": A Proof-of-Concept Simulation Model for Error Reduction Training in the Emergency Department.
This pilot study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a "room of horrors" (RoH) simulation in identifying patient safety threats in a pediatric emergency department (PED) and to evaluate health care workers' (HCWs') perceptions of the experience. ⋯ The RoH simulation experience was effective in evaluating the level of retention of earlier training and the ability of multidisciplinary teams to correctly identify major safety threats in a PED setting. The participants found the experience valuable and engaging. Future research should focus on other means by which the retention of learned skills can be reinforced and new safety threats can be identified with a high level of alertness.