B-type natriuretic peptide: perioperative patterns in congenital heart disease.

Objective: B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) has diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic roles in adults with heart failure. BNP levels in children undergoing surgical repair of congenital heart disease (CHD) were characterized broadly, and distinguishable subgroup patterns delineated.

Design: Prospective, blinded, observational case series.

Pharmacokinetics of dexmedetomidine in postsurgical pediatric intensive care unit patients: preliminary study.

Objective: To characterize the pharmacokinetics of dexmedetomidine and monitor any dexmedetomidine-related adverse events in postoperative pediatric patients requiring short-term mechanical ventilation, analgesia, and sedation in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Design: Prospective, case series.

Setting: Operating room and PICU in a large, urban children's hospital.

Blunt bowel and mesenteric injuries in children: Do nonspecific computed tomography findings reliably identify these injuries?

Objective: Abdominal computed tomography has proven accurate for the detection of pediatric solid organ injuries following blunt abdominal trauma but is less reliable in detecting blunt bowel and mesenteric injuries (BBMI). The purpose of this study was to determine the significance of nonspecific findings on abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan in children at risk for BBMI.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Antipyretic efficacy and tolerability of a single intravenous dose of the acetaminophen prodrug propacetamol in children: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Propacetamol is an acetaminophen prodrug that was available in Europe as an IV formu lation for the treatment of pain and fever for some time. One gram of propacetamol is hydrolyzed in blood to release 0.5 g of acetaminophen and pharmacologically inactive N,N-diethylglycine.

Loss of consciousness: when to perform computed tomography?

Objective: To determine the diagnostic value of physical examination (including neurologic exam) for positive computed tomography scan findings in children with closed head injury, Glasgow Coma Scale score 13-15 in the emergency department, and loss of consciousness or amnesia.

Design: Prospective descriptive study.

Setting: A large, tertiary, pediatric trauma center in San Diego County.

The self-inflating bulb as an esophageal detector device in children weighing more than twenty kilograms: a comparison of two techniques.

Study Objectives: We confirm the ability of the self-inflating bulb to indicate endotracheal tube position in children and determine which method of bulb compression is more accurate.

Methods: This single-blind, prospective, single cohort, repeated measures comparison of the on-deflate and the off-deflate methods of bulb compression was conducted in the operating room of a children's hospital. Seventy-five patients weighing more than 20 kg were enrolled.

The self-inflating bulb as an airway adjunct: is it reliable in children weighing less than 20 kilograms?

Objectives: To confirm the ability of the self-inflating bulb to indicate endotracheal tube (ETT) position in children weighing less than 20 kilograms, and to determine whether the presence of air in the stomach affects the bulb's accuracy.

Methods: This single-blind, prospective, single-cohort, repeated-measures, equivalence study was conducted in the operating room of a children's hospital. Seventy patients weighing less than 20 kilograms were enrolled.