Internationally Acquired Severe Systemic Infections in Febrile Pediatric Travelers Presenting to the Emergency Department.

Objectives: Most children in the United States who visit the emergency department (ED) with fever have minor illnesses not requiring treatment or hospitalization. However, when a child has recently immigrated or traveled abroad, internationally acquired severe systemic infections (ISSIs) must be considered. We sought to describe children who have traveled internationally and present to the ED with a complaint of fever and to determine risk factors associated with ISSIs in these patients.

A survey of the management of febrile infants in pediatric emergency departments.

Objective: To determine whether emergency departments (EDs) at pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) fellowship training institutions have a departmental policy regarding the evaluation and management of febrile infants and if reported policies are based on published guidelines (PGs).

Methods: A 32-item telephone survey was administered to PEM fellowship directors (FDs). Departmental demographics and criteria used to evaluate febrile infants were collected.

Evaluating appendicitis scoring systems using a prospective pediatric cohort.

Study Objective: This article evaluates the performance of the previously published Alvarado and Samuel appendicitis scoring systems in a prospectively identified pediatric cohort.

Methods: A prospective cohort of patients, aged 3 to 21 years, being evaluated for appendicitis was enrolled during 20 consecutive months at a large, urban, pediatric hospital. Study forms were completed by pediatric emergency medicine attending physicians before imaging or surgery.