Professional practice assessment: establishment of an institutional procedure to treat blunt abdominal trauma in emergency pediatric department.

Objective: The clinical process for the diagnosis of intra-abdominal lesion due to blunt abdominal trauma in children is not consistent. The goal of the present study was to assess the efficiency of our institutional procedure to manage hemodynamically stable pediatric patients with benign abdominal trauma and to select patients who need a radiological examination in an emergency pediatric department.

Material And Methods: This was a prospective cohort study from June 2008 to June 2010 in a pediatric emergency department.

Inguinal hernia in premature boys: should we systematically explore the contralateral side?

Objective: Bilateral surgery has been largely advocated in premature boys with unilateral inguinal hernia owing to the high incidence of contralateral patent processus vaginalis. Recently, the potential morbidity of herniotomy in low birth-weight babies and the progress in pediatric anesthesia questioned this attitude. This study aims to evaluate the incidence of contralateral metachronous hernia in a large series of premature boys and to compare the morbidity of preventive versus elective surgery.