Adequacy of informed consent for lumbar puncture in a pediatric emergency department.

Objective: To determine whether informed consent is adequately obtained by documentation of appropriate risks, benefits, alternatives, and procedure explanation for children who had a lumbar puncture (LP) in a pediatric emergency department (PED).

Methods: Authors agreed on the criteria for appropriate informed consent for LP, including risks and benefits of the procedure, alternatives to doing the procedure, explanation of the procedure including the purpose of the LP, and a signature of a witness. A retrospective chart review was done for all children who had LP during a 1-year period in a PED.

Report of 4 cases of testicular rupture in adolescent boys secondary to sports-related trauma.

Testicular rupture is a rare entity in children and adolescents. This is due to the smaller size of the testicles in these patients, the well-protected location of the testicles, and the high degree of mobility of these organs. We present 4 cases of testicular rupture occurring in preadolescent and adolescent boys over an 11-month period in a tertiary care pediatric emergency department.

Revised Pediatric Emergency Assessment Tool (RePEAT): a severity index for pediatric emergency care.

Objectives: To develop and validate a multivariable model, using information available at the time of patient triage, to predict the level of care provided to pediatric emergency patients for use as a severity of illness measure.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of 5,521 children 18 years of age or younger treated at four emergency departments (EDs) over a 12-month period. Data were obtained from abstraction of patient records.

C-reactive protein in febrile children 1 to 36 months of age with clinically undetectable serious bacterial infection.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic properties of quantitative C-reactive protein (CRP) associated with clinically undetectable serious bacterial infection (SBI) in febrile children 1 to 36 months of age.

Methods: Febrile children presenting to a pediatric emergency department (ED) with ages ranging from 1 to 36 months, temperatures > or =39 degrees C, and clinically undetectable source of fever were enrolled in this prospective cohort study. Demographic information, ED temperature, duration of fever, and clinical evaluation using the Yale observation scale were recorded at the time of the initial evaluation.

Glucagon use for esophageal coin dislodgment in children: a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: Prospective evaluation of the use of glucagon in dislodgment of impacted esophageal coins in children.

Methods: This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled study with an open-label second phase in children 1 to 8 years of age who presented to a pediatric emergency department with a radiographically confirmed single esophageal coin impaction. One milligram of glucagon or placebo was given intravenously in double-blinded fashion.