Evaluating a standardized protocol for the management of diabetes insipidus in pediatric neurosurgical patients.

Objectives: Central diabetes insipidus (DI) is a known complication following surgical resection of a suprasellar mass. There are limited data analyzing the outcomes of a standardized protocol for the management of postoperative DI in the pediatric population. We sought to fill this gap and hypothesized that utilizing a standardized protocol for fluid management (3-bag system) would reduce serum sodium fluctuations in the postoperative period after suprasellar surgery.

Expanding Faculty Development of Teaching Skills: A National Needs Assessment of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Faculty.

Objectives: High-quality clinical teaching is an essential element in preparing trainees to become independently competent clinicians. In order to better understand the context-specific faculty development needs of teaching faculty in a specific community, we sought to determine the self-reported teaching skill deficits of pediatric critical care medicine faculty and their preferences and motivations regarding faculty development to enhance their teaching.

Design: Modified Delphi technique was used to create an online survey in which respondents rated their need for education on a variety of teaching skills, their preferred learning modalities, and factors that motivate their participation in faculty development.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Risk Stratification in Newborns with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH).

Background: A means for early postnatal stratification of ECMO risk in CDH newborns could be used to comparatively assess the utilization and outcomes of ECMO use between centers. While multiple CDH mortality risk calculators are available, no validated tool exists specifically for prediction of ECMO use. The purpose of this study was to derive and validate an ECMO risk stratification model.

Enteral topiramate in a pediatric patient with refractory status epilepticus: a case report and review of the literature.

We describe the use of topiramate in a healthy 12-year-old (88-kg) male who developed refractory generalized convulsive status epilepticus. Seizures persisted despite aggressive use of benzodiazepines (intravenous lorazepam; oral clorazepate), barbiturates (i.e.

Are pediatric critical care medicine fellowships teaching and evaluating communication and professionalism?

Objectives: To describe the teaching and evaluation modalities used by pediatric critical care medicine training programs in the areas of professionalism and communication.

Design: Cross-sectional national survey.

Setting: Pediatric critical care medicine fellowship programs.

Prevalence of adverse events in pediatric intensive care units in the United States.

Objectives: Selection of relevant patient safety interventions for the pediatric intensive care (PICU) requires identification of the types and severity of adverse events (AEs) and adverse drug events (ADEs) that occur in this setting. The study's objectives were to: 1) determine the rates of AEs/ADEs, including types, severity, and preventability, in PICU patients; 2) identify population characteristics associated with increased risk of AEs/ADEs; 3) develop and test a PICU specific trigger tool to facilitate identification of AEs/ADEs.

Design, Setting, Patients: Retrospective, cross-sectional, randomized review of 734 patient records who were discharged from 15 U.

Natural course following pediatric tracheostomy.

Objective: To describe the hospital course of pediatric posttracheostomy patients, their underlying diagnosis, and their demographic characteristics.

Design: Retrospective, descriptive record review.

Settings: Academic tertiary Pediatric Critical Care Unit.

Severe systemic reaction to Loxosceles reclusa spider bites in a pediatric population.

Objective: To report 6 children who had severe systemic reaction after spider bites requiring pediatric intensive care unit admission and to describe their clinical presentation, hospital course, and outcome.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was done to identify patients presenting with brown recluse spider bites. Charts of children admitted to the intensive care unit were reviewed.