Levalbuterol versus racemic albuterol in the treatment of acute exacerbation of asthma in children.

Objective: To compare levalbuterol and racemic albuterol for the treatment of acute exacerbation of asthma in pediatric population.

Design: Prospective, double-blind, randomized research trial in a pediatric emergency department of an urban tertiary care hospital.

Participants: Children 5 to 21 years with a history of asthma presenting to the emergency department in acute exacerbation.

Methemoglobinemia due to ingestion of at most three pills of pyridium in a 2-year-old: case report and review.

Pyridium (phenazopyridine HCl) is a commonly prescribed medication in the treatment of urinary tract infections and is known to cause methemoglobinemia in excessive doses. We report the case of a 2-year-old child who ingested a maximum of three 200-mg tablets (approximately 50 mg/kg) of pyridium and yet developed cyanosis and methemoglobinemia (29.1%), resulting in methylene blue therapy.

Emergency department presentations of a rare tumor--extraosseous cervical paraspinal Ewing's sarcoma.

We report the case of a 9-year-old boy who presented to our community-based Pediatric Emergency Department with complaints of neck pain, stiffness and upper extremity weakness. The symptoms were later identified to be due to cervical extraosseous paraspinal Ewing's sarcoma. The patient had a fatally aggressive clinical course.

Point-of-care testing for drugs of abuse in an urban emergency department.

Point-of-care testing (POCT) has been used for illicit substance screening in several settings, primarily in law enforcement and drug treatment centers. In this study, we evaluate the use of this screening approach in the emergency department (ED) of a tertiary-care, urban medical center. Aliquots of urine specimens were tested simultaneously by a POCT device (OnTrak) and by a laboratory-based screening system (Triage).

Inflicted and noninflicted injuries: differences in child and familial characteristics.

Clinicians involved in child protection work are frequently confronted with decisions as to whether a child's injury is inflicted or accidental. This study examines child, parental, familial, and environmental characteristics in a group of 25 abused children compared to a group of 90 children with accidents. Significant differences and commonalities are discussed.