Establishment of peripheral intravenous catheter for pediatric patients in the emergency department: who and how?

PURPOSE: Peripheral intravenous cannulation (PIC) for children is technically difficult. We aimed to investigate factors associated with the primary success of PIC for children in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This prospective observational study was conducted on children younger than 3 years who visited the ED from September 2014 to August 2015. The children undergoing primary success, defined as success at the first attempt, comprised the success group. Using a case report form, information about the children (age, sex, and weight), practitioners' occupation (doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians [EMTs]), treatment venue, insertion site of PIC, presence of guardians, and use of auxiliary devices were collected and compared between the success and failure groups. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to identify factors associated with the primary success. RESULTS: Of 439 children, 271 underwent the primary success (61.7%). The success group showed older age, heavier weight, and higher proportion of EMT. No differences were found in treatment venue, insertion site, and presence of the guardian. We found that patients' age (odds ratio [OR], 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.003–1.1), and practitioners' occupation (EMT; OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.9–4.7, compared with doctors) were the factors associated with the primary success. CONCLUSION: Practitioners' occupation (EMT) and children's age (older) may be associated with the primary success of PIC. It may be helpful to have specialized personnel when performing PIC on children in the ED.

The Value of Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Count Ratio for Disease Severity in Nursing Home Acquired Pneumonia Patients

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the value of neutrophil-lymphocyte count ratio (NLCR) in patients admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) with suspected nursing home acquired pneumonia (NHAP). METHODS: From May 2011 to January 2013, 116 patients admitted to the ED with suspected NHAP were retrospectively studied. The clinical characteristics, C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell count, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, and NLCR were assessed. CURB-65 score was used to calculate disease severity. General ward or intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and 72-hour and 30-day mortality for each infection marker was assessed. RESULTS: The 116 patients had a median age of 77 years. As the CURB-65 score increased from 0-1 (low risk), to 2-3 (moderate risk), and to 4-5 (high risk), the NLCR consistently increased (mean, 6.9, 8.89, and 16.22, respectively). The difference between the moderate and high risk groups was significant (p=0.008). The NLCR (mean+/-standard deviation) was high in patients with NHAP (10.28+/-8.81) and increased even more for patients admitted to the ICU (15.69+/-14.81) or who died within 72-hour (15.63+/-9.57). NLCR showed the trend of higher value in ICU admission (p=0.072), and CRP was significantly different between ICU and general ward admission (p=0.007). CONCLUSION: NLCR at ED admission correlated with NHAP severity and was comparable to the traditional infection marker. NLCR can be assessed simply and added to the assessment tools to determine the severity of pneumonia during ED admission.