Hopkins Syndrome: Post Flaccid Paralysis After an Asthma Exacerbation.

We report a rare case of a 22-month-old who developed flaccid paralysis of her right arm shortly after she was hospitalized for an asthma exacerbation. There are many etiologies of acute flaccid paralysis; however, because of the uncommon presentation of a focalized finding, establishing the diagnosis of this patient was difficult in the emergency department setting. Associated with asthma exacerbations, Hopkins syndrome is a paralytic illness that resembles poliomyelitis. This case highlights the challenges of evaluating a child with monoparesis and establishing an association with asthma amyotrophy.

Pediatric emergency transport: communication and coordination are key to improving outcomes.

Pediatric patients who are critically ill or who require urgent subspecialty evaluation or specialized imaging, equipment, or procedures must often be transferred to tertiary care centers. The safe execution of interfacility transfer requires the coordination between the facility healthcare teams at each end of the transfer as well as the transport team. This issue discusses the process of interfacility transfer, the required services, the role of the emergency clinician, the role of the pediatric transport team, and the commonly used diagnostic studies and treatment needed during interfacility transfers of pediatric patients.

Cerebral Oxygenation and Acceleration in Pediatric and Neonatal Interfacility Transport.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to measure peak acceleration forces during interfacility transport; examine whether drops in cerebral oxygenation occurred; and test the associations between cerebral oxygenation, acceleration, and patient positioning. METHODS: A cerebral oximeter (INVOS-5100C; Somanetics, Minneapolis, MN) monitored regional saturation of oxygen (rSO2 [cerebral oxygenation]) in pediatric and neonatal patients (N = 24) transported between facilities by ground ambulance, helicopter, or fixed wing aircraft. An accelerometer (GP1; SENSR, Georgetown, TX) bolted to the isolette or gurney recorded z-axis (aligned with the spine) accelerations. RESULTS: The z-axis peak accelerations (absolute values of g) by transport type were as follows: ground ambulance takeoff mean = 0.16 and landing mean = 0.08, helicopter takeoff mean = 0.16 and landing mean = 0.05, fixed wing aircraft takeoff mean = 0.14 and landing mean = 0.20. During takeoff, 2 of 7 patients in the head-to-front of vehicle position experienced rSO2 drop. During landing, 4 of 13 patients in the head-to-back of vehicle position experienced rSO2 drop. There were no significant associations of rSO2 drop during takeoff and landing with patient positioning or with z-axis peak acceleration. CONCLUSION: Acceleration forces of pediatric and neonatal interfacility transport are small and comparable in magnitude. The relationship between rSO2 drop and patient positioning was not significant in this pilot study.

The Broselow and Handtevy Resuscitation Tapes: A Comparison of the Performance of Pediatric Weight Prediction.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the performance of two pediatric length-based tapes (Broselow and Handtevy) in predicting actual weights of US children. METHODS: In this descriptive study, weights and lengths of children (newborn through 13 years of age) were extracted from the 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Using the measured length ranges for each tape and the NHANES-extracted length data, every case from the study sample was coded into Broselow and Handtevy zones. Mean weights were calculated for each zone and compared to the predicted Broselow and Handtevy weights using measures of bias, precision, and accuracy. A sub-sample was examined that excluded cases with body mass index (BMI)≥95th percentile. Weights of children longer than each tape also were examined. RESULTS: A total of 3,018 cases from the NHANES database met criteria. Although both tapes underestimated children's weight, the Broselow tape outperformed the Handtevy tape across most length ranges in measures of bias, precision, and accuracy of predicted weights relative to actual weights. Accuracy was higher in the Broselow tape for shorter children and in the Handtevy tape for taller children. Among the sub-sample with cases of BMI≥95th percentile removed, performance of the Handtevy tape improved, yet the Broselow tape still performed better. When assessing the weights of children who were longer than either tape, the actual mean weights did not approximate adult weights; although, those exceeding the Handtevy tape were closer. CONCLUSIONS: For pediatric weight estimation, the Broselow tape performed better overall than the Handtevy tape and more closely approximated actual weight. Lowe CG , Campwala RT , Ziv N , Wang VJ . The Broselow and Handtevy resuscitation tapes: a comparison of the performance of pediatric weight prediction. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(4):364-375.

Emergency management of pancreatic injury in a 5-year-old.

Pediatric pancreatic injuries are less common than many other intra-abdominal organ traumatic injuries; failure to identify pancreatic injury during the emergency phase will result in delayed diagnosis, delayed treatment, and potentially poor health outcomes. Injured children may present to nontrauma center/nonpediatric hospitals or urgent care settings where practitioners may not be experienced in diagnosing and treating pediatric pancreatic injuries. This case study explores the medical course of a child with persistent abdominal pain after a fall from a horse. He was evaluated in a nonpediatric trauma center and was discharged home, continued with symptoms, presented to a different community emergency department, and then transferred to the emergency department at a Level 1 pediatric trauma center. Educating health care providers about pediatric pancreatic injuries in emergency or urgent care settings will help improve quality of care for injured children who are not initially evaluated in a pediatric specific hospital or trauma center.

Pediatric prehospital medicine in mass casualty incidents.

The prehospital provider is met with unique challenges when responding to a call and finding a pediatric aged patient that requires evaluation, treatment, and transfer to a medical facility. Many mass causality incidents secondary to natural disaster, man-made disasters, or acts of terrorisms have exposed the vulnerabilities of prehospital emergency medical services personnel in the evaluation, treatment, and transport of the pediatric population. Many lessons learned from past events have been published with agendas to incorporate the needs of the transport of pediatric patients. This article will review the issues and recommendations of the prehospital personnel's role with expectations that pediatric aged victims are rendered optimal care.

Pediatric and neonatal interfacility transport medicine after mass casualty incidents.

Pediatric and neonatal interfacility transport medicine is a relatively young but a rapidly evolving specialty. Transport teams are essential for the safe interfacility movement of critically ill patients. A mass casualty incident (MCI) can present major challenges for a critical care transport team. This article will examine the capabilities and limitations of pediatric and neonatal critical care transport teams. The predicaments brought about by Hurricane Katrina that hindered the evacuation of pediatric and neonatal patients out of ravaged hospitals are also reviewed. From these experiences, recommendations to improve the efficiency and efficacy of interfacility transport of pediatric patients will be presented.

To intubate or not to intubate? Transporting infants on prostaglandin E1.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this work was to describe the pretransport and transport management of infants receiving prostaglandin E(1) infusion for congenital heart disease and to compare transport complications among unintubated and electively intubated infants. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 202 infants receiving prostaglandin E(1) during transport to our facility from 2000 to 2005. Prostaglandin E(1) adverse effects were described as likely or possible and transport complications as major or minor (requiring no intervention). Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for major transport complications, and subgroup analysis compared risks among unintubated and prophylactically intubated infants. RESULTS: Sixty-four percent of infants were intubated before transport: 34% emergently before prostaglandin E(1), 14% for prostaglandin E(1)-related adverse effects, and 11% prophylactically. Likely prostaglandin E(1) adverse effects were noted in 38% of infants, including 18% with apnea. Major complications occurred during 42% of all of the transports, including 7 (10%) of 73 unintubated infants and 14 (61%) of 23 prophylactically intubated infants. After controlling for multiple factors, elective intubation was a significant predictor of major transport complications. CONCLUSIONS: Despite high rates of prostaglandin E(1) adverse effects, elective intubation of infants for transport significantly increased the odds of a major transport complication. The risks of prophylactic intubation before the transport of otherwise stable infants on prostaglandin E(1) must be weighed carefully against possible benefits.

Inhaled nitric oxide therapy during the transport of neonates with persistent pulmonary hypertension or severe hypoxic respiratory failure.

Our aim was to determine whether starting inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) on critically ill neonates with severe hypoxemic respiratory failure and/or persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPH), at a referring hospital at the start of transport, decreases the need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), lessens the number of hospital days and improves survival in comparison with those patients who were started on iNO only at the receiving facility. The study was a retrospective review of 94 charts of neonates that had iNO initiated by the transport team at a referring hospital or only at the tertiary neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the receiving hospital. Data collected included demographics, mode of transport, total number of hospital days, days on inhaled nitric oxide and ECMO use. Of the 94 patients, 88 were included. Of these, 60 were started on iNO at the referring facility (Field-iNO) and 28 were started at the receiving NICU (CHLA-iNO). All patients survived transport to the receiving NICU. Death rates and ECMO use were similar in both groups. Overall, patients who died were younger and had lower birth weights and Apgar scores. For all surviving patients who did not require ECMO, the length of total hospital stay (median days 22 versus 38, P = 0.018), and the length of the hospital stay at the receiving hospital (median days 18 versus 29, P = 0.006), were significantly shorter for the Field-iNO patients than for the CHLA-iNO patients, respectively. Earlier initiation of iNO may decrease length of hospital stay in surviving neonates with PPH not requiring ECMO.