Hemoperitoneum among Pediatric Abdominal Trauma Patients Visiting in Emergency Department of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Pediatric abdominal trauma presents a major challenge for first-line responders in the Emergency Department for assessment and management. The Focused assessment sonography for trauma is a readily available, easy-to-use, and affordable tool for detecting hemoperitoneum during the initial assessment of trauma in the Emergency Department for adult traumatic patients. The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of hemoperitoneum among pediatric abdominal trauma patients visiting the Emergency Department of tertiary care centre through Focused assessment with sonography for trauma examination technique. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the Emergency Department of a tertiary care hospital from 7 April 2019 to 7 April 2020. Among 413 pediatric trauma patients, 93 children (1 to 17 years) admitted to the Emergency Department who underwent focused assessment with sonography for trauma examination were included in the study. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee (Approval number: 111/19). Convenience sampling was used. Point estimate and 90% Confidence Interval were calculated. Results: Among 93 children receiving focused assessment with sonography for trauma imaging in the Emergency Department with a history of blunt abdominal trauma, the prevalence of hemoperitoneum was 18 (19.34%) (12.61-26.09, 90% Confidence Interval). Conclusions: The prevalence of hemoperitoneum was similar to other studies conducted in a similar setting. Keywords: blunt injuries; emergency medicine; focused assessment with sonography for trauma.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome following COVID-19 infection mimicking abdominal tuberculosis in Nepal: A case report.

Introduction and importance: Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) is an uncommon condition that can present with a wide range of clinical features and complications. As it can be confused with various diseases, diagnosis is crucial as proper management can improve the patient's condition. Case presentation: 14-year male presented with fever, abdominal pain, and cough on September 2021. On examination, he was febrile with a distended abdomen and enlarged liver. Following investigations, abdominal tuberculosis was suspected but his condition improved with broad-spectrum antibiotics, intravenous immunoglobulins, and high-dose steroids. Clinical discussion: Any children with COVID 19 infection who have fever with multiple systems involved after ruling out other causes of infections should be suspected to have MIS-C. Diagnosis can be challenging as its clinical presentation mimics conditions like Kawasaki disease, ricketssial disease and acute appendicitis, etc. In high prevalence countries, with predominant gastrointestinal features, it can be confused with abdominal tuberculosis as well, hence, proper diagnosis is crucial. Conclusion: The course of MIS-C can be fatal where most children require intensive care units and early institution of immunomodulatory therapy for their recovery. Also, all pediatricians need to have a high degree of suspicion to diagnose MIS-C as it can be confused with different illnesses.

Diagnostic performance of the extended focused assessment with sonography for trauma (EFAST) patients in a tertiary care hospital of Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Thoracoabdominal trauma presents a diagnostic challenge for the emergency physician. The introduction of bedside ultrasonography (USG) provides a screening tool to detect hemoperitoneum, hemothorax, pneumothorax and pericardial effusion in torso injuries. AIM: To evaluate the accuracy of extended focused assessment with sonography for trauma (EFAST) for chest and abdominal injuries performed by first responders in a tertiary care hospital of Nepal. METHODS: This was a prospective study including all trauma patients who obtained either an Injury Severity Score ≥15 or direct trauma to the trunk in 1 year period in the emergency department (ED) of Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital. The results of the EFAST were then compared with contrast-enhanced CT (CECT), radiology ultrasound (USG)/chest X-ray, or intraoperative findings when the EFAST was positive. The negative EFAST cases were observed for a minimum of 4 hours in the ED. Descriptive statistics and sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were calculated. RESULTS: Out of 267 cases, 261 patients underwent an EFAST examination. The sensitivity and specificity were 94.8% and 99.5%, respectively. The negative predictive value was 98.53% whereas the positive predictive value was 98.21%. The overall accuracy was 99.4%. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that EFAST examination performed by first-line healthcare providers is a useful method for assessment of thoracic and abdominal injuries. EFAST was found to have a high specificity (99.5%) and positive predictive value (98.21%) which indicates that it is an effective technique for detecting intra-abdominal or thoracic injuries. However, the effectiveness of EFAST is limited by its being operator dependent, and thereby human error. For negative EFAST cases, we recommend a monitoring period of at least 4 hours, serial fast scan, or further investigation through other methods such as a CECT. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level I.