Antibiotic treatment duration for community-acquired pneumonia in children.

QUESTION: A 4-year-old child was seen in our clinic with a clinical presentation consistent with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). He was prescribed oral amoxicillin and a colleague asked about the duration of treatment. What is the current available evidence for treatment duration for uncomplicated CAP in an outpatient setting? ANSWER: Previously the recommended duration of antibiotic treatment of uncomplicated CAP was 10 days. Recent evidence from several randomized controlled trials suggests that a 3- to 5-day duration is noninferior to a longer treatment course. In an effort to prescribe the shortest effective duration of antibiotics to minimize the risk of antimicrobial resistance associated with prolonged antibiotic use, family physicians should offer 3 to 5 days of appropriate antibiotics and monitor the recovery of children with CAP.

Durée d'une antibiothérapie pour une pneumonie acquise dans la communauté chez l'enfant.

QUESTION: Un enfant de 4 ans est venu à notre clinique, présentant un tableau clinique conforme à une pneumonie acquise dans la communauté (PAC). On lui a prescrit de l'amoxicilline par voie orale, et un collègue s'est demandé quelle devrait être la durée du traitement. Quelles sont les données probantes actuelles concernant la durée du traitement pour une PAC sans complication en milieu ambulatoire? RÉPONSE: La durée d'une antibiothérapie auparavant recommandée pour une PAC sans complication était de 10 jours. Des données probantes récentes tirées de quelques essais randomisés contrôlés indiquent qu'une durée de 3 à 5 jours n'est pas inférieure à un régime thérapeutique plus long. Dans un effort pour prescrire la durée efficace la plus courte afin de minimiser le risque d'une résistance antimicrobienne liée à une utilisation prolongée d'antibiotiques, les médecins de famille devraient offrir de 3 à 5 jours d'antibiotiques appropriés et surveiller le rétablissement des enfants souffrant d'une PAC.

A randomized controlled pilot study of intranasal lidocaine in acute management of paediatric migraine and migraine-like headache.

Objectives: This study was aimed to determine the sample size required to conduct an efficacy randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate superiority of intranasal (IN) lidocaine to placebo as an analgesic option for children presenting to the paediatric emergency department (PED) with migraine or posttraumatic headache with migraine features and to evaluate study protocol feasibility. Study Design: This study is a double-blind RCT of children aged 7 to 16 years at a single-centre PED. Thirty-two participants were randomized to receive either IN 2% lidocaine or 0.9% sodium chloride. The primary outcome measure was the proportion of subjects with a Verbal Numeric Rating Scale pain score of <4 at 30 and 60 minutes post-IN therapy. Primary outcome data were analyzed using a test of differences between proportions. Secondary objectives included assessing the feasibility of our study protocol by evaluating recruitment rates, adverse drug events, and PED length of stay (LOS). Results: Six of 17 participants in the lidocaine group and 2 of 15 in the placebo group were treated successfully. Using these proportions with 95% confidence intervals and 80% power, the sample size required to find a significant difference between proportions would be 67 participants per arm. Our enrolment rate was 55% and there were no serious adverse drug events. The median PED LOS was similar between groups. Conclusion: We determined the sample size required to conduct a definitive RCT to evaluate the superiority of IN lidocaine to placebo and found the study protocol is feasible but identified important considerations in PED migraine trial design.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug administration in children with history of wheeze.

QUESTION: A child in my clinic who recently sprained his ankle is experiencing pain and having trouble bearing weight on the affected leg. His mother has been giving him acetaminophen, as she was told never to use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) because of his pharmacologically controlled asthma. Is asthma in children a contraindication to giving NSAIDs? Is NSAID-exacerbated respiratory disease (NERD) a real entity? ANSWER: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are effective analgesic and antipyretic medications. While described in adults with some predisposing conditions, NERD has not been clearly described in a large number of children. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be recommended to children with known wheeze who do not have a history of NERD reaction.

[Administration d'anti-inflammatoires non stéroïdiens aux enfants ayant des antécédents de sibilance].

QUESTION: Un enfant qui fréquente ma clinique s'est récemment fait une entorse à la cheville et il éprouve de la douleur et de la difficulté à supporter son poids sur la jambe affectée. Sa mère lui donne de l'acétaminophène parce qu'on lui a dit de ne jamais utiliser d'anti-inflammatoires non stéroïdiens (AINS) en raison de son asthme contrôlé par pharmacologie. L'asthme chez un enfant est-il une contre-indication à l'administration d'AINS? La maladie respiratoire exacerbée par les AINS existe-t-elle comme entité réelle? RÉPONSE: Les AINS sont des médicaments analgésiques et antipyrétiques efficaces. La maladie respiratoire exacerbée par des AINS a été décrite chez des adultes ayant certains facteurs de prédisposition, mais n'a pas été clairement identifiée chez un grand nombre d'enfants. Les AINS peuvent donc être recommandés aux enfants ayant une sibilance connue qui n'ont pas d'antécédents de maladie respiratoire déclenchée par des AINS.

Ketamine in adult emergency medicine: controversies and recent advances.

OBJECTIVE: To review the evidence for the use of ketamine in adult emergency medicine for procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) and rapid sequence intubation (RSI), as well as to focus on the issues of recovery agitation, combination with propofol for PSA, and the use of ketamine as an induction agent in patients with acute head injury in need of definitive airway management. DATA SOURCES: PubMed (1949-July 2011), EMBASE (1980-July 2011), Google Scholar (to July 2011), International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1964-July 2011), and Cochrane databases were searched independently. A manual search of references was also performed. STUDY SELECTION: English-language, full reports of experimental and observational studies evaluating ketamine in adults undergoing PSA and RSI in the emergency department (ED) were included if they reported efficacy or safety outcomes. DATA EXTRACTION: Two reviewers independently assessed each article for inclusion, data extraction, and study limitations. DATA SYNTHESIS: Six studies that used ketamine for PSA were included. The majority reported adequate sedation with high patient satisfaction and lack of pain and procedural recall. There is no evidence to support the superiority of a combination of ketamine and propofol compared to propofol alone for PSA in adults. Recovery agitation is common but can be minimized with premedication with midazolam (number needed to treat 6). Two studies were identified that evaluated the role of ketamine for induction during RSI in the ED. Although ketamine is not a first-line agent for RSI, it is an alternative and may be used as an induction agent in patients requiring endotracheal intubation. CONCLUSIONS: Ketamine is an effective agent in adults undergoing PSA and RSI in the ED. The best available evidence provides sufficient confidence to consider use of this agent in the ED.