Utility of Temporal Bone Computed Tomography in Pediatric Emergency Medicine.

OBJECTIVE: Temporal bone computed tomography (CT) requires a relatively high radiation dose to produce high-resolution images required to define surgical anatomy. In the acute setting, the need for this detailed evaluation of temporal bone pathology may not be required for nonsurgical management and clinical decision-making. We performed a retrospective review of the clinical characteristics and subsequent management of children who underwent CT of the temporal bone with the goal of optimizing clinical decision-making and mitigating the risks of radiation exposure in children. METHODS: We included pediatric patients (<18 years of age) with International Classification of Diseases (9th or 10th revision) diagnoses consistent with otitis externa, otitis media, mastoiditis, head trauma, temporal bone fracture, and otalgia who were treated in the emergency department and underwent temporal bone CT from January 1, 2012-December 31, 2016. We collected data regarding the patients' presenting symptoms, physical exam findings, indications for imaging, radiographic findings, disposition, and operative intervention within 30 days of imaging. Features of the suspected mastoiditis group were compared between operative and non-operative patients. RESULTS: Over the four-year study period there were 96 temporal bone CTs. Most studies (70%) were associated with a subsequent inpatient admission. Common indications for imaging included evaluation of acute mastoiditis (55%) or trauma (41%). Of the 53 patients with concern for mastoiditis, 27 (51%) required otologic surgery. Two patients in the trauma group required surgical intervention, both for facial nerve decompression. In patients with suspected mastoiditis, mental status changes (P = 0.02), auricular proptosis (P = 0.05), and fluctuance (P = 0.02) were significantly more prevalent in the operative group; however, no other findings were significantly associated with operative intervention. CONCLUSION: Temporal bone CT is beneficial in guiding diagnosis and management of acute mastoiditis. We found that a majority of patients with suspected mastoiditis who underwent temporal bone CT ultimately required surgery or hospital admission. However, the potential for reduction in the use of CT still exists in this population. Fractures of the temporal bone typically do not require urgent operative intervention in the absence of complete facial nerve paralysis; thus, the utility of temporal bone CT in trauma evaluation may be limited.

Assessing the Necessity for the "Joint Above and Below" Radiography Approach for Lower-extremity Long Bone Fractures in Children.

OBJECTIVES: A common strategy for evaluation of extremity fractures is the "joint above and below" (JAB) radiograph approach, which includes dedicated imaging of the joint proximal and distal to a fracture independent of clinical suspicion for an injury involving the joint. The incidence of concomitant ipsilateral lower-extremity fractures or dislocations associated with lower-extremity long bone fractures in children has not been commonly reported and represents an evidential gap for determining a radiograph approach. Our purpose was to determine the frequency of and risk factors for concomitant ipsilateral lower-extremity fractures or dislocations. METHODS: A retrospective study of children aged 1 to 17 years treated at an academic medical center emergency department from 2015 to 2018 with any fracture involving the tibia, fibula, or femur. Children with pathologic fractures, transferred from another facility, and/or designated as a level I trauma were excluded. The primary outcome was the prevalence of a concomitant bony injury (fracture or dislocation) at a distinct site in the same extremity. Differences between the concomitant bony injury group and single injury group were characterized using Fisher exact tests. Regression analysis was used to determine predictors of concomitant bony injuries, including age, sex, and mechanism of injury (with injuries requiring level II or III trauma activation classified as high risk). RESULTS: During the study period, 241 patients with lower-extremity long bone fractures were included. Complete JAB radiographs, defined as dedicated orthogonal radiographs of the joint proximal to and distal to the fracture site, were taken in 85 (35.3%) of 241 patients. Concomitant bony injuries were found in 9 (3.73%) of 241 patients (95% confidence interval, 1.7-7.0%). No additional concomitant bony injuries were identified at follow-up. When comparing patients with and without concomitant bony injuries, there was no significant difference in age (P = 0.34) and sex (P = 0.73). However, patients with a high-risk injury were more likely to have a concomitant bony injury (P < 0.01; odds ratio, 21.9; 95% confidence interval, 3.6-131.5). CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant ipsilateral lower-extremity fractures or dislocations are uncommon in children sustaining tibia, fibula, and/or femur fractures. Although the JAB approach to radiographs may be useful in identifying additional injuries in children with lower-extremity injuries resulting from a "high-risk" mechanisms, its overall yield is low. To provide safe, cost-effective care, providers should continue to value clinical suspicion, history, and physical examination findings to guide selection of radiographs in those with lower-extremity long bone fractures as significant fractures can typically be identified with limited imaging in patients with low-risk injury mechanisms.

Hypothermia: A Sign of Sepsis in Young Infants in the Emergency Department?

OBJECTIVES: Diagnosis of sepsis in young infants can be challenging due to the nonspecific signs, which can include hypothermia. Whether the presence of hypothermia in young infants should prompt evaluation for serious infection is unclear. The objectives were to measure the prevalence of serious infection among infants ≤60 days of age with hypothermia in the emergency department (ED) and determine other clinical features of hypothermic infants who have serious infection. METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of all infants ≤60 days seen in a children's hospital ED from April 2014 to February 2017. Primary outcome was presence of serious infection, defined as urinary tract infection, bacteremia, meningitis, pneumonia, or herpes virus infection. Hypothermia was defined as a rectal temperature of 36.0°C or less. RESULTS: Of 4797 infants ≤60 days of age seen in the ED, 116 had hypothermia. The prevalence of serious infection was 2.6% (3/116) in hypothermic infants compared with 15.2% (61/401) in febrile infants (P < 0.01). Hypothermic infants with serious infections were more likely to have a history of prematurity, apnea, poor feeding, lethargy, ill-appearance, and respiratory signs than hypothermic infants without serious infection. All 3 hypothermic infants with serious infection had other concerning features. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of serious infection in hypothermic young infants in the ED is low. Serious infection is unlikely in infants with isolated hypothermia.

Point-of-Care Ultrasound Diagnosis of Ureteropelvic Junction Obstruction in a Child With Recurrent Abdominal Pain and Vomiting.

A case is described of a 4 year-old girl who presented with chronic episodic abdominal pain with vomiting. Physical examination was unremarkable aside from hypertension. Point-of-care renal ultrasound showed hydronephrosis, leading to a diagnosis of ureteropelvic junction obstruction presenting with Dietl crisis (episodic abdominal pain secondary to urinary tract obstruction). The clinical utility of point-of-care renal ultrasound in the evaluation of abdominal pain and ultrasound findings of ureteropelvic junction obstruction are highlighted.

Reducing Antibiotic Prescription Errors in the Emergency Department: A Quality Improvement Initiative.

INTRODUCTION: Discharge prescription errors from the pediatric emergency department (ED) are common. Despite the implementation of clinical pathways for common infections recommending specific antibiotic therapy and aids built into the electronic health record, errors in antibiotic prescriptions for patients discharged home from the ED persist. METHODS: We developed and implemented ED antibiotic discharge order panels for urinary tract infection (UTI) and skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) that modeled antibiotic therapy from our institutional clinical pathways. We aimed to reduce antibiotic prescription errors by 50% within 6 months of implementation. RESULTS: With the implementation of the ED discharge order panels, the overall error rate for prescriptions for UTI and SSTI improved from a baseline rate of 29.3% to 12.6% (P < 0.001). Individually, the baseline number of prescriptions with errors for UTI and SSTI improved from 26.1% and 32.8%, respectively, to 13.8% and 12.5% within 6 months. Sustained improvement continued for 17 months after the implementation of the order panels. CONCLUSIONS: Development and implementation of ED antibiotic discharge order panels decrease antibiotic prescription errors for UTI and SSTI by improving compliance with institutional clinical pathways. Additional order panels should be developed and implemented for other conditions to help reduce discharge prescription errors.

Appropriateness of Antibiotic Prescriptions for Urinary Tract Infections.

INTRODUCTION: Urinary tract infections (UTI) are a common indication for antibiotic use in the emergency department (ED). With antibiotic resistance on the rise, it is essential that antibiotics be prescribed appropriately for UTIs. Our objective was to evaluate the appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions by ED providers for uncomplicated cystitis and pyelonephritis. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of females ages 2-50 years seen in an academic ED from January 2017 to April 2018 diagnosed with UTI. We assessed the appropriateness of discharge antibiotic prescriptions, as determined by adherence to clinical practice guidelines, best evidence for the particular indication (cystitis vs pyelonephritis for children and adults), and the local antibiogram. RESULTS: A total of 421 patients were included in this study. Of these, 60 children and 198 adults were diagnosed with cystitis, and 47 children and 116 adults were diagnosed with pyelonephritis. Treatment in the absence of true infection was common, with culture-confirmed UTI occurring in only 17/50 (34%) of children and 60/129 (47%) of adults diagnosed with cystitis, and 23/40 (58%) of children and 58/87 (67%) of adults diagnosed with pyelonephritis, among patients who had urine cultures. The type of antibiotic prescribed was appropriate in 53/60 (88%) of children and 135/198 (68%) of adults with cystitis, and 38/47 (81%) of children and 53/116 (46%) of adults with pyelonephritis. The most common inappropriate antibiotic types were beta-lactams in adults (n = 92), nitrofurantoin for pyelonephritis (n = 16), and amoxicillin (n = 15). Dosing and duration errors were also common, occurring in 122/279 (44%) of prescriptions of an appropriate antibiotic type. The frequency of errors in the type of antibiotic prescribed was similar among provider types (attending physician, resident physician, and advanced practice clinician; p = 0.926). CONCLUSION: This study reveals room for improvement in antibiotic prescription practices across provider cohorts in the ED for the management of uncomplicated cystitis and pyelonephritis in females.

Reducing Invasive Care for Low-risk Febrile Infants Through Implementation of a Clinical Pathway.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Significant variation in management of febrile infants exists both nationally and within our institution. Risk stratification can be used to identify low-risk infants who can be managed as outpatients without lumbar puncture (LP) or antibiotics. Our objective was to reduce invasive interventions for febrile infants aged 29 to 60 days at low risk for serious bacterial infection (SBI) through implementation of a clinical pathway supported by quality improvement (QI). METHODS: The evidence-based clinical pathway was developed and implemented by a multidisciplinary team with continuous-process QI to sustain use. Low-risk infants who underwent LP, received antibiotics, and were admitted to the hospital were compared pre- and postpathway implementation with SBI in low-risk infants and appropriate care for high-risk infants as balancing measures. RESULTS: Of 350 included patients, 220 were pre- and 130 were postpathway implementation. With pathway implementation in July 2016, invasive interventions decreased significantly in low-risk infants, with LPs decreasing from 32% to 0%, antibiotic administration from 30% to 1%, and hospital admission from 17% to 2%. Postimplementation, there were 0 SBIs in low-risk infants versus 29.2% in high-risk infants. The percentage of high-risk patients receiving care per pathway remained unchanged. Improvement was sustained for 12 months through QI interventions, including order-set development and e-mail reminders. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a clinical pathway by using QI methods resulted in sustained reduction in invasive interventions for low-risk febrile infants without missed SBIs. Clinical pathways and QI can be key strategies in the delivery of evidence-based care for febrile infants.

Trampoline Park and Home Trampoline Injuries.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Trampoline parks, indoor recreational facilities with wall-to-wall trampolines, are increasing in number and popularity. The objective was to identify trends in emergency department visits for trampoline park injuries (TPIs) and compare TPI characteristics with home trampoline injuries (HTIs). METHODS: Data on trampoline injuries from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System from 2010 to 2014 were analyzed. Sample weights were applied to estimate yearly national injury trends; unweighted cases were used for comparison of injury patterns. RESULTS: Estimated US emergency department visits for TPI increased significantly, from 581 in 2010 to 6932 in 2014 (P = .045), whereas HTIs did not increase (P = .13). Patients with TPI (n = 330) were older than patients with HTI (n = 7933) (mean 13.3 vs 9.5 years, respectively, P < .001) and predominantly male. Sprains and fractures were the most common injuries at trampoline parks and homes. Compared with HTIs, TPIs were less likely to involve head injury (odds ratio [OR] 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46-0.89), more likely to involve lower extremity injury (OR 2.39; 95% CI, 1.91-2.98), more likely to be a dislocation (OR 2.12; 95% CI, 1.10-4.09), and more likely to warrant admission (OR 1.76; 95% CI, 1.19-2.61). TPIs necessitating hospital admission included open fractures and spinal cord injuries. TPI mechanisms included falls, contact with other jumpers, and flips. CONCLUSIONS: TPI patterns differed significantly from HTIs. TPIs are an emerging concern; additional investigation and strategies are needed to prevent injury at trampoline parks.

Childhood primary angiitis of the central nervous system with metachronous hemorrhagic infarcts: a postmortem study with clinicopathologic correlation.

This neuropathologic case study illustrates the discovery of metachronous hemorrhagic infarcts insinuating round mass-like lesions by magnetic resonance imaging in the setting of childhood primary angiitis of the central nervous system (cPACNS) raising diagnostic awareness of this unusual presentation in a clinical and neuroimaging context. The report underscores the importance of recurrent vasculitis-induced ischemic brain damage as a pathologic correlate of relapsing cPACNS and offers a critical reappraisal of common imitators as well as a clinicopathologic approach to differential diagnosis. Attention is drawn to the caveat that although magnetic resonance imaging findings at initial presentation may not be typical for stroke, they later exhibit attributes of cerebral infarction at both the subacute and chronic stages. A pattern of cPACNS characterized predominantly by multiple petechial-like cortical hemorrhages with pathologic features of hemorrhagic infarcts is recognized. The present study lends credence to the practice of a rigorous autopsy-based approach aimed at a better understanding of the anatomic pathology and biology of cPACNS and at facilitating prospective neuroimaging and biopsy-based surgical pathology correlations, ultimately enhancing diagnostic accuracy in clinical settings. Although PACNS is, by definition, a diagnosis of exclusion, it should be considered from the outset in the differential diagnosis of ischemic stroke or hemorrhagic stroke or of unusual and relapsing intra-axial mass-like CNS lesions in children, necessitating appropriate pathologic evaluation of brain biopsy specimens.

Predictors of functional outcome after revision total knee arthroplasty following aseptic failure.

BACKGROUND: There are a limited number of studies related to quality of life and functional outcome after revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The present study aimed to identify predictors of functional outcome after revision TKA for aseptic failure. METHODS: One hundred seventy-five patients with mean age of 66.6 years (range, 35-88) who underwent revision TKA for aseptic failure at our institute from 2003 to 2007 were identified. Short-form 36 (SF-36), Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and Knee Society Scores (KSS) collected preoperatively and at 2 years follow up were evaluated. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine predictors of functional outcome in studied patients. RESULTS: Both physical and mental dimensions of SF-36, pain, functional, and stiffness subscales of WOMAC and both functional and clinical scores of KSS improved significantly after revision TKA (p<0.001). In the multivariate analysis, male gender, a lower Charlson comorbidity index, and higher preoperative functional KSS were predictors of higher functional KSS at 2 years after revision. Lower preoperative pain and higher clinical KSS were predictors of better outcome as measured by pain scale of WOMAC. Body mass index (BMI) and preoperative clinical KSS were significant predictors of function and stiffness as measured by WOMAC. CONCLUSIONS: BMI is a modifiable predictor of functional outcome after revision TKA. Moreover, patients with higher preoperative functional scores appear to have better postoperative function. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II.